My DragonWing Arts students currently have about 4 different projects in progress all at once! We are having so much fun. A week ago we painted a bunch of paper with acrylics, and this past week the painted papers were twisted and glued to become a 3-dimensional loom. The 18x24" painted paper that we previously made, shown below, will be sliced (each child's paper has two different color and pattern schemes) and then woven into the 3D looms. And then we will embellish!!!
And the students (both 3rd and 5th graders) who attend one school district have told me they have not used paint yet in art this year. All they use is pencils and markers. (Don't get me wrong; I like markers and pencils, but kids need to paint!) And the student who goes to a different school district tells me her teacher tells them exactly what to do and they do it, leaving no room for creativity at all. And this little girl has a fabulous imagination and loves to draw. Her mother confirms what she has told me about art class, which was why she was very excited to send her daughter to my program.
I have told the moms who drop them off and pick them up not to worry that they aren't seeing artwork coming home with the kids yet; we are doing multi-step projects and they will have a lot to bring home at the end of our 7 week session. The moms responded - "Are they having fun?" The kids' answer - "YES!" The moms then said that even if they never saw a single work of art come home, they'd be happy, since the kids are enjoying themselves, and since the kids aren't excited about their art classes in school.
I have made a commitment: I see them for an hour and a half, once a week, and at some point during that time each week, there will be painting. The kids are happy; I am happy.
So be patient - I promise to show you the end result when these projects are complete.
Can't wait to see the end results! I would be so BORED if I hadn't done any painting projects with my elementary kids by this point in school! The only ones who have not painted yet this year are my kinders and 4th graders...but kinders have used crayons and oil pastels so far, and the 4th graders are doing a linoblock print project right now, so they're still getting exposure to different art media.
ReplyDeleteYup, I agree - I'd be bored without painting, too. And printmaking counts as painting, I think! But I bet your K's are dying to paint!!
DeletePhyl - I love your 3-D weaving project!! Am anxious to see what this year's group creates. I am on a short break for the next 2 weeks, due to parent conferencing & minimum day schedules. The other day I was working on a sample of perspective drawing similar to the one you are doing -- I saw sometime last year and pinned it. At the time I thought I remembered that you did it as a tall building project. I will be using it in Jan. with 5th graders. So glad to hear that you are providing paints for your kids. I sort of see that as one of my responsibilities, since I am the one with the designated art room. I know it is harder for classroom teachers to deal with the mess, and I really don't mind making messes. I figure it gives us the opportunity to clean the tables -- makes for a clean room in the end!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Christie, the 3-D weaving is fun. These kids also say they have never woven before! What HAVE they done? I never tried painting the paper for the warp pieces before, and it certainly makes them stronger, but they didn't stick with Elmer's like they did without paint. So I hot glued them for the girls, and they were happy.
DeleteHi Phyl
ReplyDeleteYour works in progress are crazy-colorful! I especially love the liquid watercolor planets. I'll be taking your advice about teaching perspective....
Crazy-colorful, that's my taste, for sure!
DeleteWhat advice about perspective are you taking? I actually love teaching perspective. Let me know how I can help :)
CANNOT WAIT to see the end results!! So excited, love BOTH of these ideas. You are the bomb. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteWow, Cassie, if I am the bomb, what the heck does that make you?! You do know I'm your #1 fan, right?
DeleteHey Phyl...These twisted papers look so tempting and the painted papers are a blast...years ago I spent part of summer investigating a rice paste paint mixture on tissue paper...can't remember the exact name of it...maybe someone will know, anyway the paste paint was able to be smoothly manipulated, dragged, pulled into shapes (not marbling) and layered. I'll have to look it up again but I loved it. My 2nd graders at the time did Eric Carle bugs. So much fun! I currently teach grades 5, 6 and next semester 8th (that should be interesting 9th period too!). My 5th graders just finished some amazing Amate bird paintings...we played a game of analogous colors with tints! One analogous color leading to another and tint scales to boot! Lots and lots of mixing...I wasn't sure if our birds would be marvelous but they turned out magnificent. It took lots of prep exercises so students could learn analogous colors, mixing colors, tint scales...worth every minute. Now days the majority of my students come class with limited home art experiences and brushes are alien beings in their hands...lol. As for clean up time...well thats a class in itself... how to squeeze sponge at the sink before walking back to their table..ugh. More and more I teach children how to play, how to investigate, how to be creative, how to clean up...sorry for the belly aching...we work hard in my Art Class...and the pay off is well worth it! Too bad I only have my students for 9wks...new crew on Monday!
ReplyDeleteOctober 27, 2013 at 10:24 PM
Bug, I enjoyed reading your comment - I'd love to see photos of those amateur paintings - they sound lovely. Have you ever considered starting a blog so you could share them? Or at least join the Facebook art teachers group?
DeleteI'd've interested in finding out more about that rice paper paint. We did something a couple of years back, where we mixed acrylic paint with papier-mâché Art Paste. You can layer it and texture it; it's pretty cool, but your stuff sounds even better.
Curious where you teach, where you only have students 9 weeks. Is it just once a week? That doesn't give you time to accomplish much!
Keep me posted - I'm definitely interested. You can email if you want at plbrown3 at yahoo dot com (obviously fix the email address - it's written out to avoid spamming).
Bug, me again - I apologize for the typo - my iPad autocorrected amate to amateur and I didn't notice until after it was posted. I definitely know the difference!
Delete