Pastel planets

You need:

1. black construction paper A4 size
2. chalk pastel
3. hairspray

During our school project about Space, students of grade 5 made these fantasy solar system. Spheres were drawn with attention towards an imaginary light source creating light and dark values. Overlap was required to suggest depth. To suggest the endlessness of the universe, parts of planets had to be drawn at the edge of the sheet.

 

Draw circles by tracing round subjects or use compasses. Colour with chalk pastel. Note the technique of the chalk: colour, smear and blend until you're satisfied. Fix the artwork with hairspray.

 

Winter forest prints

I found this lesson on Mrs. Knight's art class blog. Take a look on that blog to see more beautiful artworks.

You need:

1. ribbed cardboard
2. flat cardboard
3. woodsies
4. coloured construction paper
5. block printing ink
6. piece of plexiglass
7. roller

Students make a collage of trees, cut from pieces of flat and ribbed cardboard and woodsies. Tell them the cardboard can be used in two ways: from top to bottom or from left to right.
Shake the bottle of blockprint carefully to be sure oil will mix with the rest. Drip some paint on the glass and roll it out. Roll the paint on the trees. Put a sheet on top of it and press firmly with a flat hand. Make different prints, choose the best one to paste on a coloured background.    

A journey through space

You need:

1. white drawing paper A5 size
2. crayons
3. black paint
4. brush
5. toothpick
6. coloured construction paper

As part of a school project about the Dutch astronaut André Kuipers and his space journey, students scratched these drawings.
Colour the entire drawing sheet with crayons. Choose the colours you want, but don't use black or white. Then Paint the entire sheet black and let dry. Scratch a space scene with a toothpick. Paste the artwork on a coloured background.

All artworks are made by students of grade 3

Stamped polar bears

 

Made by students of grade 1

You need:

1. blue construction paper
2. pencil
3. tempera paint white and black
4. marshmellows
5. brush
6. glitter
7. glue

Show how to draw a polar bear out of simple shapes: circle, half of a circle (ears) and a part of a triangle for the body. Talk about the grey shadow under the head. How do you make gray? Tell students they have to stamp with marshmellows or brushes. Do not paint!

Students draw the head of a polar bear on blue paper. Use white to stamp head and body. Use grey to stamp the shadow. Paint eyes and nose with a small brush. Decorate the artwork with glitter.

Snowmen mandala

You need:

1. white drawing sheet 
2. compasses
3. scissors 
4. crayons or oil pastels 
5. indian ink
6. brush

Step 1.
This lesson is a variaton on 'Autumn leaves mandala'. Click the link for full description.

Focus in this lesson: make sure the snowmen are really coloured white with crayons or oil pastels, otherwise they will turn completely black with ink after step 2.

Step 2.

Crumple the picture into a ball. Make flat again. Paint the entire drawing with indian ink. Rinse the ink immediately after it in the sink and let the work dry. The ink will rest in the folds of the paper  and creates a great "antique" effect.

Golden Christmas

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. white drawing sheet 20 by 20 cm
2. ruler
3. pencil
4. silver and gold marker
5. black construction paper
6. glue

Children divide their sheet with ruler and pencil in 16 squares from 5 by 5 cm. In each square they draw a Christmas figure: tree, candy, snowman, skates, mitten, sock, candle etc. These figures have to be coloured , just like a checkerboard, with gold and silver marker.  Paste the drawing on a black sheet.

Winter scenes

You need:

1. styrofoam
2. pencil
3. block printing ink
4. paint roller
5. flat piece of plexiglass
6. coloured paper

Explain the principle of printing. Why is it that people started to print texts and pictures?

Draw a winter scene with a pencil on the styrofoam. Squeeze out “toothpaste” amount of ink on plexiglass. Roll ink out. The ink is ready when lines appear. Ink should look wet.
Put the styrofoam on a newspaper. Roll one colour ink onto the foam, working quickly to cover all areas. Lay a sheet on top of foam and press with a flat hand. Take away the sheet and your print is ready. Let dry and cut it with about 1 cm around. Paste one or more prints on a white sheet. Decorate the frame with fingerprints.

Made by students of grade 2

House in cubist style

By a student of grade 4

You need:

1. drawing paper A4 size
2. colour markers
3. pencil
4. ruler

Draw a house simplified house with windows and a door. Add one or two trees. Divide the sheet in with three horizontal and three vertical lines. Colour the surfaces with four different coloured markers.

