Wire portrait like Alexander Calder

made by teacher Wouter 

During a study day on art education our teachers made portraits of wire. This can also be done in higher grades. If you want to make wire figures in lower grades, then choose a simpler shape, for example fruit/veggies or an animal. 

This activity can be done in a lesson about Alexander Calder, known for his wire portraits and mobiles. 

You need:

1. 3 meters wire thickness 1,3 mm
2. wire cutter
3. printed selfie 30 by 40 cm
4. black marker
5. painters tape

Take a picture of yourself and print it. 

Outline your face, eyes, nose, mouth and hair using the black marker. Turn the sheet over, the lines can be seen on the back of it now.  

Wrap 3 m of wire around your fingers into a bunch. 

Start at the neck. Lay the wire flat on the photo and follow the lines of your face. Try to lay out the portrait without cutting the wire. If this doesn't work out, you may smuggle by cutting the wire and go on with a new piece. Give the portrait more strength by doubling the wire on some places. Stick the wire now and then on the photo with painters tape. 

Finished? Remove the pieces of tape. Fix the places where wire comes up by making connections with small pieces of wire. See detail photo.  

outline photo with marker

turn over, marker lines have been pushed through

follow the outlines with wire, stick with tape

make stronger

artworks on the table

hang up for beautiful shadows on the wall   

Painting with scissors like Matisse

made by students of grade 4

You need per student:

1. 1 sheet white drawing paper
2. 1 sheet colored construction paper 
3. 1 sheet colored construction paper from which you cut 7 cm 
4. 1 sheet blue construction paper 
5. leftovers of colored paper
6. glue
7. scissors
8. black marker

Who is Matisse?

Matisse (1869 –1954) was a French artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was primarily known as a painter.

Matisse didn't care if stones were blue, he just chose the colors he liked. Some people thought is art was very ugly: someone who paints blue faces and green noses is a fool and Matisse was called 'Fauve', which means: wild. This is how the word Fauvism came into being for this art movement, art with bold colors. 

After a surgery Matisse spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He wasn't able to paint anymore, but could still paint with his scissors.

View various artworks of Matisse. 

Then few the artwork Oasis. What stands out? 

• no straigh lines 
• organic shapes
• bright colors
• What is an oasis and why is this artwork called so?  

How to make it 

Step 1

Take the two colored sheets: a whole one and one with 7 cm cut off. Paste the smaller sheet on the large one. The strip at the bottom is the table for the fishbowl. 

Step 2

Cut Matisse shapes and glue them on the small sheet. Let them fall of the sheet and cut away the outer pieces.

Step 3

Fold a white sheet in half on the long side and cut out a fishbowl. The center line of the bowl is the fold of the sheet. Trace around the bowl with a thick black marker.   

Step 4

Cut 'water' out of the blue sheet, slightly smaller than the bowl. Paste it in the bowl. Paste the bowl on the colored sheet with organic shapes. 

Step 5

Cut two or three fishes and some water plants and paste them in the bowl.

Elements of art: shape, color. 

One pumpkin, four materials

 

You need:

1. drawing sheet
2. color pencils
3. watercolor paint
4. oilpastels
5. soft pastels

Fold the sheet in four. Draw 4 pumpkins. Color them with different materials. 

Sail with the VOC

 

by students of grade 6

 You need:

1. drawing sheet A3 size
2. drawing sheet A4 size
3. liquid water color
4. brush
5. oil pastel crayons
6. scissors and glue
7. ice cream sticks
8. boxcutter
9. cutting plate
10. newspapers 
11. paper towels

Towards the end of the Golden Age, the Netherlands are at war with England, a battle that is being fought at sea. 

In this lesson students draw a sea ship from that time. 

Study paintings of ships in a battle. What stands out? How do you recognize the Dutch and English ships? Which flags do you see more? What do you see in the foreground of the first painting? What can you tell about the sails? How can you see those ships are in combat? 

Naval battle Anglo-Dutch war(1666). Painter: Abraham Storck

Burning of a part of the English fleet (1667). 

Painter: Pieter van de Velde 

What should you do?

Step 1

First you paint the background on the largest sheet with liquid water color paint. At the bottom (near by) the water is dark, further away it becomes lighter (add water). 

Step 2

Draw on the A4 sheet a VOC-ship with oil pastel and color it. Draw and color extra things which you also see in the water during a naval battle, such as fire,, aa life boat, an anchor etc. Do not forget tho color the sails white!

Step 3

Paint your drawing with blue water color paint. Wipe the excess paint off the white sails with a paper towel. Let dry. 

Step 4

Cut out all parts, leaving a blue edge. Stick ice cream sticks behind the loose parts. Take the large blue painted sheet and decide where you want hour ship and the other things. Cut slices of about 3 cm in this sheet. Insert the sticks into the background and the artwork is done. 

Source: Laatmaarleren.nl 

Portraits like Rembrandt

You need:

1. drawing sheets A4 size
2. charcoal
3. paper towels
4. black construction paper for background 

Chiaroscuro is a tecnnique in artworks which display an extreme contrast is between light and dark to create a dramatic effect. 

Titus, son of Rembrandt van Rijn (Rembrandt, 1660)

Narcissus, the man who fell in love with himself, Caravaggio (1597-1599)

Show these two paintings. What do you see? Where are the dark parts, where the light ones? Why is that? What's the artists goal? What do you feel when you see these paintings?

Students sit in pairs facing each other and create a portrait of each other using hatching and swiping techniques. Of course the background is dark, the face light.

by students of grade 4  

Insects

 You need:

1. crayons
2. black construction paper 20 by 20 cm
3. black paint
4. brush
5. toothpick

Color a drawing sheet with crayons. Paint the entire sheet black and let it dry.  Scratch insects with a toothpick. 

 Paste the artwork on a coloured background.

Dutch canal houses: indian ink and soft pastels

You need: 

1. drawing sheets
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. indian ink
5. dip pen
6. soft pastels

Dutch canal houses are famous for their facades: stepped gable, neck gable, bell gable, clock gable or spout gable. Show pictures of those five gables and discuss them. Show photographs from canal houses and discuss the other features of canal houses: the stairs, symmetry, windows, ornaments, shutters. 

Students draw a line on their sheet about 5 cm from below. This is the canal. At the end you can glue all drawings together to get a long street full of canal houses. Sketch the houses lightly with a grey pencil. Indicate the places of windows, stairs, doors and shutters. Draw small boats in the canal. Draw the houses with indian ink and color them with soft pastels.

by students of grade  6

Fun flowers

 

You need:

1. white or colored drawing sheet
2. scraps of colored paper 
3. scissors
4. glue
5. black markers

Cut several circles from scraps of colored paper and paste them om the drawing sheet. Paste smaller circles on the bigger ones. Draw petals using several black markers in several thicknesses.   

Source: Krokotak.com