Mixed Media Portraits

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I've been out of commission for a while (stress will do that to a person!) but credit my Partner in Crime (aka. the Artologist) for giving me the push I needed to get back here to post.

Today I stopped by our District office to see the current art displays, get ideas for new projects & take photos so I could share with you. I plan on posting student artwork pix by our amazing teachers the 4th Tuesday of every month - the displays are changed monthly - so be sure & stop back to see the latest! This month, I'll concentrate on the 2D display exhibited in our Personnel office but if you'd like to see the current featured 3D exhibit, check out my P.I.C.'s (Partner in Crime) blog post here - she will be covering the current 3D display & posting pix soon!

The two-dimensional work is highlighted on 2 bulletin boards directly facing all visitors to come through the main door of our district office. This way, the student artwork is seen by a large audience which includes both district staff as well as community members. It's great PR for what we do!

Currently on display are mixed-media portraits created by second graders taught by Ms. F at one of our K-5 schools. She was kind enough to explain the process for this post.

Day One: Students create a textured background in a 4-step process. On a sheet of 12"x18" white drawing paper the artists apply a thick layer of white tempera. Next, they press white tissue paper into the paint followed by another layer of paint. Paper is set aside to dry for the next class. The result is a sturdy, interesting surface for the next stage.

Day Two: Pencil is used to draw an abstract portrait outline consisting of hair, head/face and shoulders. Papers from torn pages of text (discontinued library books, old magazines or newspapers) are glued to face area.

Day Three: Colored papers (wrapping paper, magazine pages) are cut and applied with glue to shoulders/chest and hair.

Day Four: Facial features and outline of portrait are drawn in with oil pastel .

Vocab stressed in this lesson: Portrait, Abstract, Texture
Techniques used: Collage, Drawing, Mixed Media
Media used: Pencil, Tempera Paint, Oil Pastel, Glue, Paper

Glad to be back in the saddle again!

2nd graders discover Jasper Johns

My second graders are finishing up their tempera paintings that were inspired by Jasper Johns (and my good buddy Barb!). The lesson began with a short presentation and discussion of Johns paintings that used numbers and letters as symbols.

Our first step was to draw numbers or letters in pencil that had meaning for each student. Tempera was painted over each symbol - each 2nd grade class (I have 4 groups) painted this step with the same color so it would be easy for me to sort later if the work was not labeled correctly by the student.

Each painted symbol was outlined in another color - student's choice!

The background was done by painting a variety of tints...

We were inspired by the words of Johns to "do something, do something to that and then do something to that" so we continued to add details of shape and line to add interest.

I'm so proud of their efforts!

Gotta Love those Kinders

I'm not one to usually use templates but with kinders I sometimes make exceptions. We were doing a 3 day project that included painting, tracing, cutting with a scissors and gadget printing. I decided to create 3 different fish shapes for the students to choose from to trace on the back of their paintings...

As the kids made their choices, I began to have misgivings about creating 'cookie cutter' art - where every project pretty much looks like every other one. Leave it to the kinder kids to put their own distinct style on tracing & cutting when I wasn't looking...

Gotta love 'em...

3 Little Kittens (Painting Practice with Kinders)

Thanks to a colleague, I have an easy lesson for introducing/practicing painting procedures to kinders and first graders. Using white tempera, we paint simple shapes (oval, triangle) along with line (straight, curve) to create 3 cats/kittens.

Begin with a small and large (relatively) ovals.

Next add 2 small triangles and one curve line.

Finish with 2 short, straight lines for legs.

For the second cat, angle the large oval diagonally.

Add the ears & tail.

Then finish with lines for legs.

The third cat starts like the first but add 'standing legs' with angle lines.

The kids had a blast! We took a little time at the end of the lesson to add a second coat of white paint. Each class used a different color of 4 1/2" x 6" dark construction paper to help sort the classwork...

In the next class, we'll read the nursery rhyme "3 Little Kittens" and add details with construction paper crayons. Stay tuned...

Monster Symmetry

My kinder and first graders have been working with color mixing - first with crayon, moving on to watercolor and now we're using tempera to mix primary colors to create our secondary group.

Students folded and labeled their 12 x 18 papers. I put red, yellow and blue tempera on one side.

Fold paper closed and rub, rub, rub those colors together!

I have a drying rack full of amazing work!

Next class we'll have a discussion of symmetry and turn our paintings into monster faces. I can already see the potential here...

Best part was since I did the work in small groups of 5 kids at a time, there was only 1 table to clean!

Some of My Favorite Things

Several artroom blogs have listed their favorite products used this year so I thought I would list some new and some old favorites here...

The only type of tempera paint I use is Crayola Artista II Washable. Mainly because that's what our district stocks in the warehouse but also because I have good results. Creamy consistency, mixes well to achieve secondary and tertiary colors. The paint is purchased in pint sizes. The fluorescent paint is great too!

A few years ago, our district bought another brand of fluorescent paint - Omega - and it's just gathering dust on my shelves. Thin, runny paint. I used to do Amate bark paintings with 5th graders but this paint did not show up on the kraft paper we drew our composition on. Took 3 coats of color applied OVER a dried white tempera base to show the characteristic bright colors. Way too much time involved!

For years now I've used old tennis balls on the base of my stools and tables to cut down on the noise. This year, Staples donated some 'chair slippers' to one of my colleagues so I snapped some up! Supposedly, these are an improvement over tennis balls - we'll see - but I'll gladly take FREE!

My weaving needles worked great for our woven pouches - I even brought out the 5" size for those who were handling the smaller size safely. I keep them in this upside-down box with a hole for each needle so I can keep track of 'em after each class. Only 2 needles 'walked out' of my room this year after 6 weeks of classes and no injuries were reported...

About 4 years ago, a fellow teacher brought me some of these clear plastic trays that were a byproduct of his wife's job as a home health care nurse.

He asked if I could use them - Could I USE them? How did I ever get along without them? I use them to sort supplies (markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, etc.) into 8 sets ready to pull out of the cabinet and give to table groups. I also use them to setup any wet media prior to class - paint, clay, printmaking, etc.

I bought a set of these step stools from IKEA when I moved to my current school 8 years ago and IKEA opened a store here. They were only a few dollars each, very sturdy AND washable. My kinders can easily move & use them at the sinks to reach the faucets, soap and paper towels.

My favorite brushes are these from Royal Brush - Big Kids version with 3 sizes of rounds (green handles) and three sizes of flats (red handles). I've used these for 3+ years and they are holding up exceptionally well. It was an expensive purchase (I ordered 3 sets at approx $75 each) at the time but I was so frustrated with the Prang watercolor brushes stocked by our district - they were so floppy - barely ok w/watercolor but didn't hold up well with tempera. I have certainly gotten my money's worth!

I plan on ordering more this summer - just a dozen of each kind to replace the few that have gone to paint brush heaven...

And last but not least - book rings. As we all know, the key to a great art teacher is great organization. There is no commercially produced 'lesson plan' or 'seating chart' or 'class record' book that suits our crazy, creative ways. So like most of you (I suspect), I create my own every year to keep track of the 700 or so students that trek in and out of my room.

Book rings are sturdy enough to hold up to the daily necessities of recordkeeping and referring to standards/pacing guides that help keep the wheels turning. Next year, I'll upgrade to COLORED book rings I snagged a few months ago - that ought to jazz things up a bit!

What are some of your favorite things?

Blue Dog Progress

Second graders have begun adding clothing and objects to their tempera 'Blue Dog' paintings inspired by the art of George Rodrigue...