Thanks to Christmas

I'm sure most of you already know about Artsonia, but if you don't, it's an online gallery that I post my students' artwork on. Students' families and friends can view and comment on their artworks and also purchase items with those artworks printed on them with 15% of the purchase going back to me for supplies(so awesome for me!). Students can also write artist statements about their own pieces, which has been so much fun for me to see what the kiddos have to say about the projects and their work!


This artist statement written by a first grader was posted today and it is too brilliant and hilarious not to share!

"The red hot lava was about to burn the houses down. But thanks to Christmas, it snowed day and night. Then the snow piled up really high and slowly the lava started to harden and finally the lava stopped. I love Christmas time."


What an imagination!!!


This lesson was so much fun! I decided minutes before my class came in, that I was going throw my plans out the window for something completely different! It was a gorgeous snowy day, so I just couldn't resist having the kids draw the snowy scene in the hallway(with lots of windows). We then came back to the artroom and used q-tips to paint the falling snow. It was a lovely way to celebrate such a beautiful day!




Have you ever thrown your plans out the window in place of something spontaneous?

Sunflower Paintings

                                                         

For this lesson, we studied Van Gogh's sunflower paintings and used them as inspiration for a painting using toilet paper rolls for our flowers. 

 

               

We first had a discussion about Vincent Van Gogh's life and art. After comparing Van Gogh's paintings with others painted in the same time period, we talked about why his artwork was not accepted by most people. The kids were shocked that he only sold one painting while he was alive, which led to a great discussion about following what you believe despite what others are saying. 

                                          

During my demonstration, I showed the kids how to draw a vase to make it look like it was sitting on top of a table and open at the lip. I demonstrated drawing the sides of the vase first, then drawing a smile line at the bottom and a smile and a frown at the top(I point out that our vase must be happy since it has more smiles than frowns... SO happy I found a job where my goofy jokes are appreciated!) This technique of starting with the sides of the vase allows the kiddos to create more unique vases, and not copy mine! We then practiced Vincent Van Gogh brushstrokes in the air, so that we would feel those thick brushstrokes that show so much movement. The following week, we used oil pastels to adorn our vases with color and pattern as well as draw the centers of our flowers with connecting stems.

To make the sunflowers, we first painted a toilet paper roll with a few different shades of yellow. Once dry, we cut them in half and cut slits into the top to create petals. We used pencils to roll the petals back.

The kiddos did such an amazing job on these- they're so full of life and individuality! Seeing these everyday in the hallways makes me so happy and inspired!

 

 

 

 

 

A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows

Leaf Man flew into my classroom and into the boundless imaginations of my first graders. While reading the beautiful book, we picked out all of the leaf people and leaf animals that we could find. We talked about what details make it what it is? I ask, how can you tell it's a cow, or a turkey? I am always telling my kids that details are what make an artwork special and tell a story. We talked about if a leaf turkey didn't have a wattle(aka: red thing), would it look like a turkey? If a leaf cow didn't have an udder, would it look like a cow? If a leaf duck didn't have a beak and webbed feet, would it still look like a duck?

Even before the book was finished, lots of the kids were asking, "Will we make a Leaf Man!!!??"... Of course we will!

I wanted to keep my demonstration short and open-ended, because I feel this lesson is all about exploration and play.

I talked to the kids about...

-thinking of what details your leaf person or animal has.

-using the right amount of glue.

-beginning with a large leaf for the body and building off of it.

-cutting pieces of leaves in a contrasting color for details.

The results are amazingly beautiful! I love how each 'leaf person' or 'leaf animal' has it's own unique character!

When the kids finished their projects, I had them think of a story that their 'leaf person' or 'leaf animal' is part of. I prompted them to think about:

What could they be doing?

Where could they be?

What is your leaf person or animal like?

They shared there stories with the other kids at their tables.

I so love this book and accompanied lesson, it encourages the kids to see creative possibilities wherever they are and using the humblest of materials.

Check out the whole leaf gang on Artsonia!

Autumn Leaf Banners

Our first graders poured into the art room wearing their smocks, discovering a piece of large white paper covering their tables. I was almost knocked over with desperate, "What are we making today's!?".

So I had the kids gather round one of the tables and I showed them the 'magic' crayons(crayon cakes I made with autumn colors). As I was talking, I started rubbing the 'magic' crayon on the paper...stopped suddenly and proclaimed, "How did this happen? Look everyone!!!" A few of them noticed and shouted out, "a leaf!"

After I demonstrated the texture rubbing, I used liquid watercolors to paint over the leaves. We talked about how to create contrast by using dark watercolors over the lighter colored leaves and vice versa.

The kiddos were so thrilled as they found different kinds of leaves under the paper. I loved seeing each table working together and sharing in the joy and discovery! And the results were just so amazingly beautiful!

It was hard not to take these amazing banners home with me- they are just so stunning!