In the Art Room: Winter Collage Landscapes by Kindergarten

Alright, to those of you in the Midwest, this looks awfully familiar, amirite?! I have buddies in Indiana whose children have missed so many days due to snow that they'll be in school until the end of June. THE END OF JUNE, PEOPLE! Meanwhile, in Tennessee, we've not had one single snow day. Like not even a speck o' snow. So it's a good thing my friends in kindergarten-land created these masterpieces as it seems this is the only snow we're gonna get.

Now, lemme give you the run down on my schedule with kindergarten. I see them for 45 minutes at a time every 6 days. And on that day, I have three classes of 'em back-to-back-to-Ima-bout-to-lose-my-mind-back. This project took us three of those art classes. Here's what each of those days looked like in brief:

Day #1: We looked at Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night. We chatted about the time of day he portrayed, what season it might be, how the elements of a landscape are background, middleground and foreground and the back story of the painting. In kinder-friendly terms. Then I asked them what his painting might look like if it were winter? From there, each kiddo was given a 9" X 12" piece of white paper and a paint brush. They were to paint any kind of line near the middle of their paper with turquoise for the background. This was then mixed with white to create a snowy tint. They continued to paint down their paper with a line for middle and foreground. Once those were on the drying rack, we met again on the floor to read a book about van Gogh.

Day #2: I showed up wearing my Starry Night Light Up dress! This got a lot of cheers (and even an applause when I turned the lights on) from my wee friends. This time, we shifted our focus from the elements of a landscape to the sky van Gogh portrayed. We discussed how he loved to use bold lines and shape in his work to convey movement. We talked about how we can create our skies anyway we like...but sometimes it's okay to be inspired by other artists. After all, van Gogh was inspired by Japanese prints! Students were instructed to pick a sky color from an assortment of blues, black and violets. From there, they cut their land from their white paper, glued it to their chosen background paper and created their sky with oil pastels. I encouraged the little artists to practice sketching their moon and stars on the back before tackling the front.

Day #3: On this final day, we covered so freakin' much. Because the students would be using shapes to construct their houses, I did a little pre-assessment at the door. As the students entered, I showed them a colored-in shape. They were to tell me the name of the shape and color. This proved to be a wake-up call to me. Some of them didn't know their simple shapes! Review to do!

Once we were seated on the floor, we did a vocabulary review with a technique I learned a long time ago from my amazing Aunt Kimmy. She's a teacher and when I was a kid, she taught us something called the Number Game (was that what it was called, Kimmy?). I changed it up a bit...and I call it The Clap and Slap. For this, we review vocabulary, read vocabulary and count the syllables in our vocabulary words. It goes like this:

Sitting criss-cross (applesauce, because, after all, this is kindergarten), gently tap your legs twice, clap your hands twice and alternate snapping your fingers. Those alternating snaps will be used to count the syllables in the vocabulary words. For example, we slapped, clapped and snapped out the syllables of: land(snap)-scape(snap), back(snap)-ground(snap), middle(snap)-ground(snap), fore(snap)-ground(snap). After each clap/slap/snap, the children were to hold up the number of syllables we just counted with their fingers. We did this with all our vocabulary: Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, collage, scissors, paper, glue, square, rectangle, triangle.

With the review behind us, I introduced the kids to bit of math with their house collages. On their tables were tin trays filled with leftover painted paper scraps (ooooh, pretty! Thanks for the idea, Painted Paper!) I had cut the papers into three different sized squares: 3" X 3", 2" X 2" and 1" X 1". I held up a square and we chatted about how many sides it had, how many angles, etc...and then I asked, how could I turn this into a house? The first response was that it needed a roof. I had them tell me all the ways I could create a roof and then I presented them with this: I want to make a triangle roof but I only want to cut my square one time. Who can I do that?

One genius always guesses: by cutting it from one corner to the other! And, viola! I have a square cut in half! And a roof for me and a friend.

We did the same routine when cutting out a rectangle for our door. Some kids decided to use the other half of the rectangle for a chimney. Then I touched for just a moment on little details like door knobs or window panes...or anything else they came up with. 

Once the details of house making were discussed, we talked a bit about the placement of our houses. What sizes will the ones in the foreground be? How would that compare to the houses in the middle and back ground? The kids quickly picked up on the idea of creating houses in varying sizes. I asked them to create at least three houses in any size they liked.

"All of my houses are teeny tiny because they are in the far away background!" Making houses THAT small takes skill, people! I love this mini-villlage in the distance!

