I wasn't sure how much they could do with this today, because we are in the middle of a Montreal heat wave and it's boiling in our classroom, but I figured abstract art would give them the freedom to play with colours and not worry too much about the outcome... especially since the heat was … Continue reading My First Graders Get Abstracted With Kandinsky
Marc Chagall’s Goat and Face – First Grader Style
How do I tie together Grafitti and Cubism??? I know; Marc Chagall. Well, that's how I see it. While the kids were out at recess, I gave each a big piece of construction paper (14" x 17") and a bowl of oil pastels. I queued up a fun video: "Marc Chagall Drawing Lessons". They came … Continue reading Marc Chagall’s Goat and Face – First Grader Style
Cubism as Interpreted by my Grade One Students
Originally, I intended to give a full lesson on Picasso, but I kept hearing a nagging voice in my ear telling me that is overdone in art education. Maybe I could approach this from a different angle (pun intended!). Maybe I can get them to interpret portraits through Cubism... or as I introduced it, by … Continue reading Cubism as Interpreted by my Grade One Students
Paul Klee’s Famous Cat – As interpreted by my Grade One Students
The school year is winding down and my first grade students have less and less ideas of what to do with Free Play. So, when I'm not bringing them to the park, or trying to burn away all their energy with silly field games, I'm going top have them explore art and new materials. The … Continue reading Paul Klee’s Famous Cat – As interpreted by my Grade One Students
Self-Portrait Project – Sixteen (Part b) – Embracing What Works For Me
When working on paper I love putting down the basic colours with dry pastels and leaving the dust on the surface. I find that gives texture and movement to the composition. It has to do with the colours blending and giving the work a better feel. I'd never done it on a vertical surfacmwhere the … Continue reading Self-Portrait Project – Sixteen (Part b) – Embracing What Works For Me
The Creature’s Sorrow
Using a handmade marking brush: The handle is a cut branch off of a beach tree with red thread and jute twine. The brush part is made of steel wool. I must admit that I chose this material partly because I wanted to see what would happen when it rusted... how would that affect the … Continue reading The Creature’s Sorrow
There’s An Evil Spirit In That Wind
Using a handmade marking brush: The handle is cut from a cedar branch with jute twine. The brush fibres are nylon bundling rope salvaged from the hardware store. The India ink surprisingly soaked into the fibres and dripped onto the paper... The fibres got more straight with the ink soaked into them and this allowed … Continue reading There’s An Evil Spirit In That Wind
Surprise Is In The Eyes
Using a handmade marking brush: The handle is made from a cedar branch, jute twine, and coloured embroidery thread. The brush is a reclaimed piece of bamboo fabrics cut from some old jockey shorts. I just knew that this material would soak up tons of ink and I could and probably should have worked on … Continue reading Surprise Is In The Eyes
Running With The Wind
Using a handmade marking brush: The handle is made from a lilac tree branch, jute twine, and red embroidery thread. The brush is the foil isolation taken from the inside of an electrical extension cord. I carefully unwrapped the foil from the wires and cut them. Again I wasn't sure how the foil would hold … Continue reading Running With The Wind
Maelstrom On My Mind
Using a handmade marking brush: The handle is from cutting off of my lilac tree and jute twine, The brush is spectacular (IMO). I used small twigs from a shrub growing under the lilac tree. I had no idea if they would hold any ink to mark with, but they did. As I was making … Continue reading Maelstrom On My Mind
