Flower vase/Still life

So... in getting ready for the new school year,  I realized there are a few projects from last year that I never posted!  Here we go:

Age Group: 1st grade and up
Supplies Needed:
White paper (any size will work, but I like to use larger than 8 1/2 x 11 on this project). 
Tempera paint
Watercolors

To begin this project, we first looked at famous works of art including flower vases. 

Van Gogh, Sunflowers

 Pablo Picasso,  Hand with Flowers

(The above works of art can be found in The Art Book, which is available for check out from Mrs. De St. Jeor in the Grovecrest Library.)

Next, the students folded their white sheets of paper in half vertically, pressed a crease to get a horizon line, and then unfolded the paper.  (The crease is still visible and helps them to judge where to draw things).  We then drew a line across the lower half of the paper to represent the table.   Next came a simple vase drawing using a pencil.  Then they could add flowers and designs in the vase with tempera paint.  This was the end of our first session.

The next time we met, they completed flower details and painted designs in the table cloth with tempera paint, and then painted the background with watercolors.  The finished projects are so unique and colorful. 

(Of course they would look a lot better if I ever remember to bring my real camera instead of  the camera on my phone which isn't great as you can tell.)

I love this one above.  He wanted to be different so he painted roses. Awesome.

The painting above was created by a first grader from a class I taught last year.  You can see how the same concepts can be taught to different grade levels.  Their interpretation will grow each year! 

If you have any questions, please let me know grovecrestart@gmail.com

Eric Carle Artwork

 Chances are, you've seen some of Eric Carle's books and artwork.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is our family's favorite. 

Age: K-3

Supplies: tissue paper, glue, background paper, crayon

This project idea was inspired by Eric Carle's illustrations made from tissue paper. When we did this last year, the first grade students were very excited to be making caterpillars just as the author did. 

For younger grades, I would precut the circle head and ovals for the body so as not to take the entire class time cutting.  Then, paint regular glue on the back of the shapes and glue them to a white sheet of paper.  We also did a very thin coat of glue on top of the caterpillar as well.  When dried, it has a really pretty, stain-glass look.  Last, the students can use crayons or colored pencils to add "hairs" and facial details. 

The circles at the bottom imitate the inside cover art of the book.

*Note* You will need to provide the tissue paper for this project.  There is only white available in the art supply room.  I bought a large package like this with a 40% off coupon at JoAnn Fabric for $6 and have used it for many projects. 

Georgia O'Keeffe Lesson

Age: K-3
Supplies: Paper, Oil Pastels

This was an easy project (no prep and minimal clean up!) with fantastic results.  First we talked about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe and looked at pictures of her flower artwork (I printed these from the Internet).

The only rules for the project were as follows:

1.  They had to draw a HUGE flower with petals that touched the edges of the paper.

2.  The could color and design the flower any way they wanted, but the background color was to be one solid color.

(I love this one.  The student told me it was a venus fly trap).



We used black paper and oil pastels.  I think it would also look great on white paper with colored pencil flowers and watercolor background.

Egg Shell Mosaic

My mother-in-law (who is an amazing kindergarten teacher) taught me how to do this project.  I thought I'd share it now so you can start saving egg shells and by the time Easter arrives, you should have enough for the project! 

Age: Any

Supplies:  Egg shells, food coloring, glue, paintbrushes, paper.

Wash out membrane from egg shells and let them dry.  Place the egg shells into a plastic baggie and add around 10 drops of food coloring and 1/2 tsp water.  Crush and shake the bag to smash shells into small pieces and to distribute color.  Repeat using separate baggies for different colors.  Leave the shells in the bags over night (for the color to set in really well).  Then spread out on newspaper to dry completely.

Decide on the shape for your project.  When I did this for the kindergarten class, I found a simple (free) butterfly clip art online and pre-printed it on paper.  For the first graders, we drew an oval, egg shape.  We talked about and looked at examples of Faberge eggs for inspiration. 

The students will "paint" glue onto the desired picture.  Don't be shy with the glue.  The more glue, the better the shells will stay in place.  Next, they will sprinkle egg shell onto the glue... and make a beautiful spring-time mosaic.

This is a unique way to teach students about mosaics.  The prep time is definitely worth it!