2nd Grade Folded Paper Relief Sculptures

A few years ago, a fellow teacher was cleaning out their classroom closet and found a bunch of old wallpaper sample books.  Being the dumping ground my classroom is, she asked if I wanted them.  And of course I said "YES!!"  (I'd really be embarrassed to have the producers of those hoarding TV shows come check out my storage closets!)

 

I wanted to have my second graders create a SIMPLE relief sculpture and I turned to those wallpaper samples.  The students were given stacks of paper patterns to choose from.  They were to choose one wallpaper pattern and two colors of plain construction paper that went with their wallpaper.  I cut the paper into 5" squares.  (This was the loooooongest part of the project... better planning next time!) 

 

I then demonstrated folding the paper.  First I had the students fold the paper corner to corner on both sides so they would know where the center of the square was.  Then the folded each corner to the center.  Easy.  Done.  Next, they put glue on the back of each of the folded squares and glued them onto a neutral colored 12x12" piece of construction paper.

 

 

5th Grade Pop Art Self Portraits

Fifth grade students studied the Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein to create their own pop art self portraits.  I first took a photograph of each student from the chest up.  While the students were waiting for their photo to be taken, I had them think about several different poses so they would be ready when it was their turn.  I then took the photos and loaded them into dumpr.net and transformed their pictures into a sketch.  This makes it easier for the students to see the defining edges of their facial features a little easier. 

 

The students traced their faces (basic lines only) onto white drawing paper.  They then added a single word in a comic book style that either defined themselves, or went along with their picture.  They then added a simple patterned background.  As a review of color theory, I had the students color their pictures with primary colored markers.  The next time I do this project, I may go more in depth with color theory and have the students choose their own color scheme.

 

 

Thanks to messy little hands for the inspiration for this project!

3rd Grade Laurel Burch Cats



Third grade students created these Laurel Burch inspired cats last year during our statewide testing period.  This was a great project to do during that time because they could work rather independently while they were in and out of my classroom due to testing scheduling. 

 

We first discussed Laurel Burch and her cat paintings.  We then drew the cats together and the students added their own patterns.  For the students who missed the drawing demonstration, I created a step-by-step "how to draw" handout.  We drew on colored construction paper, traced with black sharpie marker, and added color with regular and sparkly construction paper crayons.

 

 

(My apologies for my poor photography skills in this post!)

3rd Grade Comic Book Covers

During my student teaching, I had my 3rd graders create their own comic book covers.  There were a few requirements for their drawings:

1. They had to create their own superhero with special powers.
2. They had to have a name for their superhero.
3. Their comic book covers had to include a title and an image of their superhero in action.

We discussed and practiced (mostly) correct body proportions before drawing our final copy.  I loved this project because I got to see their imaginations at work!

 

4th Grade Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers

After my first two years teaching art a few years ago, I had to turn in a portfolio to the state to determine whether I received a "Proficient Practitioner" teaching license or not.  Until then, I had a probationary license.  (All new teachers needed to go through this process.)  In my portfolio, I was to select one grade level to showcase, so I chose fourth grade and had them complete these gorgeous Georgia O'Keeffe inspired paintings.

After viewing and discussing the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, the students got to work on their paintings.  For the drawing part of this assignment, I let the students choose to draw inspiration from some silk plants I had around the room, or look at images of flowers.  Each student was given a viewfinder so that their eyes could "zoom in" on one section of the plant or photograph.  They then drew what they saw through the viewfinder on watercolor paper, but not focusing so much on the tiny details of the plant.

Next, they traced over their lightly drawn pencil lines with regular school glue.  While waiting for the glue to dry, we discussed color families, specifically warm and cool colors.  The students chose one color family for their paintings.  Once the glue was dry, I demonstrated a wet-on-wet watercolor painting technique so that they could mix and blend colors a little easier.  (The color in these pictures are a little off, so unfortunately you can't see the color blending easily.)

I don't know if this next step was completely necessary, but I had the students trace both sides of the glue line with a thin sharpie marker.  I think that it certainly helped some of the artwork look finished and complete.

4th Grade Junk Art Wall Sculpture

Fourth grade studied the sculptures of Louise Nevelson to create this "Wall of Junk."  The students quickly identified her use of repeated shapes and forms, as well as using a uniform color. 

Like many art teachers, I'm a collector of junk.  You never know when you might need a bag full of buttons or a broken coffee maker.  The students sorted through my junk collection to find items that had similar shapes and forms.  Using hot glue (whoa...dangerous!) and regular school glue, they arranged the items inside a shoe box.  Some students strictly used one shape (like the cut paper towel tubes below), and some added more shapes.

I had intended on using spray paint to paint the sculptures one color, and even went so far as to have a "color election" with each section of 4th grade.  I don't have a spray booth, and the next best option to use spray paint is outside.  Unfortunately, the weather would not cooperate with our timeline.  It was either too windy or raining.  So, we just left the boxed unpainted, but I'm pretty satisfied with the look of the box collection as a whole.  I displayed the boxes on a rarely used bulletin board, and on top of my cabinets (until the fire marshall showed up) in my classroom for the school year.  The kids loved to look at all of the boxes each time they came into the art room this year.

4th Grade Jasper Johns "Encaustic" Flags

Fourth grade studied the flag artwork of Jasper Johns and created their own version of encaustic artwork with a sense of identity. 

This project was done in two parts: 

Step 1

The students cut out words from magazines that described themselves and collaged them onto white paper.  They then added a white wash over the collage so that we could still read the words, but everything was unified by the white. 

Step 2

Next, the students used a sheet of fine grit sandpaper and drew a flag in reverse.  They were to leave the white stripes uncolored.  I didn't require them to draw stars because of the melting process in the next step.

Once the students layered up enough color on the newspaper, I flipped their sandpaper upside down on top of their white-washed collages and pressed a hot iron to the back of the sandpaper.  The crayon melted onto the collage to create a very textured flag.

Make sure that you use a fine grit sandpaper because we found the a courser grit won't release the melted crayon when heated.