Winter Lights

  In Third Grade we took some time for a fun project using our learning concept of Value, we created winter lights.  I've seen this project done on various art teacher blogs around the web and I knew that the kiddos would absolutely enjoy creating it.  We first created our light string- yarn glued onto our background paper, set this aside to dry and moved on to the lightbulbs.  I had created a stencil students could use if they did not want to try out their own lightbulb shape.
   We discussed the details of a lightbulb- the filament and the shine that occurs on the outside (glare).  Students used Oil Pastels to color in their lights and then used Chalk to outline around their lightbulb once it was glued onto their background paper.  The chalk was then pulled away from the lightbulb, creating a value change and the illusion of a glow.

Here are some 'in process' pictures:

Here are some final products ( I ran out of black paper so some students did it on white):

Second Grade Value Night Scene

   In Second Grade, we finished discussing two things that can be seen in many artworks, value and silhouettes.  We learned about silhouettes, shadows of objects without any inside details, and took time to draw four of our own silhouettes for practice.  We also watched this video where a dance group uses their shadows to create different figures.









   Students were then introduced to the concept of value and how artists make value scales.  We used both charcoal and pencil to create a value scale (one for charcoal, one pencil).  Students then applied their knowledge of value to create a night sky, looking something like these:

We created our different value areas by drawing concentric circles, allowing for them a space to put their round value scale.

After our background was done, we learned about how we can use silhouettes to draw a tree.  A tree silhouette was drawn on top of the value sky.

   Here are some final results:

Kindergarten Value Flowers

In Kindergarten, we looked at the artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe and saw how she used her colors and value to create beautiful flowers.  We then created our own colorful flowers using chalk to get our values.  The kindergarteners had a great time making their flowers and seeing how vibrant the colors were against the black paper.

This was a really fun project for the kids, a little messy but they did great!

Kindergarten Cubist Heart

     In Kindergarten, we looked at the artwork of Pablo Picasso the famous cubist artist.  We discussed how in his artwork, the viewer can see many different shapes.  We also discussed value and how artists use it within their artwork to create light and shadow.  Students created a drawing of a heart and then divided it up to create a cubist heart, so their goal was to have many shapes inside but not too small.

     Inside of the shapes, the students used crayons of any color to create value.  The goal for the value was to go from dark to light.  They really enjoyed seeing that they could create a darker value with the crayon as well as a lighter value.  The end result looks great!

Fifth Grade Sports Sphere

In Fifth Grade, we finished taking the idea of value to the next level.  With our Cubist drawings, we began investigating the idea of a Value Scale and how artists use it to create light and dark areas within their artwork.  Within the Sports Sphere project, students were given the opportunity to create values in paint using Tints and Shades as well as using their values to create the illusion of a three dimensional object.

We first practiced combining the idea of a value scale to a sphere using charcoal.  The students enjoyed getting to use this tool, not only do you get pretty messy with charcoal the tool allows for an easier creation of values.  They enjoyed both of these things.

On the second day, we talked about Tints (adding white to make a color lighter) and Shades (adding black to make a color darker) and how they relate to the value scales.  We then created both a value scale and a sphere with values with paint.  The students did a great job with this step of the process!

For the final step of the project, the students selected a sports ball to create.  They placed their circle onto their final paper and created a design in the background.  Some chose to make an illustration and others created pretty amazing geometric designs.  The students then selected a color to paint their sphere with using Tints and Shades, I allowed them the opportunity to chose a color that might be different than what the ball is in real life.  We then used oil pastels to add the threads or patches onto the sports ball and then used colored pencils or crayons to fill in the background. 

Second Grade Value Moon

Second Graders are working on discussing value scales and silhouettes.  We watched a pretty cool YouTube video that showed a dance group who projected their silhouettes onto a screen.  The kids really enjoyed watching it.

They had the opportunity to work in charcoal on this project, which they loved.  We practiced by creating value scales, a range of shading that goes from dark to light, and we then created some branch silhouette drawings.

Fifth Grade Cubist Instruments

Fifth grade finished their project discussing value scales and Cubism and the artist Pablo Picasso.  We first sketched a musical instrument, inspired by many of Picasso's instrument paintings.  The students then created a stencil they would use to help break up their drawing into many different shapes and sizes.

After creating their drawings, students traced their stencil all over their artwork providing the shapes for the values.  Two colors were selected to use for the background and their drawing's subject (the instrument).  

Fourth Grade Op-Art

Fourth graders explored the crazy, mind bending world that is op-art (optical illusions).  We looked at Victor Vasarely , Bridget Riley and a handful of other op-art artists.  We also discussed value within artwork and how it gives the illusion of three-dimensions and space, both of which are important in op-art.  We practiced creating forms and placing value onto them.

The materials we used in this project were colored pencils.  I will definitely do this project again, the results were amazing and the students loved it!