Amsterdam by night

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. liquid water colour
3. brush
4. jar with water
5. indian ink
6. straw
7. black and yellow construction paper
8. scissors
9. glue

Paint the white sheet blue or orange with liquid water colour; add water to get a brighter blue / orange above. Let dry. Drip some indian ink and blow it upwards with a straw. Cut a row of canal houses out of black paper and paste it on the coloured sheet. Cut and paste windows and a moon out of yellow paper.
Paste the artwork on a black sheet.

Artworks made by students of grade 4

Northern lights

You need:

1. black construction paper A4 size
2. chalk pastel
3. white wallpaper with texture
4. scissors
5. glue
6. fine black marker

I found this lesson via Flickr on Pinterest, but don't know to whom I have to give credit...
Show some northern light movies on Youtube. What can you tell about the colours? What movements do you see?

Draw a horizon line a little below the middle of a black sheet. Use different colours chalk pastels to colour the sea. Do not use too much chalk, so that it can be smudged.
Cut a strip of mountains out of black paper. Paste it on the horizon line. Use white chalk pastel to make snow on the mountains. Draw the northern light above the mountains. Smudge colours.
Draw a polar bear on an ice floe on the back of a piece of white wallpaper. Cut out. Draw details with a fine black marker. Paste the polar bear on the sea.
Finally paste the artwork on a bright coloured sheet.

By students of grade 5

Patterned leaves

You need:

1. drawing sheet A4 size
2. pencil
3. black marker
4. water colour paint
5. jar with water
6. brush
7. white pencil
8. coloured sheet

Draw contours of leaves with a pencil on a white sheet. Don't forget some half ones on the edges. Draw veins. Trace the leaves and veins with a black marker. Fill the spaces between the veins with as many different patterns you can.

Paint the space between the leaves with water colour paint. Leave a white edge around the leaves. Let dry. Paste the artwork on a coloured sheet and finish the half leaves with a white pencil on this frame.

Building a burger

I did this lesson in October 2009, and soon saw it on many blogs. It's still one of my favorite lessons.
This week we had the Dutch Week of School Breakfast, a good reason to build a lot of new burgers with students of grade 4.
How to do this? Look at this post.

Printed mushrooms, group work

Group work by students of grade 3

You need:

1. piece of linoleum 15 x 15 cm
2. lino knife
3. block printing ink
4. flat piece of plexiglass
5. linoleum roller
6. white sheets
7. lino press
8. autumn leaves
9. scissors
10. glue
11. coloured cardboard

Draw a mushroom on your linoleum. Cut away the linoleum around the mushroom. Remember: what you cut away will not print. It is not important to carve deeply into linoleum, just enough so that carved area is lower than the linoleum surface. Always carve away from your hand, always keep your hand behind the back edge of linoleum. When you want to check your printing block, place a piece of paper on the linoleum and rub over the paper with a crayon. This will create a “rubbing” and will give you an idea of what the final print will look like.
Squeeze out “toothpaste” amount of ink on plexiglass. Roll ink out. The ink is ready when lines appear. Ink should look wet. 
Put your linoleum block on a newspaper. Roll one or two colours ink onto the linoleum printing block, working quickly to cover all areas. Lay the block on a sheet in the printing press and press. Take away the block and your print is ready.

To make a group work, all students have to cut out on of their their prints. Leave a white edge around the mushroom. Ask some students to make a collage of all mushrooms on  a piece of dark coloured cardboard. Paste some autumn leaves on the bottom of the collage.

Outlined autumn leaves

Made by a student of grade 5

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. liquid water colour yellow and red
3. brush
4. colour markers
5. glue
6. scissors

Paint a wet white sheet with red and yellow liquid water colour. Leave to dry.  Outline some autumn leaves on this sheet, cut them and paste them on a new sheet.
Choose three markers in wamr (autumn) colours and outline the leaves until the sheet is full. Draw the veins with a fine marker.

Blob creatures

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. tempera paint
3. scissors
4. glue
5. black marker
6. black paper for background

Start by folding the white sheet of paper in half and open it up again. Then drop blobs of tempera paint in three different colours somewhere around the middle of your paper. Don't put the paint to close to the edges. Fold the sheet and press by firmly moving hands around. This movement will move the paint around more than just folding.

