Third Grade Texture Prints

In Third Grade we finished working with different textures and the process of printmaking.  We discussed the different appearances of textures within a variety of artworks as well as textures around the school and in every day objects.  We also discussed Complementary Colors within this project and what they are.

Students were given the opportunity to select a texture piece (bubble wrap or saran wrap) to used as a stamp with paint which would create their background.  The students selected a complementary color pair to use with their texture stamp.

After we painted our backgrounds, students were introduced to the printing process.  We created an animal contour drawing on a foam plate, this acted as our printing plate.  Then, in groups, students printed their animal drawing onto their texture background.  Some students had a little difficulty getting a successful print without a proper printing press, but they were good sports about the situation and were proud of their works regardless. The students had a lot of fun getting to explore the world of printmaking.

Kindergarten Tropical Birds

  In Kindergarten, we just finished up talking about texture within art and the many ways in which artists create various textures.  With our tropical bird project, inspired by a fellow Art Teacher's blog, we read a story about a tropical bird who was stuck in a cold place.  We discussed where tropical birds live, as well as the various colors that can be seen on the birds.

   This project was split into two days, the first day we drew our birds and added tropical colors onto them with our cork stampers.  Day two we outlined our birds with black marker to help them have distinguished edges and we gave our birds tails using rolled construction paper and feathers.  The students had a lot of fun getting to pick out their feathers and rolling the construction paper for their bird's tail.  In the background, we stamped some tropical flowers for our birds to fly around.

First Grade Keith Haring Figures

In first grade, we just finished looking at the artwork of Keith Haring.  We talked about two key ideas for his works, Figures and Movement.  We discussed that figures within art are bodies or other objects.  In Keith's work, his figures lack details and look a lot like cartoons.  The movement within Keith's art is depicted through the black lines around the arms, legs, or heads of the figures.  We discussed the many different types of movement there could be, tying in a great discussion and brainstorm of verbs.

We first sketched eight figures with various movement being shown through the movement lines.  Upon completion of their brainstorming, the students selected four of their favorite figures to use on their final paper.  The students drew their four figures as well as the movement lines, traced them with sharpie to help them pop, and then colored them in with crayon.  I gave the students the option to add a background to their figures, some of them got really creative with their backgrounds and some chose to just stick with creative figures.

Kindergarten Arlo Drawings

In Kindergarten, we looked at the book Arlo Needs Glasses, which is about a dog (Arlo) who needs glasses.  We looked at the texture of Arlo and discussed how he would feel in real life.  Then, we looked at a Power Point that displayed various artworks where artists utilized a soft texture for animals in their drawings.  Kindergarteners came to the conclusion that in artwork, artists use different lines to display soft textures.

After our discussion, we began to create our very own Arlo the dog using oil pastels on our paper.  We chose to use short, repetitive straight lines or zig-zag lines for our dog's soft texture. The students had a lot of fun creating their dogs and putting the texture onto them!