A whole lotta foreground houses.

When I asked this artist why there was a tiny house in the foreground, she said, "That's not a tiny house, that's the DOG'S house!"  Silly me.

I love everything about this whimsical piece, especially that hill and the big starry sky.

AND NOW FOR ONE LAST ANNOYING ATTEMPT AT SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: I'm so thrilled to be nominated for Art Ed Blog of the Year...and I'd be super honored to have your vote. But you don't have to JUST vote for me, you can vote for multiple art blogs. If you've not checked out the line-up, there are some incredible blogs on the list! If you'd consider a vote for mine, I'd be just so super happy. 

VOTING ENDS TONIGHT, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH AT MIDNIGHT, EEEHH! 

 Visit here to check out those blogs and cast your vote.

Thanks, kids! Chat with you soon!

DIY: Broken Bowl Wall Pocket

You know, every now and then I make a super feeble attempt to shake my hoarder-habit ways. I start going through stuff, making piles upon piles of junk to either recycle, donate or "gift" to some unfortunate soul. In the middle of one said attempt some weeks ago, I went downstairs to grab a drink (of water, people. Although liquor definitely woulda been prefered) when hubs presented me with a broken bowl and a half broken cup.

Hubs: Here. I thought you might want these.

Me: Um. They're broken. Trash 'em.

Hubs: But you could make something out of them. They are broken clean in half. 

(me, taking dishes and walking over to the trash can.)

Hubs: I know you aren't going to throw those away. 

Me (with dishes poised above trash can): I KNOW! I can't seem to let them go (frantically shaking hands holding dishes over can). Argh! I can't throw away anything. What am I going to do with these?

Hubs: Eh, just glue them to a board or something and hang it up.

And, weeks later,  that's exactly what I did.

I found these wooden boards in my spare-bedroom/craft-storage/extra-clothing-space/ hoarder room. What, one of these rooms didn't come with your house? I originally picked 'em up at Hobby Lobby but I've since forgotten what I intended to do with 'em. Turns out, they were just waiting to become wall pockets.

(Big Hairy) BUT...before we get to all that, let's chat about these papers I used to cover my wall pocket boards. Without sounding too much like a bragasaurus, aren't they just the purtiest thing ev-er? Gee, thanks, I made them. I learned a technique where you can make oodles of collage paper with a super cheap supply: Deli Paper.

Back in November, I attended my state's art educator's conference. I took a two day collage workshop with just the coolest lady*. She showed us how to make that mountain of paper and use it for collage projects. However, I got so involved in the painted/printed paper process that I never did use mine to collage which left them available for this here wall pocket project. 

So just how did we create these amazing papers? I'll tell ya. We began with the supplies you see above. The white container is gesso. We mixed dullish/neutral colors with a touch of gesso. This allowed the paint to better adhere to the deli wax paper (which you can find at those Mega-Giant-Buy-the-World's-Largest-Jar-of-Peanut-Butter Stores that you have to be a member of. Which I'm not. I mean, why do I need a jar of peanut butter that big?! Oh yeah. Because peanut butter is the butter of the gods. Delish. Off to make a pb'n'j. Back in a minute).

Okay, I'm back. A dull color was used in the background so that you could build up layers of color and patterns with brighter and lighter colors.

The instructor used a foam roller to quickly cover sheet after sheet of the papers.

The paper had this cool iridescent look to it.

Once those papers were painted, we immediately started playing with the instructor's huge assortment of carved stamps. The deli papers dried so fast that you could print and over print right away.

Or stencil! The entire process was so relaxing and fun. Because we created tons of papers, you never worried about messing any of them up. It was all about experimenting which I loved. I'm looking forward to giving this a go in my art room.

After laying out my mountain of papers, I chose three that I thought would work for my wall pockets. I painted the edge of the boards to match a color on the paper, flipped the board over, traced and cut it out.

I then slathered Mod Podge all over the back of the paper, placed it on the board, smoothed out all the tiny air bubbles and then gave the paper a top coat of  the Podge.

Then I proceeded to adhere the cup and bowls to the wooden base with E600, aka The World's Smelliest Glue. Seriously, ya'll. That stuff smells like someone downed a Rubber Cement/Spray Paint cocktail and then farted up a storm. I huffed it for an hour. I should know (jk, I totally don't condone the act of huffing. Especially this stuff.)

And, done!

Yay-ness!

