Animal Drawings Inspired by Laurel Burch

5th grade students and I recently studied the work of American artist Laurel Burch. 
Her stylized animals and use of pattern, metallic accents and outlines are always a winner with kids! 

Although I don't have a completely choice-based art curriculum, I find that there is usually room for lots of choices within a lesson. For instance, there was a choice of background paper color. We had just created a project on black construction paper, so I gave a choice of burgundy, dark blue, or brown. These colors were still dark enough for colors to pop, but gave each piece a bit of personality.  

Students also chose whether to use a starter template of a few different animal designs inspired by Burch's artwork, or to draw an original animal idea. I also gave them the choice between using construction paper crayons or colored pencil. 

(The one rule here was not to combine the two media. Although they both work well, when used together, the crayon can make the pencil seem dull.)

It seems that freedom of choice was a hit! When it came time to add metallic outlines and accents with gold sharpie, many students asked for a choice in color. I only had gold in my inventory, but told the students that they were helping out my students next year, because I would be mindful of adding other metallic colors to my supplies. They were happy that their requests were taken seriously, and that they would influence a change in the lesson in the future. Enjoy!

Positive/Negative Space Trees

First graders finished a unit on line this fall and also learned about positive and negative space. On black construction paper we learned to draw a tree with bare branches. These branches needed to reach the edges of the paper to create different areas of negative space. When the children were happy with their drawings, they traced the lines of their trees with white construction paper crayons— I LOVE THESE! Especially when used on black paper.

The trees (positive space) were not to be colored, so they remained solid black. All of the areas between the branches of the trees (negative space) were filled in with many different colors and types of line. The children took their time and did a great job completing these projects. Here are some of their masterpieces.

Laurel Burch Cats

There are many examples of lessons for Laurel Burch, and it just seems like the perfect one for kids. There are bright colors, patterns, fun compositions, and great subject matter. My students loved using construction paper paper crayons and the metallic paint markers were pure magic!

We talked about Burch's life and her subject matter, then discussed the body shape of her cats. The children drew in pencil on black construction paper, and then filled their cats with color, pattern and shapes. Paint markers were the last to be added, outlining there cats and adding final details and pattern to their compositions.

Here is a great feature on Laurel Burch, from a past episode of 60 Minutes, if you'd like to learn more about her. And here are the masterpieces created by my students. Great job guys!