Warm and cool colors for painted paper!

My DragonWing Arts students have been making painted paper, to use in sunshine collages we will be creating during late April or early May.  Everybody painted 4 sections of an 18x24" sheet of paper, so there will be lots of choices to use for the sun and its rays.

We painted with brushes, scratched lines with the back of the brushes, stamped with foam circle stampers and also with slices of pool noodles cut in half, among other things.

We also painted smaller pieces of paper (12"x18") with cool colors, to use for our skies.  We used the same methods and tools.

 I found a rubbery waffle place-mat at the dollar store, and cut it in pieces.  The kids enjoyed using them for stamping texture onto their papers.  It was especially fun because their hands got so messy in the process.

 Stay tuned; next month I'll post the process of putting together the collages and the final product.  I've got some fun ideas for them - hopefully they'll be great!

Wonderful Weaving with Warm and Cool Colors!

My DragonWing Arts students recently finished some colorful paper weavings.  I posted some pics on Instagram and received some questions and comments, so I thought I'd share the (simple) details here.  It was an easy and successful project!

The students each were given three sheets of 12x18" white paper. They divided two of the papers into stripes lengthwise, and painted one with warm colors, and the other with cool colors.  The paints were fluorescent tempera, and they used one brush for warm and another brush for cool, but did not wash the brush between colors, so that they got some subtle color blends in their stripes.  The third sheet of paper was filled with shapes - the kids chose to use hearts, stars, and 'amorphous blobs' (random organic shapes).  The shapes were painted with warm and/or cool as desired.  Then everything was outlined thickly with black paint. Finally, we used Sax Tempera Gloss Varnish to paint a coat of shiny sealer on the paintings.  It really enhanced the colors!

The students each were given a 19" square of black poster board.  They cut the stripes from one painted paper, cutting right down the middle of the black lines, and glued down the ends of the stripes, side-by-side on the poster board, to create their warp.

 Then they cut the stripes on the second paper, and used them as weft, to weave through the warp.

When the weaving was complete, all the ends were glued down, and the shapes were carefully cut from their third papers.

I had been given a bunch of 3D-O's, and we decided to use them to make the shapes 'float' above the weaving.  Note the 'happy face' arrangement of the stars in the piece below! 

 I know it's hard to see the 3-D element in these photos; it definitely looks more effective firsthand.  But honestly? I'd never used 3D-O's before and the kids and I found it annoyingly difficult to peel the end papers off to reveal the sticky parts.  Next time, I'd prefer to cut little squares of heavy cardboard and have the kids glue and stack them under their shapes to create desired depth, in place of using the 3D-O's. 

The original motivation for this project was a pic I saw on Pinterest, using warm and cool colors to weave in contrasting directions, in layers of weaving.  There were no instructions, and I used the image simply as a starting point to develop my own project for my students.  I thought the floating shapes would be a fun enhancement for the basic weaving, since we weren't working with multiple layers.  I also thought the contrast of using fluorescent paints and black lines made the final images more lively. 

I can imagine lots of ways to further enhance the project - patterns in white on the black backing, perhaps?  Or black and white patterned strips woven through diagonally?   It's fun to imagine all the possibilities!!

Sculpture from scrap cardboard!

Just before Thanksgiving, I returned from my NY state art teachers annual convention, a whirlwind weekend of learning, creating, presenting, engaging, and more.  While there, I presented two workshops; I'm going to tell you about one of them in this post, and I'll tell you more about the convention and the other workshop in another post.  The workshop I'm telling you about today was called From Scraps to 3-D Success, and I co-presented with a friend (pictured below). 

We each presented one project made mostly with recycled materials; my project was an abstract sculpture made entirely from cardboard and Elmer's Glue-All.  The photo at the top of this post, and the one directly below, are examples of these cardboard sculptures, made by participants during the workshop.

We began with 4"x 6" rectangles of cardboard, cut from shipping cartons. 

 I also provided a big bagful of random shapes of cardboard cut from shipping cartons.  All cutting was done on an old paper cutter to get straight edges. It works great, and is fast and easy to cut a lot.

 Participants were each given a Popsicle stick, to be used as a 'glue paintbrush', and little cups of Elmer's Glue-All to share with a neighbor.  However, when I do this project with students, I do NOT put the glue into cups; the students actually pour a little puddle of glue directly from the bottle onto their cardboard base, near to the corner.  This prevents them from using too much glue.  Using too much glue does not make the structures hold together better!  In fact, too much glue means it takes longer to set and therefore the sculptures are more difficult to construct.

The small cardboard pieces have at least one cut edge that has zigzaggy corrugation, and another edge where the cardboard is more like two parallel lines.  The zigzag edges will hold much better and I recommend using those edges for gluing/attaching when possible.  We scoop up a little glue with our pop sticks, paint it on the edge we plan to glue, and hold it in place where desired, counting AT LEAST to 10.  For more challenging structures, count higher.  While the glue does not dry totally in 10 seconds, this allows it to set enough for you to let go.  Usually I would have students glue a base structure in one class, and then add to the construction in their subsequent class. In this workshop, I had participants set their sculptures aside to work to the project offered by my co-presenter, and then come back to the cardboard sculpture to add more pieces. 

 Hold and count to 10!!

 It's possible to hold some crazily balanced pieces if you are patient!

