Marbled Sightseeing

This project requests that students draw a certain national monument, by using a visual to refer to when drawing the subject upside down.  It is amazingly so much easier to draw an object starting the bottom working your way to the top.  So try it!  Turn your object upside down and start drawing UP-SIDE DOWN!  Once the drawing was complete, cut it out.  Use a tray with 1/8 c. of shaving cream smeared evenly on the bottom of the tray, add paint and blend slightly with a comb or a pointed rod.  Dip the cut-out into the painted shaving cream.  In this project I used warm colors: yellow and red.  It gave my cut-out a marbleized look.  Once dry, it was displayed on the bulletin board.

The set back experienced in this lesson is that once I had my marbleized pattern my paper was so wet I had to be careful to not tear it as I lifted it out of the shaving cream.

An extension assignment would be to make a parade.  The parade would consist of shoe box 'floats'.  The shoe box would be decorated according to the state and or country that your national monument came from.  i.e.  My monument is in Chili, so my shoe-box-float would have items representing that country:  items will be printed from clip art/Internet.....flag, flower, animal, license plate, food items, common clothing items, and of course the marbleized project described above. 

Finale would be a "Parade" in the classroom.

CLAY COIL POT

Red, White and Blue
to represent our life as a Military US Air Force
family and the Heart represents my Love for my Family

The inside was painted RED!

1.  Knead clay and shape into a long coil.

2.  Make a small 'pancake' for the bottom or base of the pot.

3.  Add texture to the edge of the base and the coiled clay and begin stacking coil in a circular motion.

4.  Use watered fingertips to smooth the inside and to seal open gaps.

5. Allow 24 hours to dry.

6.  Paint.

The set back I experienced in doing this project is that I was coiling my clay quickly, stacking it nicely.  However, when I stood back to look at it from a distance, it was so crocked.

Extension Project Idea:  To have students make a clay pot and paint it similar to that of a certain country studied in Social Studies or in a Foreign class to relate to that country's art style and see similarities or differences of that of the pottery of the USA.  Research will have to be conducted before beginning this extension assignments which also builds knowledge in students view of other countries.

 

PRINTMAKING

Train cars made by Printmaking Pattern

Bulletin Board Display

Title and Class/Project details

This Printmaking assignment can be used for a variety of project topics as well as for a wide range of grade levels.  This was a project that our group presented and displayed in a hallway bulletin board.

Materials needed:  12 X 18 white drawing paper, construction paper, scissors, paint brush, carving tool, paint, and Styrofoam rectangles. 

Students were asked to have at least 3 cars, and to compose their background to reflect the South Dakota landscape.  The carving tool is used to carve a design in the Styrofoam, then to be rolled with paint, stamped 3 times onto a piece of construction paper, set aside to dry, cut out cars and paste them onto the white SD background and matte with construction paper color of their choice.  The students began working on this project and were so creative and detailed.  It was a huge success, except for a small set back:  when I rolled the paint onto the Styrofoam I had too much paint, and a little seeped into the carving design.

An idea I had for an extension assignment would be to write an essay on the Aberdeen Hub City Railroad and its historical significance to the building and formation of the city of Aberdeen.  A model can also be made for another helpful visual of the Aberdeen Train Depot.

Dr. Seuss inspired "Whoville" 3-D Absract

Rockin' Roller Coasters-Ville

This was a Dr. Seuss inspired project.  We were read the book Oh, The Places You Will Go! 

 The 3D assignment was to be our own creation using construction paper folded in a zigzag, twisted, torn, and curled design.  We were to use a background color that would also be one of the two colors in our design.  We had to choose warm, cool, or complimentary colors.  I used orange and blue which are complimentary colors. 

The design and illustrations of Dr. Seuss' books brings the picture right out of the book!

The 3-D and 2-D design is fun and draws the young readers into the setting.

The only set back I experienced was that I initially started out with elmer's (liquid) glue then found that it was easier for me to use a glue stick.

For an extension project I would have students tie this into a "Habitat" assignment to help students learn more about an animals surroundings and environment.  i.e.  I would have the 3-D and 2-D materials represent a rain forest with plants, trees, bamboo, oaks, nests, palms, and ferns and teach about chimpanzees and the research of Dr. Jane Goodall.

