Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Haunted house in the moonlight

You need:
  • white drawing sheet 
  • black construction paper
  • yellow chalk pastel
  • scissors
  • cutting knife
  • glue
  • white pencil
  • black marker
  • blue and purple tempera paint
  • sponge
  • saucer
What should you do? 
  1. Tear a strip of black paper from about 5 cm and paste it on the bottom of the white sheet: the ground. 
  2. Draw an old house on black paper and cut out. Use a cutting knife for doors and windows. 
  3. Paste the house on the white sheet. 
  4. Draw details with white pencil such as bricks, ghosts, spider webs etc.
  5. Draw details in the open windows with a black marker.
  6. Cut and paste a moon. 
  7. Outline moon and house with yellow chalk pastel and smudge the chalk outwards. 
  8. Stamp the background with a sponge and purple and blue paint. 
  9. Paste the artwork on a yellow sheet.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Sunflowers in pieces


This lesson shows we can do more with our artworks than stick them on a colored background. Pretty scary to tear or cut your drawing, but the effect is great! 

What do you need? 

  • white drawing sheet 
  • black construction paper
  • pencil
  • oilpastels
  • liquid water color paint
  • brush
  • scissors and glue

What should you do? 

  1. Draw at least four sunflowers. Be sure three of them are over the edges.
  2. Color with oilpastels. 
  3. Paint the backgrond with liquid water color paint. 

The first drawing is torn in pieces and pasted on black paper with a bit space between them. Before tearing: check which side of the paper is best. One side gives nice white tear lines, the other side does not. 

In these two artworks black strips are pasted on the drawing, creating a window through which you look outside. 

Artworks made by students of grade 6. 

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Stamping with Mondrian


Goal: reducing the visible world in horizontal and vertical lines and primary colors.   
Technique: stamping. 

What do you need?
  • black cardboard 
  • sponges cut in different sizes (squares and rectangles) 
  • tempera paint in red, blue and yellow 
  • brushes
  • white crayons 
About the artist
View these artworks of Mondrian and talk about how he abstracted a tree. 

Also talk about Victory Boogie Woogie, the painting in which you can see part of the map of New York. Tell students we are going to make our own Mondrian map. Discuss the terms primary colors, square, rectangle, vertical and horizontal lines.


Instruction 
Brushes will not be rinsed, but will remain the same color.
Show how to use a brush to rub the sponge with paint. 
Show how to stamp: do not slide the sponge, but lift it off the paper. This way you'll get a tight shape.  
Stamp horizontally or vertically only. 
Do not stamp two of the same colors next to each other. 
Make sure the shapes don't touch each other. You must be able to see the black roads between them. 

When the work is dry, draw stripes on the black roads using a white crayon. 

Artworks are made by students of grade 1/2.