I was scrolling through the interwebs as one is inclined to do and stumbled upon this amazing work of art by Damien Hirst:
I loved it so much I was immediately inspired to create a lesson based on it! So I created a How-to-Draw-a-Skull video for you and your students. I've been seeing so many art teacher do the paint-squeegee method that, when I saw this work of art, I thought it would be the perfect inspiration. So! If you are interested, here's the kid-friendly video I created for you and your students!
I hope you find the video helpful and fun!
I tried several paint pull methods. I used my craft store acrylics and, while they worked fine, I do think the colors could have been more opaque. I did find that folding the paper in half and just adding dollops of paint to the crease worked really well. Not only that but then the paint left on the scrapper can be used on the other side!
The funnier the faces, the better, I think! I do love how the fold breaks up the pattern of paint smear too.
But what I was really interested in was keeping the skull white (or silver in the case of the video) and the background colorful. That was a fun experiment!
I'm all about the Halloween projects lately and I came up with one that I know your students will love! I mean...I loved making it so even if you just need a fun little weekend craft to unwind, you may want to try this one on for size.
You can find the supplies for this right here. But really...it's just foil sheets, plaster wrap and acrylic paint. Sticks, felt and pipe cleaners are things the average art teacher has in surplus so...you can add that to your shopping list if necessary. But if you are anything like me, those types of supplies seem to multiply in your supply closet!
I created a kid-friendly video for you to share with your students if you'd like. You can find it here:
Personally, I know my students would struggle with the face. So! I talk about embracing your mistakes a lot in the video. I also chat about practicing first. I would recommend doing the faces with a paint pen if you have younger students. I know paint pens like Posca markers are expensive...so maybe it's a station students can rotate to when finished.
But who's to say they have to add a face? They could designs like dots with a sponge brush. Or they could collage a face onto the pumpkin. That might be easier for them. OR you could bust out those googly eyes that also multiply in your closet. I mean, really, the possibilites are endless. Just start with a cute pumpkin base!
If you need a little time between pumpkins drying, you might want to check out this post. Students could work on this pumpkin drawing activity in addition!
We were traveling to Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando this weekend (our very favorite thing ever) and I decided to take an airplane craft with me. I love to take little embroidery projects with me because they are lightweight and easy to transport. Earrings are my favorite things to embroider: they are quick and easy to make and super lightweight to wear. I've made several now and I've shared the process on each in this blog post!
It's officially my favorite time of the year: FALL! I love it mostly because I'm super into Halloween and all things spooky. I also love that the days are finally cooler...but I do hate that I have less daylight time. Regardless! Fall's my fave and this here post is full of my fave fall art lessons...
AND, like usual, these lessons are free and if you tap the link, you'll be lead to the lesson post which has all the details and (usually) a video for you to share with your students.
So...here you have it: My Favorite Fall Art Lessons!
Let's kick things off with this Van Gogh-inspired haunted house! My students, especially my older ones, LOVE making spooky drawings. All the details can be found right here.
Who doesn't love MONSTERS for this spooky season?! I've got several in this blog post, starting with this one. I created this as a sub plan and my sub and kids loved it! Full video lesson here.
This lesson was one I came up with years ago that I love doing with my third graders and up! Weaving is always a hit. Here's the video lesson here. AND a book I wrote with all sorts of fibers lessons like this one.
I always do paper weaving with first grade and sometimes second graders at the start of the school year. This one is always a favorite. All the details here!
These leaves are PRINTED...with markers! An easy and fun printmaking activity that you can find out all the details about here. Complete with lesson video.
Sunflowers are perfect this time of year. You can find tons of these flowers at Dollar Tree and they are perfect for making these Andy Warhol-inspired prints.
One of my favorite things for this time of year: BLACK LIGHT. It's spooky and fun and the kids LOVE it! This lesson on monsters where we used neon paint and oil pastels was a hit with my fourth graders. Lesson and video here.
Need a collage and shape lesson? WITH contemporary artists connections? Here you go!
Back in olden times, we didn't have these fancy things called Gelli-Plates. No, y'all, we had to make our own! And I share how in this post but...I wouldn't recommend it. It's not vegan-friendly. It's labor-intensive. And they don't last very long. So...splurge on those gelli-plates cuz you can still do this process!
Recently, I was out poking around at Ross (for those unfamiliar, this is a discount everything store) and I stumbled upon the cutest shower curtain. It had a big and bold print on the fabric (which I love and is super hard to find) and it was Halloweenie! I'm a big fan of Halloween and I've already stitched up two dresses for the season (one I've not even shared here yet!). So I scooped up this shower curtain for a mere $8.99 and gave myself a challenge:
SEW A DRESS IN ONE DAY!
Let's see how it went:
Y'all! I love it!
I was super surprised that the metallic print on the fabric was so resilient. It didn't chip off when I stitched it which was my big fear. The fabric is super light and flowy, making it perfect for a circle skirt. AND I was surprised to find that when I ironed the fabric, it didn't harm the print!
I am wearing a crinoline under the dress to help with the poof. I'm a sucker for a poofy skirt.
I'm returning to Halloween Horror Nights this week...which is in Orlando. Knowing it will be hot, I'm excited that the dress is so lightweight. I can't wait to wear it!
I paired it with this black belt but I'm thinking I may prefer the black bow. What do you think?
I paired it with this necklace I found at TJMaxx (clearly, I'm a shopper) and some fun earrings and hairclips that I've had for years.
So I'm happy to say...I can sew a dress in a day! From a shower curtain of all things!
AND I just remembered...this isn't my first time using a shower curtain for clothing! Check out this number!
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