A really bad night sleep; bored to death at work; sore back; literally looking for things to complain about; ran out of watercolour paper while still having ideas to get down on it; just really grumpy! As I sat there looking at the thick, grey cardboard back from my watercolour pad, knowing my watercolours wouldn't … Continue reading Bad Birds Four – Making The Best Of Waking On The Wrong Side Of The Bed
A Grade One Experiencing of Minimalism & Mondrian
To all my fellow teachers, you will understand when I say that this was performed on a day that required... well, flexibility. All sorts of stuff kept modifying my plans and I had to make spontaneous changes. I think I'd been keeping Mondrian in my back pocket to teach a lesson on complimentary colours, but … Continue reading A Grade One Experiencing of Minimalism & Mondrian
Exploring ‘Weird & Wonderful’ Landscapes with my first graders
Crayola washable markers are the most ubiquitous art medium available in all the classrooms I've taught in, and yet all the kids ask for them as if they were something super magical. Well, I can resist only so much, so I decided to give them a project to use them. Following the music teacher's lessons … Continue reading Exploring ‘Weird & Wonderful’ Landscapes with my first graders
My First Graders get into making Messy Charcoal Flowers
I approached this material a little differently. I told my students to get dirty! (See the pics below) I started with showing them some charcoal sticks, ribbing them on my fingers to shows how easy it was to get messy, then smearing and smudging it on papers. Showed them how to make different lines: thick, … Continue reading My First Graders get into making Messy Charcoal Flowers
My First Graders Get Abstracted With Kandinsky
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
