A couple of weeks ago, I shared with y'all a video I created for my third graders. The video (seen below) introduced my kids to the colorful work of Sandra Silbertzweig and allowed them to explore creating a colorful and abstract self portrait. This lesson is currently one of my faves! Check out how stunning these beauties turned out. All of my students are currently creating a wide variety of self portraits for our Artome fundraiser...and I daresay, these just might be my faves.
For this project, we used:
* 9" X 12" black or dark blue construction paper. I would have loved to make these bigger but that is the size of the Artome frames.
* Black glue or black puffy paint. There are a couple of ways to create black glue. My friend Ginger creates black glue with a mixture of Elmer's All Purpose glue and India Ink. I created mine with a one part mixture of paint to two parts glue. The key is to use Elmer's All Purpose, not the school grade stuff as it's runny. Also, I had some students use black puffy paint which worked great. Another alternative is to use glue on black paper as it dries clear and will leave behind a kind of transparent line that the dark paper can show through.
* Chalk. I'm a big fan of Koss Brand chalk which can be found on Amazon. It's pricey but GREAT.
This project took us two plus art classes to complete. On the first day, we watched the video, learned about Sandra and did a little guided drawing. If you watch the video, you'll see I left the drawing portion open to many levels of drawing alternatives. Once the drawing was complete, the kids traced their lines in glue. From there, if time allowed, we watched a bit more of the video as a kind of sneak peak to the following week.
The real fun came with the chalk. In the video, I really stress how to use the chalk properly...and we do a whole lot of chatting about analogous colors. I really felt like this lesson was a wonderful exploration of color theory.
Here is how each table of four children was set up: a laminated colorwheel that I found online and two bowls of chalk, one warm, the other cold. Students were to use the colorwheel as I did in the video. Many of them took the time to pair up and lay all of their chalk out on the wheel. This way, they could easily see what colors were available to use. I love that they were so into picking the correct colors for this project.
After the second day, several kids were not finished. This was fine with me...I mean, look at those results! The following art class, as they wrapped up their drawing, we chatted about how their artwork was going to be hung like work in a museum. I had them get a notecard and create a label for their work. On their label, they were to write: Artists Name Title Medium Process or Description The information from this card will be used as both an assessment and also info for their Artome paperwork.
Once all pieces were complete, I blew off the excess dust and sprayed them liberally with Aqua Net. I did that three times to insure the chalk particles were attached. I'm hoping hey remain as vibrant and colorful when they are framed.
Because of our small format, I decided to opt out of having the kids add designs to their work. I had a feeling it might have gotten a little muddy if we did. If the pieces had been of larger format, I think that would have worked well.
I'm so looking forward to this winter art show. All of the kids have been creating beautiful works of art! I'll be sharing the work of my other grades soon.
Batty Monday: Try to ignore the nappy hair and the messy background and focus on that batty dress. Holy guacamole, I love it so. Ipicked it up at Audrey K's while on vacation in Cali. tights: Target; shoes: Softt
Happy-Belated-Wardrobe post, friends! I'm just in and recovering from an art teacher conference held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. What does an "art teacher conference" entail, you ask? Well, lemme tell you, it involves catching up with friends, making new ones and creating lots of stuff. And I'm totally an art conference junkie, so my weekend was just artsy-fartsy perfection. In fact, I got so involved in the fun that I completely forgot to snap a photo of Friday's outfit. Me so sorry! However, I do hope that this little bit of history on one of my favorite portrait artists, Vladimir Tretchikoff, will make up for it. Enjoy and I'll catch up with you later this week.
I have to tell you, Vladimir Tretchikoff's life reads like some sort of long-winded romance/adventure novel. The artist was born on December 13, 1913 (apparently the number 13 played a big part in his life) in Pertropavlovsk, Russia. I had no idea where Pertropavlovsk was but after some googling, I found that it's a peninsula on the far eastern side of Russia. Interestingly, it's the second largest city in the world that is unreachable by road.
Miss Wong. During the Vladimir's childhood, the Russian Revolution broke out causing his parents and eight siblings to move to an area in China that was Russian-ruled. It was there that Vladie discovered his flair for art. His talent eventually led him to Shanghai where he met his wife Natalie and fathered a daughter Mimi.
Day of the Dead Tuesday: On this day, kindergarten and I were talking Roy G. Biv. When we got to the "v", I asked the students if they could tell me the name of the color that looks like purple but starts with a "v". Surprisingly, they got it right! But soon after, one boy said,"My mom says I'm not allowed to watch violet movies. Violet movies are bad for little kids." They are so stinkin' cute. dress:made by me; tights and flowers: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina; sweater: Anthro
Balinese Girl. Eventually, Vladie and his fam moved to Singapore where, in 1941, the Japanese invaded and took his wife and daughter. He was not to see or hear from them for five years. Vladie managed to escape by boat that was torpedoed. He eventually found himself with several others, struggling to stay alive on a small life boat.
Happy Halloween, Wednesday! Full outfit details here.
Chinese Girl. This painting is probably Vladimir Tretchikoff's most famous. But you want to know if he got off of that life boat, doncha? He did, arriving in Java, only to find that the Japanese had already invaded there. He was captured and thrown into solitary confinement for three months. His artistic abilities were actually what set him free. Impressed by his talent, his captors released him.
Art Conference Thursday: I never thought I'd buy polyester but this dress is just so awesomely cut. And I love the over-the-top pattern. What surprised me about polyester was how warm it is! I was perfectly comfy in my flammable frock. dress: vintage, Buffalo Exchange; belt: Anthro; boots: Seychelle's; double layer fishnet and tights: Target
Balinese Dancer. Once freed, Vladimir couldn't work fast enough. It seemed word got out in Java of his amazing portraits and he had clients out the wazoo. One such client, Leonora Moltema, became a muse of Vladimir's. She's the one featured in many of this portraits of Asian women. It was Leonora that took him to a seance that revealed the whereabouts of his wife and daughter.
Lady from Orient. Eventually, Vladimir found international success. His painting, Chinese Girl, has sold almost as many prints as Leonardo's Mona Lisa. Many write off Vladimir's portraits as kitsch but I find them absolutely beautiful. The artist, who lived to the age of 92, said near the end of his life: Express your passion. Do what you love. No matter what. Gotta love that.
