Bird Print Portraits

4 part project, life study drawings to finished prints.
Part I: drawing from life introduce Audubon (brief history connects to 5th grade standards). Using bird prints and coloring book drawings, students create a series of bird portrait sketches
Part II: artists refine their sketches and introduce the printing process
Part III: one drawing is selected and transferred to the printing plate-model process and allow for practice with materials
Part IV: Printing Day-set up large tables and work in small groups.

Winter Moon Winter Tree

2 part project: color values painted with tempera and collage/perspective. Connects to classroom themes of seasons, weather, sky and trees building vocabulary and skills . Enjoy the variety and compositions.

Turtle Turtle in the Sea

This 3-4 part project connects to Aboriginal art and color theory and allows for a lot of personal creativity.

Fall Landscapes-Horizontal and Vertical

The horizontal landscape was a one session project using
watercolor colored pencils. The vertical project took two sessions
and uses, water soluble oil pastels, collage and tempera paint.

Symmetrical Owls

Connecting to City Wildlife unit and building skills this symmetrical owl project involves both process and product with lots of hands on creative fun.

Weber Town I

Architects, Architecture, building, homes-where we live, where we work.

The Leaves are Falling

What season are we in right now? How do you know? What is happening in nature? What do you notice with your artist's eye? Tell me 4 colors that give you a clue?

Introduce the concept of warm colors. Model how to mix and blend oil pastels. Using hand outs and table support images, students create a large green leaf that they transform, using oil pastels into a fall leaf.

Show how to use scissors and your helping hand to cut out shapes. Practice, then return the leaves to the students. They cut out their own leaves-teacher helps label each one with the students name.Project is kept until the end of the year to be displayed as a group project.

Bobble head Skulls

Connecting to the Day of the Dead Celebrations this fun drawing and collage project allows for a lot of personal creativity within a a culturally diverse lesson.
2-3 sessions for completion

6th Grade Day of the Dead Alters

2 part project

Fall Trees and Winter Trees

Trees in Fall, colors, shapes, seasons, weather, Trees in Winter, colors, shapes, seasons and weather.

Expressive Tree in a Landscape

This 2 part direct drawing and creative expression project is a great way to start the art year with older students. They always surprise themselves with the end result...and I must say I am pretty dazzled too! This project allows for high success, builds art skill confidence, connects to art history landscape compositions, addresses art vocabulary such a color theme, realistic, expressive, Fauvism, foreground, middle ground and background...and is just plain adventurous!

Direct drawing steps

After practicing on sketch paper students draw with white glue on black pre-cut construction paper. 

Allow the glue drawings to dry for at least 48 hours. Part II, compare and contrast realistic color choices with more expressive/non realistic choices. Model how to blend pastels and color in the direction of the shape to emphasize texture and or movement. Students then add color and detail with chalk and oil

pastels. Artists name signed with Sharpie in the corner. 

First Grade Cookie People

Working with a slightly smaller-redesigned template this year, we completed this project in one 45-50 minute class period. I think the experience and results were just as rewarding for the students. Lots of fun scrapbook paper for clothing and construction paper crayons for details.

Library Connection: I did read select parts of the Ginger Baby Book ( I don't like the ending of that story...very strange and kinda bleak), but the illustrations are wonderful!  

Cookie People

Working with my special needs Pre-K and DHH students I use a larger cookie person pattern. We explore color and texture while "decorating" and designing these fun paper treats. It is a fun way to begin developing cutting skills as well as the parts of the face.