One of my favorite lesson I like to revisit celebrates Wisconsin born artist, Georgia O' Keeffe. Here is a student work by a first grader, my favorite flower the Bleeding Heart. I also like to share the space in which my young artists create.
Every spring I try to touch on Japanese culture. My goal is to create Koinobori, carp flags which are used to celebrate Children's Day on May 5th. I started out our unit learning about the famous art print by Hokusai, The Great Wave. Students also were taught some Kanji characters. We made origami Samurai hats. I also included a fish pinch pot lesson. Susan Samurai Kanji The Great Wave Fish Pinch Pots
The Kings Cake, Galette des Rois is a tradition not only in France but other cultures such as Spanish and German speaking countries, Greece, England, and in the United States in specifically in New Orleans and other southern states. In the baked cake a baby figure is representing Jesus is to be found by the lucky guest who becomes "king" for the day. This tradition is representative of the Magi, Wisemen, or King's search for Jesus. ![]() Wayne Thiebauld is an American born artist that looks to pop culture and commercial design. He uses the subject matter of cakes, pies, donuts, lipstick shoes. In his later work he creates landscapes. His style is defined by the this almost frosting like layers of paint. In this lesson we will create our own magnificent King Cakes. What will yours include? How many patterns and colors? Materials
![]() Inspiration Wayne Thiebauld is an American painter known for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure paintings. Thiebaud is associated with the pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his early works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists. Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work. A short video of him and his work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTZJfenUpsA Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God as Jesus Christ and takes place on January 6th, the twelfth day of Christmas. We think about the sky, was it nighttime? How do we know? The story tells us there was a star. What color is our nighttime sky? Students learned about silhouettes and how the Magi figures will be black against the skyline. Our templates are limited to a camel smaller than the figure. I explained to the students how they can use them as a guideline and make the camel taller, the hats different on the men, the gifts in their hands different shapes. Modifying the project with templates ensured the success of the students, We were limited to one class period. With more time we wold have explored creating our own figures for our silhouettes against the skyline. Inspiration In the book of Matthew we read: 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Mary Cassatt's work included many monoprints. The image of mother and child was some of her favorite subject matter, what she chose to put in her pictures. Mono means "one". SO when a monoprint is made it is meant to be printed once. In this project We will experiment with this process. Create a simple image (mother and child, landscape, favorite animal, etc) on a cookie sheet in tempera paint. quickly press paper on your work to print before the paint dries. This project is about the process, feel free to create multiple images in the spirit of discovery! Materials Sketchbook Pencil Color media for drawing- crayons, markers, oil pastel Cookie sheet Tempera Paint Brush/Water cup Paper ![]() Inspiration Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Pennsylvania but lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. Video on Mary Cassatt's work:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcTE5x7cTL8 Video Lesson with Mrs. Buss: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfwQK78Ha_0&t=2s In this lesson we look to the artist Frida Kahlo. She created many self portraits and included animals or items symbolic to her in her compositions. Picture day is also coming soon at St Paul's and we read in the lower grades K-5 the book, Mrs.Toggle's Picture Day by Robin Pulver. Students are given directions to create a portrait of themselves and to include 1-3 things that are their favorite or have significant meaning to them. In my example I chose to include a landscape and a Blue Jay because it is my youngest child's favorite bird. Many things can be added to make your self portrait your own. Your pet, favorite color(s) in the background, a favorite place, a favorite toy but something that hold importance for you. Practice your drawing in a sketchbook or separate piece of paper, practice eye, ear, nose, mouth, shapes, practice your favorite or important items. When you are ready draw the portrait on the watercolor paper with pencil draw lightly so you can correct or make any changes. Use any colored media, colored pencils, crayons, markers, oil pastels, and/or watercolor. fill the page and like Ms.Kahlo use VIBRANT colors. Materials Sketchbook Pencil Watercolor Paper Crayons Color pencil Markers Watercolor Water cup Brushes Mirror Visual examples of your favorite or important items ![]() Inspiration Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. Kahlo, who suffered from polio as a child, nearly died in a bus accident as a teenager. She suffered multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and dislocated shoulder. She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering in a body cast. In her lifetime, she had 30 operations. Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's approximately 200 paintings, sketches and drawings. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly on canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, who she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. A warm up to the school year includes celebrating Dot Day. Based on the book by Peter H Reynolds, dot day encourages young artists to make their mark, encourage others, and trust in what your hands can achieve. As I read the story to our entire school, even the 8th graders, they all listened. As I explained the key principles in the book students understand that finding courage and encouraging others relates to passing on the acts of kindness and giving value to one another's achievements. Here are just a few of many talented work generated this past week. I am so excited to be working with a wonderful group of children.
We began our very first school day and very first hour in 6-8th grade practicing mindfulness. We settled our minds and bodies to let thoughts and feelings like anxiousness, fear, or even excitement pass by us. We also allow our mind to wander... Only for a few minutes and then we recognized that maybe we may have felt calmer. As a class we discussed subconscious and related it to dreams or day dreaming, much like the meditation that we just practiced. We also discuss the concept of abstract art and looked to the work of Joan Miro. We watched a brief video on his work. I described automatic drawing and the kids went to work. I began each grade this week with the same lesson, 3-5th grade and 1-2nd grade. Surprisingly the kids were very receptive to settling their minds for just a few minutes. This year my goal was to introduce mindfulness as a starting point to the day in our art room. The world moves so fast, we get caught up even as children in the hustle and bustle. MaterialsWatercolor Paper Pencil Colored Pencil Crayons Watercolor Brushes Water cup Inspiration![]() Joan Miro (1893-1983) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona in 1975, and another, the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró, was established in his adoptive city of Palma de Mallorca in 1981. Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods as a way of supporting bourgeois society, and declared an "assassination of painting" in favour of upsetting the visual elements of established painting. |
AuthorI have a passion for the visual arts and love sharing it with others. I have enjoyed teaching all ages and love to incorporate art history and traditional disciplines as well as innovative ideas. Art is vital to who I am as a creator and educator. Archives
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