Architectural Printmaking with Chromebooks

What happens when you ask fourth grade students to pick their favorite piece of architecture and research using their new Chromebooks? You end up with an exploration of unusual buildings from around the world!  Students were introduced to unique architectural structures through this video.

  They were given a list of famous buildings in a google document I shared with them and allowed to explore the buildings during art.  At the end of class, they chose their favorite building and sent themselves an image of the building to their email.  Believe me, there were many new technology related steps learned that day!

The next step in this lesson was to draw the building as well as other buildings found in that city.  They needed to know what city their building was from and find a skyline image of the city in order to surround their building with other buildings.  

The skyline did not need to be realistic to the geographic layout of the real city, but it was important to retain cultural integrity to their drawing.  Surrounding the Sydney Opera House with the London skyline just doesn't make sense.
After students completed their final drawings, they traced their picture onto tracing paper, flipped it over and traced it onto styrofoam, and cut out the "sky" or negative space above their buildings.  

3 sunset paintings were measured with a ruler to fit their styrofoam.  We made 3 paintings because printmaking is a fickle process.  The odds of all 3 prints coming out well was dicey!
When the students were ready to print, they make a couple practice prints and examined their styrofoam for any improvements and "carvings" that needed to be done before applying it to their final sunset papers.  When the 3 prints were completed, students named their prints with the title of their buildings and cities, numbered and signed their prints.  This was a multi-week process that incorporated old world art techniques (drawing and printmaking) with 21st century research.  As you can see, the results are fantastic and students were awed by their final products.

Ahhhh!!!!! Monsters!!!

First grade students utilized Chromebook packaging and materials donated by a local Highland Park company to create these adorable monsters!  

Ravinia students used them for their Halloween show and Lincoln students spooked everyone who walked down the halls.  As you can see, each monster has it's own personality.  Cutting, tracing, and problem solving were skills utilized in the construction of this project.

Charlie Harper's Birds

“I just count the wings, not the feathers”

The art created by the minimalist artist, Charley Harper, is appreciated worldwide for it's simplicity and unique style.  Charley Harper had an alternative way of looking at nature.

His serigraphs are large expanses of rich color which give the viewer a very different perspective on the animal kingdom. 

A conservationist as well as an artist, Harper revealed the unique aspects of his wildlife subjects through highly stylized geometric reduction.

Fifth grade students explored the art of Charley Harper and chose one of his many bird works to recreate. They were assigned with identifying and matching color for color the inks used in Harper's works and finding corresponding papers.  

They were challenged with solving the problem of how to layer their papers to create the same image as Harper. It forced them to examine the issue of deconstruction of a work and reconstruction one piece of the image at a time.

They were allowed to take a basic black and white version of Harper's bird and cut out the shapes in order to minimize measuring and shape creation.

When finished with paper layering, they were provided with their original black and white image once again (their first one had been cut to shreds) and challenged to insert the clean black lines found in Harper's works. As you can see, the finished products are beautiful!

Chinese Brush Painting and Papermaking

Chinese Brush Painting : Finding the Chi (pronounced chee)
Third grade students were introduced to the two art forms of Chinese brush painting as well as paper making.  We discussed the concept of "Chi", the energy some Chinese people believe run through all living things.

 
Understanding that we are animals and that animals by nature are perfect in action, this allowed students to free themselves of "good and bad - right and wrong" brush strokes.  They applied this concept to simple brush strokes and are learning how to pair these strokes together to build plants, animals, and insects.

History of Chinese Brush Painting

Chinese Brush Painting : Paper making

Have you ever wondered how "they" make paper?  Third grade students made paper using old writing papers no longer needed by primary students.  It was blended, poured into a screen and deckle, drained, and pressed by hand to absorb the majority of the moisture out of the paper.  It was flattened and left to dry for a week.  Watch this video from Nepal to see a process similar to what we did in art.

Paper making in Nepal

Mass manufactured paper is made very differently!  Here's how they make paper in Wisconsin.

Neenah paper mill

After creating the paper, students watched a portion of the 2008 Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics which featured a segment on calligraphy and the symbol for "Harmony".  I demonstrated how to paint the symbol and after practice, the students painted this symbol on their handmade paper.  They used fabric and other papers to create a background to mount their work and it is currently on display in the hallway by the gym.

Starry Night Pumpkin Patch

Students learned how to create a sense of space through overlapping, how movement or energy could be conveyed with stylized lines, and how 2D shapes could be turned into 3D forms simply by using lines that emphasize that form.  
Pumpkins were drawn with pencil in a style that would portray a three dimensional quality.  They were challenged to paint their pumpkins without using orange by using red and yellow.  After a discussion of Vincent van Gogh’s "Starry Night", students created movement in their skies with oil pastels to replicate the lines found in van Gogh’s famous painting.

Apple and Pumpkin Color Layering

What a delicious time of year! Apples are abundant in the orchards and pumpkins are ripe for harvesting. Students are coming to school sharing stories of their visits to the apple orchards and pumpkin patches.  

I shared the book, Picking Apples and Pumpkins by Amy and Richard Hutchings. The story follows a family as they visit the apple orchard and pumpkin patch and learn about the different apples, ways to pick them, and the delicious treats that can be made.  

In an effort to connect our life experiences to art, we brought the outdoors inside and focussed on "drawing realism". We examined the shapes of a real gala apple and miniature pumpkin and discussed curves and lines in the drawing stage of this lesson.  When we completed our drawings we began coloring with the lightest color and working to the darkest.

Children learned how to include shadows on their apple and pumpkin to add dimension.  Ask your child to name all the colors they used on their apple and pumpkin starting with the lightest!

Mouse Paints

Mouse Paints

What happens when 3 curious white mice find three jars of primary colored paint?  They turn it into Mouse Paint!  When the mice begin to dance, their feet mix the colors until new (secondary) colors are created!

Kindergarten students read the story, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh and then applied their tracing, finger painting, color mixing, cutting, and gluing skills to create vibrant primary and secondary color compositions of mice in puddles.