Open the paper and dry flat.
Look carefully at this creature. Outline the creature with a black marker. Look for typical shapes, like arms, eyes, ears etc. and trace them with a marker. The drawing should be totally symmetrical.

Cut the creature, leaving half cm white around the black lines. Paste it on a coloured background.

Made by students of grade 4

Paper batik autumn leaves

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. oil pastels
3. brown tempera
4. liquid soap
5. brushes

Step 1
Ask students to bring autumn leaves. Outline some of them on the white sheet and draw veins in them. Colour the leaves and background with oilpastels, press heavily.

Step 2.
Wrinkle the sheet into a ball; make sure the picture is on the inside.

Step 3.

Smooth the paper out.

Step 4.

Use brown tempera with a tiny bit of liquid handsoap, and paint over the entire paper.

Step 5.

Then rinse the paper under cool water. The paint sticks in the little crinkle wrinkles giving it that batik look.

Leave the work to dry and press it flat between two books. Paste or staple it on a coloured background.

Burton Morris!!!

Made by a student of grade 6

In February I posted a lesson about Burton Morris. It is a tutorial to make artwork in his style.
Today I was highly surprised when I got an email of the artist himself! Burton Morris wrote me! You'll all understand how excited I was!!!

Dear Jacquelin,

I came across your blog and saw your student's artworks. I am truly touched that you honored my artwork in your teaching lessons and hope it was a success and inspired the children!

I hope to show again in the Netherlands one day and feel free to keep in touch.

Your friend,
Burton Morris

If you want to check it out again, follow this link: http://kidsartists.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-style-of-burton-morris.html

To see his wonderful website: www.burtonmorris.com

Three owls of clay

Artworks are made by students of grade 5

You need:

1. clay
2. two beer coasters stapled together
3. clay plate
4. clay knife

In this lesson students will sculpt three massive forms together and then decorate them.
View pictures of owls and talk about the basic shapes: an oval for the body, round eye shapes, conical beak and plumes (note, these are not ears, because they are on the side of the head).

Students make three egg shapes in different sizes. The pointed end is the bottom of the owl. Modell these shapes together. Work out the shapes by attaching wings, beaks, plumes, eyes etc. The wings are made from flattened clay balls. To attach the wings, roughen the bonding side and press the wing firmly on the body.

Do the same with beak and plume using a conical shape. Make eyes by pressing the finger in the head. Apply texture to the wings, the body and around the eyes using a clay knife or little sticks.
Place the work on two stapled beer coasters. Let it dry for a few weeks before baking.

Halloween scene

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size
2. liquid water colour yellow and orange 
3. brush
4. jar with water
5. black markers
6. black construction paper for backgroud
7. glue or stapler

This lesson is about silhouettes. A silhouette is a shadow, you can only see the outside lines. Show  some silhouettes or shapes made with your hands. Show that sometimes the light comes through openings in the silhouette, so it is not just black.

Make the drawing sheet wet and paint it yellow and orange with liquid water colour to suggest a sunset. Draw a horizon line. Draw a house or a tree, and draw Halloween things around. Colour the silhouettes black and let light where it can. Paste or staple the artwork on a black sheet.

Dutch canal houses groupwork

Part of the groupwork, made by students of grade 4

You need:

1. white drawing sheets
2. tempera paint
3. brushes
4. pencil
5. glue plakkaatverf

After a request of Amy Baldwin, art teacher in Millington, my 4th graders painted Dutch canal houses for the Empty Bowl fundraiser in Millington (Mi).

Before starting to paint, we talked about the Dutch Golden Age, a period roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. In this century many of the typical canal houses were built, in that age used as store houses. We looked at pictures of canal houses, discussed the different kinds of gables (neck gable, trep gable, bell gable) and details of the houses (windows, year it was built, stairs).

Every students gets a sheet of paper and has to draw a line on 8 cm of the bottom - this is for the canal. On the left side of the sheet there must remain a white strip of 2 cm (to paste all paintings together).

Every student draws his own canal house. Stop drawing after 5 minutes, to avoid drawint to many details. Paint the house with tempera paint. Mix colours, or for even better results: take two colours of paint on your brush and mix a little while painting.

Paste all paintings together to make a long street. Paint the canal. You might even add the words  'Groeten uit Holland'!

Click to see full site.