 Note: the glue MUST be Elmer's Glue-All, which is very strong.  If you use Elmer's School Glue, the sculptures will collapse.  Don't bother to try; it will be a waste of time and your students will get frustrated when their work begins collapsing.

Some workshop participants had time to paint their little sculptures. One workshop participant said she was going to have her students paint large pieces of the cardboard in a 'painted paper' type of activity, BEFORE she cuts the cardboard for this project.  It could work great, if the cardboard doesn't warp too much.  I look forward to seeing her results.  Below, a participant painted hers a solid color.  Behind it is a piece of painted wood for the project that was presented by my co-presenter. 

And one gentleman got really inventive, cutting the shapes into curves, while leaving straight sides for gluing.  Ironically, this same guy attended a papier-mache workshop I taught years ago, and totally went in his own direction then, too!  I even mentioned him in a blog post about the workshop, HERE.

I've done this project many times over the years with my first graders.  We discuss what a sculpture is, and what it means to be abstract or non-objective.  Sometimes their sculptures turn out to look like castles or robots or airplanes etc and that is fine too!  We discuss that a person who makes a sculpture is a sculptor, and that they are all sculptors while doing this project! We look at photos of work by various artists, in particular Calder, but there are many others that can directly relate to this project, depending especially on how you intend to paint the finished products.

In the blog posts from 2011 and 2012 that you'll find HERE and HERE, you can see some examples of my first graders' cardboard sculptural creations using this process.  Here's a first grader working on his sculpture, paying attention to balance, and another first grade piece.

If you're looking for an easy, low-cost project that will work at almost any grade level, give this one a try!  Sculpture with kids is really fun! 

Funny Fold-up Faces - an instant sub idea!

Sometimes you've got to think fast.  Today I subbed in my former classroom.  The teacher has been out for a couple of weeks, for surgery, and is coming back tomorrow.  She luckily has had a terrific sub, but the sub was not available today. The teacher had left extensive plans for the sub, with multiple projects per grade level.  The sub had, in turn, left sticky notes all over the plans, explaining what had been completed and what was left to be done.  But I couldn't understand the instructions for 2nd and 3rd grade, who both had class today.  It looked like she had completed the lessons for them, and for one class, said to follow the plans "in the folder".  WHAT FOLDER???  I couldn't find it. For the other grade, she had left materials for a project that wasn't in the original lesson plans at all, and I couldn't find any introduction to the project to explain to the kids why/what they were doing.  So I texted the teacher (not the sub), who said it was OK if I could come up with something to do just for the one day.  

 

I grabbed some paper and crayons and made some quickie samples for funny fold-up faces.  The paper was folded so that the top and the bottom met in the middle, and a face was drawn on the folded paper (pic at the top of the post).  Then, the bottom was opened out, and a new mouth, chin, and face bottom were drawn attaching to the top part. Then it was closed again, and the top was opened out and new eyes and top of head were drawn to connect to the bottom.  (These are the two pics above.)  And finally, the top and bottom were both opened, and below is the face that appeared. 

Here's another sample.  First is the original face drawn on the folded paper. 

And below, I've added a new set of eyes, and next to it, a new mouth. 

And finally, the whole newly created face.  Remember, these are quickie samples. 

I didn't take pictures of the silly faces that the students made, but they were totally adorable!  There were cat faces, skeleton faces, clown faces, pretty ladies, angry aliens, men in top hats and bow ties, and so much more.  So thankful that it was successful, and I hope that, when the teacher is back in the classroom, that she is easily able get the kids back on track with what she has intended for them to do! 

Warm and Cool 3-D Cityscapes

 Yes, I know the windows are totally incorrect in the painting above. Ignore it.  The 3rd grade artist who painted it was happy and so am I.  Below, another 3rd grade painting.

I realize this is a project you've likely seen posted in many variations, on all sorts of blogs, including right here on this blog!  But anyhow, I thought I'd share the variation done recently by the two second graders and two third graders who attended my spring "Scapes" session of DragonWing Arts, that I've talked about before on the blog.  These, obviously, are cityscapes.  The next two paintings below are by 2nd graders. 

It is "fake perspective" - a way to get young kids to make things look 3-D without actually teaching them about vanishing points yet.  I like to wait to teach linear perspective until the 4th grade, when I think the kids are beginning to be developmentally ready to understand the concept.  Still, there will be some kids won't "get it" then, or ever....

We began by drawing arrows pointing straight up, and then drawing a line straight down from each point of the arrow until it meets the bottom of the paper, or until it bumps into another building on the way down. 

Once the drawings were done, I gave them warm colors of tempera, and told them they could paint either the buildings or the sky, but not both.  One child chose a warm sky, and the other three picked warm buildings.

In a subsequent class session, I gave them just cool colors, the paint the opposite part of what they'd previously painted.  I didn't take pictures of the kids that day, because they wanted to keep their work secret from their parents until the last day of class!  They knew I'd be posting them and that their parents would look!

Finally, the kids used long cotton swabs to outline.  I gave them white and/or black paint; one student chose white, two chose black, and the fourth selected to use both black and white.  We were down to the wire getting these done, or I think the kids would have added more windows and details, but honestly, I think they are fun just the way they are, especially with the limited time we had!  We quickly glued them on black construction paper and finally onto pieces of bright colored tag for display.  We were in such a tight squeeze getting these done, I rushed to shoot pics of the finished pieces, which is why they are not flat and straight in the pictures above!  But as you can see, in the photo below, my students were quite proud of their completed work!!!