The prettiest, albeit the stinkiest, wall pockets ev-errr, ya'll.

 And now...where do I hang 'em?! I'm dying to put them in the kitchen...but I can't seem to justify hanging them there. Which I kinda have to do in my house because there's this dude who lives here that is constantly wincing when I hang stuff up. He's got Cracker-Barrel-Phobia. He just knows that I'm only a random-rake-hanging-on-the-wall breath away from over-decorating the crap outta our house. So...kitchen? Bathroom for holding the necklaces I currently have strewn all over the vanity? Use 'em for mini-flower pots and hang 'em anywhere?

By the way, they are currently in the garage as that aforementioned Rubber Cement/Spray Paint Fart Smell has yet to go away. I'll keep ya posted on where they land up. Until then, whatcha suggest?

ALSO! If you enjoyed reading this ridiculous post (and honestly, how could you not?) please consider voting for this here blog for Art Ed Blog of the Year. Go here, por favor, and cast your vote!

* Sorry, her name escapes me and the link I had to the conference is now broken. Does anyone who attended happen to know the instructor's name? I'd love to give her credit.

In the Art Room: The Magritte Project, Three

Whatcha got here is the finale to the Mega-Magritte Project. This was seriously like the project that kept on giving. Aaaaaaand giving. Which I loved because I could tie in so much. But I do believe the 3rd grade and I are ready to move on.

Now if you are new to this blog, welcome! I've noticed a wee spike in my views thanks to The Art of Education's nomination of this here blog for Art Ed Blog of the Year (What?! I know, right? I'm just as surprised as you). If you've not checked out the blogs nominated, you should. So many of those art teachers work tirelessly on their blog. You can vote for multiple blogs so, if you feel so inclined, I'd love your vote! Okay...shameless self-promotion over.

Aaaaand, what was I saying?

Ah, yeah, if you're new, welcome, pull up a chair, introduce yourself, grab a snack, sit back and relax. But, please, try not to fall asleep. The snoring becomes a little off-putting and makes it hard for the rest of the readers to doze off.

Okay. Seriously? HOW DID I GET OFF TOPIC AGAIN?!

Magritte! I began by introducing the dude with a coupla books, visuals and, of course, a costume...

Which was probably one of the worst artist costumes to date because I couldn't see anything; my annoying loud voice echoed off the back of the apple and hurt my ears; and, to top it all off, all I could smell was my own breath. Which smelled like coffee and the Altoids I consume to mask the smell. That I now know doesn't work.

We chatted a lot about this particular piece and just exactly what the meaning of Surrealism is. We decided that it was something that looked real but couldn't possibly be real. The book Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland had loads of examples of that.

I decided that the 3rd grade was going to create a Mega-Magritte Mural. You can see the full lesson and finished product here. To break it down for you, the kids painted a 12" X 18" piece of paper with a tint and shade of blue. Then they used oil pastels to add stars and clouds. On the backs of their paper, they were to trace two birds, one Day and one Night. Again, head here for clear details (I'm too tired to retype it all!).

For the mural, the kids were to donate one of their birds. Their spare bird was then used in a 9" X 12" tissue paper landscape collage. That lesson can be seen here.

We chatted bunches about analogous colors for the sky and how to decide upon a color palette that would best contrast their bird.

And then we were left with these amazing negative shaped papers after we cut our birds out. I couldn't bear just recycling them. So I turned it into a literary lesson which lead to the creation of something called The Compliment Game! Here's how it worked:

• Each student was given a 6" X 10" piece of Rolyco's Color Diffusing paper. It has the look and feel (and does the exact same thing) as a coffee filter. The kids were to write their name and teacher code on the back. 
• We chatted about what a compliment was. We also discussed character words. And similes. Then the kids were given one minute to fill their page with words that best described the person that they are. For this, they used warm colored water-based markers.
• When the minute was up, they were to trade papers with their neighbors. Again, the timer was set and they were to write complimentary words that described their friend.
• Once the timer went off, the kids swapped papers with the person across from them. They had to read the back of the paper to know who they were writing about.
• Timer off. Swap with neighbor. One more round.
• After the fourth and final round, the kids were given back their papers. And you should have seen them. They loved reading what their friends had written about them! It was so sweet. 
• Then they were to chose the words that they felt best described them and make them permanent. For this, they traced the words in sharpie, still using the warm colors.
• Lastly, the papers were placed on a styrofoam plate and painted with water. Below is the result.

