6th Grade: Pop Art Portraits

This was my "grand finale" for the 6th graders about to move on to middle school.  I began this one by showing a powerpoint on 3 different portrait artists- Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Chicago artist Ed Paschke.  We looked at their work, and learned about each artist's background info.  I had students compare and contrast each artist and we discussed how each artist might have influenced the other.  I also went into detail about Cubism, Pop Art, and Contemporary Art.  At the end of class I took a picture of each student in a pose of their choosing (I directed them somewhat for interesting angles).  I used the "photo into a sketch" application on http://www.dumpr.net/ and printed out each students' portrait.  The next class, students outlined the most important lines on their portrait with a sharpie, then transferred it onto a blank sheet of paper (9x12) again with a sharpie by tracing their lines against a window.  The last couple days, I had them practice watercolor techniques, practice painting their first print out so they could experiment with color mixing, and then finally they painted their final drawing.  As a capstone, I had students write a 1 page reflection on their experiences in elementary school and what they are looking forward to in the future.  These turned out really neat and they were very proud of their finished pieces!

5th Grade: Georgia O'Keeffe Nature Close-Ups

One of my favorite artists of all time is Georgia O'Keeffe.  My classroom mascot is a beta fish named, Georgia. :)  I have a class of 5th and 6th graders who excel at drawing, so I knew they would be up for this challenge!  First, we learned all about O'Keeffe and looked at many of her pieces.  We also read a couple of books about her (children's biographies).  Next, I had them compile a list of things they thought would be interesting to create a close up of.  We also made zoom finders and looked around the art room after discussing how things become interesting when super cropped.  I tried to find pictures of as many things on their list as I could for their next class.  The next class each student chose one of the pics, folded it to crop which area they wanted to zoom in on, and began a light pencil sketch.  The final two classes, I introduced basic chalk pastel techniques and let them work.  The end results impressed me- they really exceeded my expectations on this one!  I am having students write poems to accompany their artwork as a finishing touch.

3rd Grade: Rockstar Guitars

This project was posted by a few other art bloggers and it was way too cool to pass up!  My 3rd Graders were so excited about creating their guitars (it must be the Guitar Hero trend).  We began by looking at all different types of guitars and learning the different parts of the instrument.  The kids actually knew more about them than I did!  Next, they came up with several sketches for their own guitar (they had very cool names for each one too, which was so great!).  The second day, I showed them how to create a large drawing of their favorite guitar using a ruler, pencil, and black sharpie.  Then they colored them in with oil pastels.  The third day, they I showed them how to create a simple black and white weaving, they cut out their guitars, glued them onto the background, and finally did some neon tempera splatter painting on top. So fun!

5th Grade: Go Green T-Shirt Design

2nd Grade: Giraffes Can't Dance

Several art teachers have posted this project on their blogs, and I just had to try it out with my 2nd Graders.  We began by reading the story, Giraffes Can't Dance.  Then we practiced drawing sketches of giraffes in as many dance poses as we could think of.  The second day we painted our backgrounds.  I had them mix blue and black tempera to get a dark night sky.  They left a circle of white and painted around it.  While the paint was still wet, they began painting a circle with white tempera, making it grow larger and larger until it began to mix with the blue background.  This gives the appearance of a ring around the moon.  Then they glued on a strip of yellow construction paper, painted over it with green tempera and used the back of the paintbrush to scratch grass lines into it.  Finally, they did a little splatter painting with white tempera mixed with water to get some stars.  The last day, students drew their final dancing giraffe on yellow construction paper with pencil first, then colored patterns and outlined with oil pastels.  Check out some of these amazing dance moves!!!