Petals and Picasso

This drawing of a hand holding flowers is based on a similar work
done by Picasso in his later years. The goal of this lesson is to
introduce spatial awareness to young artists. Students observe that
the part of the flower stem that is held can not be seen because the
hand is not flat, but folded around the stems. Instead of tracing a
flat hand, students trace their hand with the fingers folded and
then draw in the fingers to indicate how some of the hand is behind
the flower and the fingers are in front.

The best part of this lesson based on the paintings of Monet, is that every child can work independently and achieve success in reaching the goals related to working with line, color, space, and symmetry. Using oil pastels, students explore line in creating trunks, branches and twigs of trees. The reflection of the trees in the water is done by folding the paper and burnishing the tree design with a wide popsicle stick. Finally the color of the ground, sky, and water are done with washes of watercolors. This lesson can be coordinated with science units of the seasons.

There's a Monster in My Closet

This project is a wonderful way to relate literature and sculptural art to young artists. It came to me as I was pouring the last of my cereal into a bowl one morning! Dark places can be pretty mysterious and children get to express their creativity as they build their own monsters using a variety of textural, three-dimensional objects. Classroom teachers can have children write or tell their own stories based on their creations.

Denton Artists Inspired by Love of Books

Second grade artists observed and discussed artwork by Red Grooms. Over several art classes the children applied what they learned by creating3-dimensional self-portraits showing themselves reading a variety of wonderful books. Red Grooms coined a technique called sculpto-pictorama, a synthesis of painting, sculpture, and panoramas constructed to resemble movie sets. To work in a style similar to Red Grooms, second graders experimented with using paper in new ways to create three-dimensional forms. Using mirrors, paper, scissors, and glue, the children became aware of spatial relationships created by the shape and placement of their facial features on their heads. In 1978, the Hudson River Museum commissioned Red Grooms to create a 200 square foot sculpto-pictorama. This work was called the Book Store and was inspired by the artist’s special love of libraries and bookstores. At the Denton Avenue library, the children found many beautifully illustrated books and featured them in
their self-portraits to visually celebrate the value of books and reading
in their own lives. Ms. Friedlander and all of our second grade artists thank Mrs. Allen for her collaboration in helping to find so many great book jackets to incorporate into our artwork.

Before drawing a still life with fruit, 2nd grade artists were asked what color they would choose to render an apple, pear, or orange. Generally, they noted one color for each fruit. They were then given the opportunity to look at these fruits and were able to observe a variety of colors rather than just one. The children looked at Cezanne paintings of fruit and discussed the bold shapes and colors he used in his still life paintings. The children then chose one fruit and used oil pastels to created bright and bold drawings. The background and foreground were done with crayon rubbings and finally shadows were added to emphasize form and space. Every child who has done this lesson has been proud of his or her efforts. This is an excellent project to start out a new school year.

Third grade artists were involved in learning about and making Op Art. Op art uses line and shape to create designs that fool the eye. After looking at Op Art paintings by Vasarely, students used cut paper lines and complementary color combinations to create their own amazing Op Art!

Surrealism meets technology! In this lesson, 3rd grade students enlarged the shapes of art studio bottles and containers to create a cityscape. They decided how to pose and then their pictures were digitally printed so they could add themselves into their multimedia creations. The first time I tried this lesson, the digital component was not included. The children responded with so much enthusiasm and took great ownership of their work when they could literally put themselves into their work!