Kindergarten Mondrian Collages

Kindergarteners have been focusing on famous artists, and during this lesson we learned about Piet Mondrian. The class learned about vertical and horizontal lines, as well as primary colors. We watched this great video about color, and will watch it again when we learn about the secondary colors!

We made our project by using black paper to create our horizontal and vertical lines, and then coloring in the shapes using the primary colors.

Here is a look at our Mondrian inspired project:

3rd Grade Paul Klee Paintings

During this project 3rd Graders took an in-depth look at the artist Paul Klee. He is one of my personal favorite artists to introduce because of his interest in color!

Our favorite Paul Klee painting in class turned out to be "Sinbad the Sailor".

Paul Klee "Sinbad the Sailor"

Some of the things 3rd graders noticed about Paul Klee and his paintings were that he used a lot of color, lines, and that some of his paintings told a story. After looking at a few more Paul Klee paintings it was time for the 3rd graders to create their own.

Here is how we made our paintings:

• We started by folding a blank sheet of paper to create a grid
• Next, we painted each individual square in our grid using a different color. I emphasized warm and cool colors, and color mixing.
• To finish of the picture we used lines to illustrate a story or scene just like Paul Klee. 

Here are some of our finished examples! Can you tell which paintings were influenced by "Sinbad the Sailor"?

I love this snowy scene!

Look at that creative use of line in the sky!

2nd Grade Symmetry Bug Jars

2nd Graders had a lot of fun with this project! I got the idea from Artsonia.com, and it has been a favorite ever since. At the beginning of class we identified symmetry and played a "symmetry game". We discussed where symmetry can be found in the world around us, and some of the things we came up with were math, design, nature, and people! Next, I introduced the bug jars! Our goal was to create an environment in the jar and fill it with symmetrical or asymmetrical bugs.

I am so impressed with the ideas the 2nd grade came up with for their bug jars. Some of my favorites included symmetrical spider webs, asymmetrical worms, and beautifully decorated butterflies.

Kindergarten Van Gogh Inspired Shape Sunflowers

Kindergarten's first project of the year was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting!

At the beginning of class we zoomed in to the painting to try and see Van Gogh's thick brushstrokes, details, and shapes. Next, kindergarteners created their own version of "Sunflowers" incorporating some different shapes. 

Can you find the hidden shapes in our Sunflower paintings?

Starry Night City Scratchboards (1st Grade)

            1st grade started of the school year learning about one of my favorite artists: Vincent Van Gogh! As a class we played a fun "I Spy" game with Vincent Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night". First graders had fun taking turns identifying the different images that Van Gogh painted: "I spy a house! I spy a tree! I spy a church!" During out game we started to notice other things about "Starry Night" such as the color, movement, and setting of the painting.

Students came to the conclusion that Vincent Van Gogh painted scenes that he might have seen. We talked about how he might have painted "Starry Night" from a scene he saw right outside his window! This inspiration was then used to create our very own "Starry Night" scratchboard made of the things we saw every day in our own city.

To Make the Scratchboards:

• Color an entire sheet of of paper with crayons (leave no white space). Since this project can take a little bit of time the paper we used was 7x10". Students could color any design keeping in mind the color and movement that we saw in "Starry Night"
• Mix black tempera paint with a tiny bit of dish soap and cover the entire paper. Painting in one direction worked the best! 
• Scratch out the design using anything with a sharp point. (We used pencils for most of the project.)

Here are some of the results!

I love all of the movement in the sky just like "Starry Night"

These are some very tall skyscrapers! 

Kandinsky School Mural

My first project of the year was done with help from all of the students at Madison School! On the first day of class students were given a blank 4x4" square to decorate. My only guidelines for the project were that each student had to include: their name, hobbies or interests, and shapes. I mentioned that we were going to collaborate with other classes to create an "all-school painting". Every class was excited to see how the painting would be put together to create their own giant mural! We briefly discussed unity, and how we wanted the result to look good, while still allowing for individual creativity. In order to solve this problem students used shapes just like Wassily Kandinsky did in his painting"Concentric Circles".

Kandinsky "Concentric Circles"

 Students then incorporated their interests by either writing or drawing them in their shapes!

In my example I chose to stay with circles. I made sure to emphasize that their are no mistakes in art. Even Kandinsky didn't make perfect circles in his painting!

After drawing out their designs students learned about the "resist" painting technique and colored in their squares by using crayons and watercolor paint.

The best part of the project, other than getting to know all of my new students, was to see everyone's reaction after our mural was officially installed!

Here is a look at our finished project: