Leaf Magnification

Here is a very simple autumn art activity focusing on magnification and line.  After viewing a variety of leaves with magnifying glasses we created these close-up interpretations. 

Students drew a line down the middle of their page with an oil pastel.  They were then instructed to draw 3 or 4 more lines extending from the center line to the edges of their paper.  Then they coloured over their lines with their pastel to create a thick layer on their drawing.  They had the option to add other thinner lines/veins.  We finished by painting them with block tempera paints in fall leaf colours.

I LOVE the way they turned out!

 

Rock Painting

I have been wanting to try my hand at rock painting for some time.  On a recent hike my kids and I grabbed a few rocks from the trail and gave it a go.

 

 It was definitely a lot harder than I expected.  It takes a steady hand and lots of time to let colours dry as you layer them.

My favorite by far was the penguin that I painted.

We all tried our hand at painting an owl.

The bodies were painted with acrylic paints and details were added with Sharpie markers.

 

 

 

My daughter also made a lady bug.

Clay Daffodils

They are finally done!  Here are our of finished daffodils!!!

Bird's eye view:

With a candle for our Mother's Day gift:

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Mixed Media Flowers

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited into my daughters Grade 4/5 class to do an art lesson.  I always look forward to the opportunity to work with intermediate students.  The toughest thing for me is deciding on a project that I can do in one hour or in one afternoon.  Here is what I came up with.

 

  

  In one afternoon we touched upon many concepts including colour choice, blending colours, proportion, overlapping and line.  The flowers were drawn and coloured with chalk pastel and outlined in oil pastel.  The backgrounds were painted with watercolor.

And now we wait...

I am so disappointed!  

We made these wonderful clay daffodils with another class for spring.  They were supposed to go into our school display case for April and then we were going to wrap them with a tea light candle inside for a Mother's Day gift.  

 

However, something is terribly wrong with our school's kiln.  During the first firing the kiln made so much noise that the Grade 7 class, where the kiln is located, had to relocate to another room!!!

So now we have to wait for our next in-school professional day to do the second firing, so as not to disturb the class again.  Luckily it is at the end of this month.  So, although they won't get the chance to be displayed, they'll at least be ready to go for Mother's Day.

Here is a bird's eye view:

 

Can you figure out what we used to help shape them?  We used a snowflake cookie cutter for the bottom and a small pinch pot for the top.

They are glazed and ready to go. Stay tuned for the finished product!

Easter Bunny

Here is a cute and simple little art activity my Grade 1/2 class did for Easter.  

We did a directed drawing of these whimsical bunny rabbits on paper trimmed to 7 X 12.  Then we used oil pastels for colour and outlining.  The final step was to paint around the rabbits with water color paints.

Here is the step by step, similar to my Reindeer Portraits step by step:

 Students put their non-drawing hand at the bottom of the paper and draw around their hand (not tracing their hand) to make the head shape.  They put a dot in each of the top corners.  This will help them make their ears nice and long.





 

 Using the dots as guides, student connect the dot to the top of the head making the ears. Next they draw a dot in the center of the face.

From that dot they will make 2 circular shapes beneath it.  Encourage big shapes.  They do not need to be even or symmetrical.

The final step is to add a little bump for the nose, 2 teeth, whiskers that extend outside of the head and the inner ears.









Here are a few more examples from my students:

Penguins

    

This is a new version of a project I have done before.  Previously I did the entire project with modelling clay, including the background.  This project was done with Crayola Model Magic and water color.

We first made our penguins with the Model Magic and left them to dry.    We started by making a flat oval with black and adding white ovals and circles for the tummy and eyes.  Orange was used for the beak and feet.  I have to say I am now a fan of this product!  It is soft and light and easy to work with.  The pieces stick really easily.  When dry, the piece is very light.  These could have easily been made into magnets!

We then created the background on 4 X 6 inch paper using white oil pastel for the snow/ice and watercolor paint for the sky.  We also sprinkled a bit of salt on the wet paint for a frosty effect.  Finally, we glued the dried penguins to their backgrounds.