Homecoming Watercolor Paintings

As I wrote in last year’s Homecoming post,  I like to teach my elementary students how to draw our school Wildcat logo during Homecoming week.  We are a K-12 school all in one building and the younger students get very excited to participate in Homecoming in anyway they can, just like the “big kids.”  I’m still having fun coming up with ways to use this lovely little graphic. This new project was a quick and satisfying one and the students were very proud of their work! 

This year, after my 4th graders learned how to draw the Wildcat logo, we drew a larger one (on 12” x 18” heavy paper.)  They cut it out and using pieces of rolled masking tape, put it back together on top of a piece of watercolor paper 
(also 12” x 18”).

We then got out our watercolors and I demonstrated how to loosely brushstroke around the shapes in a rough crosshatch, blending colors as needed. This was a great way to practice control of our watercolor paint and handling the paintbrush.  Students were given the option of using our school colors or any other color combination that appealed to them. 

One thing I needed to remind students was that they should paint right up to and over the edge of the paper logo pieces that were taped down.  If they didn’t, the shape would not show up well.

When finished, students carefully removed the taped paper pieces and noticed how bright white their logo showed up against the paint.  We hung these in the hallway to show our school spirit. Very cool!  

Happy Homecoming!!

Warm and Cool Hand Patterns

I’ve seen varying examples of this kind of project all over the internet, so I cannot say exactly where it came from, but here is our version of it! Its one of those “fun projects where we don’t really know we’re learning!”   

We started by talking about warm and cool colors.  Warms and cools are definitely easy concepts for 5th graders to grasp, but its always good to reinforce color families AND warm and cool projects ALWAYS look cool!  We also focus on pattern and try to balance our darker and lighter patterns within each piece.

1.  To begin the project, students trace their hand and forearm three or four times to make an interesting composition.  As always, we talk about balance when choosing how to organize our projects, so they use their space well.  

2.  Then its time to paint with watercolors!   Students get to choose whether the warm colors will be in the foreground or the background.  The cool colors will then, obviously, be the opposite.  Just for fun, I show them what salt* will do to a watercolor painting and let them include that on their background, if they’d like to.  

(*They do their background washes in small sections and then sprinkle a little salt on the section while it is still wet.  After it dries, they brush the extra salt into the sink or garbage and enjoy the neat textures the salt leaves behind in the paint.)

3.  The final step (but the one that definitely takes the longest!) is the pattern detail we add over the top of the hands, using black fine point markers.  

I show the students examples of Zentangles to give them a little inspiration, but ask them to go with patterns they can think of themselves to begin with and then look around the room for other ideas.  We talk about how patterns are ALL around us and so is inspiration! 

While talking about the patterns, I also try to explain how important it is to use a variety of values with the patterns.  If there aren’t enough “dark” patterns, the whole piece is just not as interesting.  Some students struggle with this, as they get so focused on just trying to fill the space they lose track of how light or dark their patterns are, but others understand and make it work for them. 

Overall, this is a great project! The kids love it because it is fun and the results look really neat.  I love it because we have lots of Art words and concepts to talk about and put to use!  

Happy Creating!

Black Glue and Watercolor Holiday Paintings

I found this fun idea on pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com and tried it out last year.  Its highly adaptable to a variety of ages, but I use it with my 6th graders and they love it.  This year, we tried it with a holiday theme.  We talked a little bit about stained glass windows and how the lead lines in the stained glass not only hold the glass pieces together, but also add a design element to the piece.  We mimic that with the black glue, which provides a striking contrast to the bright painting. 

We brainstormed winter and holiday themed ideas on the board to give students lots of options and inspiration. 

I also encouraged them to do a heavy wash of whatever color they were using, then use a little paper towel to dab at the middle of the space so the center of each area would "glow."  (Some students used this more than others.)  Overall, a great project to use to  work on composition and  craftsmanship!  Happy Holidays!





(**Note:  This year I tried using tempera in the glue instead of acrylic paint... stick with the acrylic!  It "puffs up" better!) :-)

Creative Turkey

GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!  One thing I really like about teaching younger students along with my high school students is that we get to celebrate the seasons through our art.  This is much less common in the older grades, and since I’m a holiday freak, I think its a blast to find or design new projects for the seasons and holidays.

This fourth grade project is a fairly common idea - we just put our own spin on it.

I start out giving the students a guided drawing tutorial for the turkey body.  We

look at some photos

of real turkeys and then some cartoon turkeys.  We talk about making our own interpretation of the turkey body and then practice drawing it together.  

Along the way we learn some fun new “turkey” vocabulary. Why not? The words sound kind of silly and are fun to say. :-)  

I then give them a piece of 12x18 paper and a simple template for feathers and ask them to trace six of them.  We look again at the photos of the turkeys and notice the arcing patterns on the feathers.  Using watercolors,  students paint the feathers in whatever patterns and colors they choose and also paint the turkey body. 

After their paintings dry, they cut out all of the pieces and glue them to a colored piece of paper and Voila!  We are ready for Thanksgiving!  

Happy Gobbling!

Crayon and Watercolor Pumpkins

For most of my teaching career, I have been a 7th - 12th grade Art teacher.  I enjoy teenagers and (aside from the crazy hormones) really have fun connecting with and helping them mature into the lovely human beings they will become.  A few years ago, I added 4th, 5th and 6th grade to my teaching repertoire.  Welcome to a whole new world! - I’m still adjusting to that addition to my curriculum.

Yesterday, I got to branch out even further when one of the lower elementary teachers asked if I would mind being the “prize” for a behavior program in her second grade class.  If her students fill a bucket with their good behavior certificates, they get to choose an activity as a reward.  I was so happy to be chosen as the reward!

SOOOOO....I had freshmen and juniors in my afternoon classes and then the second graders showed up!  What an exuberant, messy, joyful, excited group of students!  When they all actually “OOOOHHHH’ed” after I showed them what happens when you paint with watercolor over crayon, I felt like a rockstar!

It hurts my heart that the only Art our lower elementary students get is in their classrooms.  Those awesome teachers do a good job of giving them some Art experiences, but they have so many other things to worry about teaching, it gets tricky for them.  With our block schedule, there is no time in my day to add any more classes.  SO - if I can be the “prize” now and then...I am happy to oblige.

This simple project just goes to show that a little inspiration can go a long way with the delicious creativity of a child.  I showed the students how to draw a couple of different pumpkins and talked about overlapping shapes with them.  We put some details on our pumpkins and added some background patterns.  

 I told them to use their muscles when they color - but not so much that they’d break their crayons (and a few did.):-)  We layered colors on and did some outlining.

Then it was time for the magic as I showed them how to paint with watercolors over their drawings. I encouraged them to use colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. (I threw in a little complementary color info, but I think that went over their heads a bit). Cue the “rockstar” feeling!

I was absolutely thrilled at the results.  Each artwork had its own personality and style.  Not once did a student say, “I can’t do this” or “I’m terrible at this” or any of the other laments I hear out of older students’ mouths.  Oh how I wish I could bottle that attitude up and give it to my big kids!  What a lovely way to experience an Art project!  Happy Fall everyone!