Kindergarten Self-Portrait Collage

One of my favorite self-portrait projects

I've done a whole lot of self-portraits over the years, but this is one of my favorites! The students have a fun time using all the collage materials to create themselves.

I start the students out with ovals cut from different skin tones of construction paper. We talk about how a self-portrait should represent the artist. I lay out the oval papers on a table and have them pick a skin tone by placing their hands next to each color to find the one that is closest to their own skin color. I also have the scraps from cutting out the ovals out for the students to use for a neck.

Once they have the head and neck glued down, they are able to pick from buttons, sequins, pompoms, yarn, feathers, fabric, paper scraps, beans, packing peanuts...and whatever else I dig up.

By the end of class we have some wonderful collage portraits. Of course the art room looks like a tornado hit it - collage materials everywhere! But that's the price we pay for Creativity!!

Painting Lines with Cardboard

First graders have a blast using cardboard to create lines and designs!

This project was inspired by a project I came across on my latest addiction - Pinterest. If you have yet to join Pinterest you might want to check it out. But BEWARE - it is extremely addicting.

You can find the lesson that inspired me here.

After discussing different types of lines used in art, the students were given a large 12x18 paper, trays of black tempera, and a box of various cardboard pieces.
I use flat boxes to hold the cardboard pieces in the middle of the table.

After a quick demonstration of how to dip the cardboard in the paint and "print" it on the paper the students were let free to create. I did give them some ideas and encouragement to try and come up with a design or image of something instead of just stamping everywhere on the paper.

I showed how to create curves using strips of tagboard that they could curve to get something different than a straight line.

The students had a blast creating. I did have a handful of students among my first grade classes that scraped across the paper with the cardboard or stamped so much that no lines were left showing - just black blobs, but most had very successful images.

Students found that when using the cardboard tube a bubble often formed and sometimes would pop on their paper. Of course that was fun for them and they didn't seem to mind the splat of paint it left behind. Happy mistakes!

I love the creativity of first graders! Not sure what this little guy was creating but it sure is interesting!

The next class I gave students back their papers and showed them how to use oil pastels. For many of them it was their first experience with this art medium. Their enthusiasm continued as they colored in and around their stamped black lines!

Pinch Pot Faces with Growing Hair!

Make Face - Grow Hair!!

 I saw this tonight on Pinterest  and it reminded me of a project I did years ago that I need to do again! Be sure to visit Kathy Barbro's blog for info on her project along with lots of other great resources! 

 I like the flesh tone Kathy used on her planter. Years ago I did a similar project with 4th graders. We created pinch pots with faces. After they were complete we added potting soil and grass seed or perhaps chives - I don't remember which. They sat along the window sill and each week the students watched as their faces grew hair. It was a fun project that caused a lot of talk among the other students.

I think it's time to do it again!!

Here are a few of the finished faces -

Grant Wood Inspired Landscape Collage

A fun collage project with painted papers!

I was getting one of my favorite lessons from last school year ready to send into The Teaching Palette today and decided I'd post it here. My goal for this blog is to share all the project I did last school year here. I find so many great ideas from all of you creative art teachers that I want to be sure and give back some great ideas. As art educators we are always "stealing" from each other to better our own lessons for our students. I think we are the one group of professionals that do not care if our ideas are copied!

Any way...back to the lesson - 

This project took me 3 art days with my students. I took one day to introduce Grant Wood to them and we discussed his art - especially landscapes. We talked about how he showed distance and space in his paintings and we talked about how the sections of land contained different lines, colors, and textures.

Day 2 was their favorite - and mine! A busy art studio day of painting papers using brushes and lots of other painting tools to create texture, color, and design into the papers. The ooo's and ah's that I heard as they looked around at each other's papers. "How did you get that?! Oh...can I use that tool next?!"

It was a fun art time of total creativity. It was all about the process!  

The hardest part was reminding them that if they didn't put their name on the back before beginning painting  - they most likely would not get that paper to use next week.

The last day was spent creating the landscapes. This too was a fun time. Students shared papers with each other so that they would have many different sections on their landscape. By the end of class we had a box filled with painted paper scraps and a whole class full of interesting landscapes.

Some students who worked slowly just had levels of ground for their landscapes. Students who were quicker with their cutting and gluing had time to add more paper shapes to create trees, bushes, houses, and crops to their pictures.

I helped students as they finished to mount their picture on another paper  - some two colors to add extra interest to the finished work. 

Picasso Inspired Wire and Pantyhose Sculptures

This was one of the last projects I did with one of my 5th grade classes last school year. It was a big hit and surprisingly not as difficult as it might have looked.

Students were introduced to the art of Pablo Picasso and then sketched out a Picasso-like portrait.

Before next class I had my #1 helper (my wonderful husband) cut a 2x4 scrap, we had left over from one of our many home improvement projects, into enough pieces for this class. I cut the hook off of wire clothes hangers and drilled a hole big enough for the hanger to go in.





The next class was spent bending the wire hanger into a shape the student wanted, placing it into the hole in the wood and covering it with a knee high nylon stocking.

A coat of gesso was applied to the nylon and then students spent 2 more classes painting their Picasso inspired portrait sculptures using acrylic paints.