Safari Hidden Picture Project

Glasses I made out of red film
and
construction paper.
Used for seeing the Hidden Picture

Hidden Picture
You can't see it until you put the Red glasses on!   I will give you three hints:
1.  It is an animal
2.  He resembles a horse
3.  He has a mane


Answer:  A zebra
When I drew him, I was looking at an upside picture of a zebra so I stared to drawing him upside down!  Believe it or not, it is easier to draw an animal upside down than right side up.

I learned how to draw an animal (my hidden picture) by drawing him/her upside down! It was absolutely amazing to be able to draw with such ease! I had never experienced drawing a figure, or picture in this case, upside down. Once my animal had been drawn with light strokes with a light blue colored pencil, we made a pattern to cover the entire page. Then with the use of the glasses we made out of construction paper and red film, I was able to see my animal as well as all of my classmates animals. We had 3 clues on a card at the bottom of each picture to help figure out what the animal was, before looking with our glasses to see what it was.

Set back:  the only problem I had was that the cpnstruction paper matte frame looked wider on one side.

This project can be used in a Life Science lesson to start the students out. Then each student can do more research on their animal to include: habitat, life span, endangered or extinct, it could be part of a presentation that the students will do once they get more facts. This project could also be done after a field trip to the zoo to help familiarize the students even more with the animals they saw.

Van Gough Projects

Van Gough Inspired Projects:

"South Dakota Breeze

through Corn Field"

Tissue Wrap Picture

FEBRUARY 2012

"DESERT SUN"

Finger Painting Picture

FEBRUARY 2012

Elizabeth Maunu  Feb 17, 2012 10:24 AM


The top project "South Dakota Breeze" was inspired by Van Gough's Stary Night.  It was to reflect movement which I used swirls to signify a breeze that caused movement in the cornfield and hit the side of the barn.  I used a 12x18 construction paper and used tissue wrap paper for the breeze and  corn field.  I used sparkly silver grease pencil to draw more swirls for the breeze.  I also used construction paper for the grass and barn.

The set back in this project was that I felt my barn was too big, not to scale.


In the finger painting "Desert Sun"  I used my finger to make squiggly lines to represent the hot sun rays beaming upward from the pink dessert sand horizon.  This was another Van Gough Inspired Picture.  The only set back I encountered is that I had a lot of paint on my fingers when I was done with this painting and had wished that I had another white sheet of paper prepared to do another with the remaining paint on my fingers!

Bulletin Board

As an extension project I would incorporate this project into Geography class. I would start out by teaching the different landforms, have students do the above projects, then request that they type an essay listing at least 3 additional landforms. Sometimes giving an official title to something that we are very familiar with can be confusing to students. Having them construct an art project with a landscape familiar to them helps them to relate that to a variety of landforms.

Vincent Van Gough

Stary Night

Vincent Van Gough

Vincent Van Gough

Art Design and Principles-Favorite Five

Principles of design –
Rhythm or movement

Movement - My son at the
Aberdeen Holiday Inn

     Action shot – The subject is in motion.

Principles of design – Emphasis

         Your eyes tend to see the focal point first....this little tree stands in my front yard.

             Elements of Art –
    Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes: simple shapes found in geometry, such as circles, squares, or  triangles. Geometric- kitchen rug.

        Elements of Art-
       Organic Shapes

Organic Shapes: shapes based on natural objects, trees, mountains, or leaves…

Element of art - Color

Variety of Color-Living room Carpet

   or

Elizabeth Maunu  Feb 17, 2012 10:29 AM

The five pictures were taken from a power point I did on Art Design and Principles.  I posted the top favorite pictures I took.  The purpose of the power point is to have it prepared as an introduction lesson for students to understand the art designs and principals and to be familiar with the vocabulary associated with art.

The set back I experienced is that I had a hard time choosing just 5 favorite pictures.  The power point has so many great pictures too.

An extension project that I would assign to my students after introducing the concepts described above, would be a wall size mural. It would be the size of one of my classroom wall's draping from ceiling to floor. I would request that each student draw, or paint at least 5 of the art designs. I would incorporate this with a Language Arts reading passage and have the pictures that the students draw and paint, the story setting.