Abstract Warm-up

   The first day of class with my 6th graders can be a bit overwhelming. I preach rules, procedures, and expectations. They are usually surprised at the new things they will be expected to do in "Middle School" art and can be a little timid. 

   After all the speeches are said and done I like for them to start creating.  I always begin 6th grade with Abstract Art. I try to find an interesting youtube video to show that gets the kids excited. I won't tell them what abstract art is though. I ask them at the end of the video to tell me. 9 times out of 10 they will get it.

   It is now time to create. As wide a topic and endless the ideas for abstract is, I have always found that it is hard for most students to begin an abstract work. So I help them along with this abstract warm-up:

Materials:

Markers, crayons, oil pastels, colored pencils, or paint.

12"x18" paper

Teacher reads the directions as students follow along.

Please be sure to allow at least a minute for each step. 

Abstract Warm-Up:

1. Turn your paper in any direction

2. With your marker make three straight lines anywhere on your paper, but start each line on an edge and end on an edge. Lines may cross if you wish.

3. Make three dots any size, anywhere on your paper. Remember to color your dots in. 

4. Place the tip of your marker on one of the dots. Now make a curved line or a lot of curved lines that go in any direction as long as they go to an edge.

5. With your marker make one circle that touches something else on your paper. 

6. You may add to your design by making more lines and shapes if you wish.

7. Complete your abstract work by adding as many colors as you wish. Remember to leave only one space blank on your design. 

Abstract warm up with steps 1 - 5. I always use oil pastel on black paper. 

Wish I had taken more pictures of this lesson... The students always have great success with this project because they are given a little "push" into the creative process. I find that it builds their confidence. 

If you liked this warm up and would like some more ideas, send me your email. I have 3 more equally as popular with the students and greater in difficulty. 

Special thanks to Pam Hickman who gave me these abstracts when I was student teaching.

Joan Miro Animals

Yet another lesson inspired by Deep Space Sparkle!

This lesson is awesome for 1st and 2nd grades! I believe it really brings them out of their "I can't draw" box and allows them to practice good coloring skills.

Materials: any size paper, black crayons, and colored crayons

Students looked at artist Joan Miro's painting Woman with three hairs surrounded by birds in the night and I asked them to tell me what they saw (Describe). "Shapes, Lines, Colors!" Of course many other funny and excited things were mentioned. 

We also discussed how it may be hard to see exactly what the picture is of. This is called Abstract. Even after hearing the name of the work, students were still baffled. 

The students were so excited when I told them we were going to create some Joan Miro Animals!!

I began by showing them how to draw an animal or two with shapes and lines. After the basic contour was drawn, I added lines to the bodies to make them look more like a work of art by Miro. Students liked guessing what it was I was drawing. This kept them on the edge of their seats.

Students were to draw their animal using either pencil or black crayon. (If students used pencil, they were to trace over it with a black crayon) I typically use black crayons so designs will have a more eye popping look. Pencil seems to get lost.

Students were given a teacher check before they could start with colored crayons (so I could collect the black crayons)

I asked students if they saw scribble scrabbles in Joan Miro's work. "Of course not, so let's do our best coloring." (I walk around the room giving lots of feed back on how well their coloring is. Positive reinforcement is always the best!)

The final results of this project were amazing.

My 2nd graders created Joan Miro People last year, but I knew they would love to draw animals. The modification for 2nd grade was to use markers on larger paper.

Can You Find My Name?

2nd graders learned about the Abstract art of Wassily Kandinsky and created these awesome Abstracts! 

I like to start off the year with a few fun name projects. I thought of this lesson while creating a lesson about Abstract art for my 6th graders. We began by looking at Wasilly Kandinsky's painting Harmonie Tranquille. 

I asked students to describe to me what they see. "Lines, shapes, bugish things, colors!" and the list goes on. I asked them to talk some more about the lines and shapes to do a little recall from last year. Then we talked about how Kandinsky created Abstract paintings that didn't make since to anyone but him. 

So the students were super excited to create their own Abstracts!

Materials: any sized watercolor paper, black oil pastels or crayons, watercolor paint. 

Vocabulary: 

Line, Shape, Abstract Art, and Wassily Kandinsky

Students begin by ABSTRACTING their names. The letters of their name are written small, BIG, sideways, upside-down, and all around using a black oil pastel.

Next students added the 5 kinds of line: Vertical (stand-up line), Horizontal (laying down line), Diagonal (slash), Curvy, and Zig-zag.

Then they add a few of their favorite Geometric Shapes.

Finally, students paint their Abstracts with watercolors. Students could paint inside their lines or all over. As it is an Abstract! 

The students loved the freedom of this project and it allowed all students to come out of their "I can't draw" shell!

  

Splatter without the SPLAT!

Of course Splatter Painting is a ton of fun! But not a ton of fun to clean up!

4th & 5th graders learned about Abstract artist Jackson Pollock and his "Action Paintings"!

Materials: any size paper, cake tempera paints, brushes, water buckets, paper towels, straws! 

Students load their brushes with water and paint. Paint must be watery and blotted onto the paper. Before the paint dries, students blow through the straw onto the paint. The paint will create awesome Jackson Pollock effects!

The best part about this project was watching the students mix the colors and seeing the amazing outcomes!