Now, for the cool color paper, I tried a couple different things. We didn't play the game this time. Instead one class (the one you are seeing) wrote words that told the person they would like to become. What they dreamed they could be. Which was pretty cerebral for 'em. 

For another class, we wrote words that described what we are like on the outside since that was the opposite of the words that described our character. This seemed much easier for them. If they ran out of words, they could ask a friend. Although, you gotta be sure an emphasis compliment again as I do believe I read "stinky feet" on someone's paper. Thankfully, Senor Stinky Feet has a good sense of humor. The last paper was also traced in sharpie and painted.

For our final step, we added our wordy papers to our negative shaped birds. And, viola! We can finally close our Magritte-y Chapter. 

Until next time, kids, don't forget to go here and check out these amazing blogs and vote!

Artsy Book Club and ... an Announcement!

Okay, before you get all confused into thinking that this here crazy blog got voted for Art Ed Blog of the Year in 2013, relax, it didn't. However, it did get NOMINATED for Art Ed Blog of the Year for 2014! I'm thrilled and honored to be among some of my favorite art ed bloggers. Click here to check out the other nominees and cast your vote for Art Ed Blog of the Year...which, if it happens to be mine, I thank you!

I'm also excited by the number of you who have not only have joined the Artsy Book Club but already begun drawing and posting your work! To inspire the rest of you, I thought I'd give you a peak at the work that was posted today. Remember, anyone can join this book club (even if you are One Drawing a Day book-less, I'll update the page with the daily drawing tasks) and anyone can share their work there. To view drawings posted, simply click on "Recent Posts by Others" on the right hand side of the page.

So, without further ado, check out these wonderful drawings of Day #1's assignment: A Still Life with a Fine Tipped Pen...

Jill created her still life on brown craft paper with a white pen. As soon as I saw it, I was like, WHAT?! Isn't it stunning? I love the contrast of the two mediums not to mention her lovely line. It looks like a reverse etch-a-sketch to me.

Alright, ya'll know Phyl over at There's a Dragon in my Art Room, right? If you do, then you know this still life is, like, SO Phyl. She's fun, funny and quirky, just like this drawing. If you are not familiar with her blog and you are an art teacher, do yourself a favor and check it out. She's Art Ed Blog of the Year material any day in my book.

I love this drawing by Abby. She's a fellow art teacher who proves, with this drawing, that you don't need a glorious still life or a huge block of time to just draw something. ANYTHING. Even if it's your keys. I love what she wrote about her drawing:
This is my first assignment. It is a symbol of how busy my life is these days. Sometimes I feel like I live in my car. Ok not literally but I am in my car more that I would like to be, especially sitting in traffic.

These lovely drawings were created by Marcia who is ALSO nominated for Art Ed Blog of the Year! Congrats, Marcia! Her blog is Art is Basic and, well, it's basically amazing. You've gotta check it out and add her to your voting ballot (just read you can vote for more than one of your favorite blogs, how fun!).

Art teacher Rina created this sweet drawing. I love this still life of that delicate tea pot, box of teas and cup. I want to see this painted and framed in my kitchen, I love it so!

Kerry shared this drawing and I love it for it's snapshot-of-my-life-ish-ness. It looks like a healthy snack break with mystery miniature pigs. Kerry, I think I need details!

So I may or may not have lurked Roo's FB page to find out what an incredible artist she is! I love this sketchy style of hers. This is her nightstand which she says she needs to clean...I say, LOOK AT THAT AMAZING STILL LIFE! Cleaning is always at the bottom of my list.

Okay, can you guess what this is? I thought oranges in an egg carton but Janet, the artist, wrote: Here's my drawing for day 1. The author suggested drawing something that had meaning to you, so I drew the eggs that are down on my worktable. I have started doing my yearly pysanky egg work, and these are empty eggs waiting to have something done to them.

Ya'll, Maria is my art teacher buddy whom I've become fast friends with even though we've never met. She's from Ecuador and she's so fun! I mean, just look at her still life set up! She also created the awesomely surreal drawing below.

I was so inspired by these...and so unmotivated to tackle my latest sewing project, that I drew this view of my sewing machine and spools of thread.

Always one step ahead, Phyl has already begun Day #2's drawing assignment: using a calligraphy pen (don't have one? just use whatever, ya'll!) and draw some organic still life. Think flowers, plants, you name it. And don't forget to have fun!

I don't know that I'll always be able to share these drawings...but I was too thrilled not to do so today. Hope you'll join us on our drawing journey!