Pumpkins like Yayoi Kusama

made by a student of grade 4

 You need:

1. black construction paper
2. colored paper
3. black marker
4. black fineliner
5. scissors
6. glue
7. white pencil

Yayoi Kusama (1929) is a Japanese artist. She creates paintings, sculptures and large installations with mirrors and lots of light symbolizing infinity. All her artworks have one thing in common: polka dots. That's why she's affectionately known as 'the princess of polka dots'. 

From an early age Kusama wanted to make art, but her traditional Japanese parents didn't like this. That's why Kusama left for NewYork and joined artists there, including Andy Warhol. 

By adding all-over marks and dots to her paintings, drawings, objects and clothes she feels as if she is making them (and herself) melt into, and become part of, the bigger universe. She said:

‘Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment’.

View and discuss artwork of Kusama. 

• use of large and small polka dots 
• backgrounds are often filled with triangles
• use of bright colors
• her installations suggest infinity

Draw three pumpkins on the colored sheets and cut them. Draw bigger and smaller dots on the segments with markers. Draw triangels on the black sheet with a white pencil - start with a zigzag line. Paste the pumpkins on the black sheet.

Pumpkin, like Burton Morris

 You need:

1. several colors construction paper
2. black cardboard 20 by 20 cm
3. colored cardboard 20 by 20 cm
4. scissors
5. glue
6. black marker

Burton Morris (Pittsburgh, 1964) is an American pop-art artist. He is influenced by pop-art artists from the 60's and 70's, like Warhol, Lichtenstein and Haring. Now he is one of the most famous modern post pop-art artist. Morris's work shows a contemporary twist to traditional pop-art. His work is cheerful, energetic and colourful. His characteristic lines with the bright colors give his work a fantastic energy. Morris's work is known of tv-series like Friends and also appears in major advertising campaigns by U.S. companies like AT & T, Pepsi and Heinz. 

To see a step by step description with photos', see my other post about Burton Morris. 

And read the mail I got from Burton Morris when he came across my lesson of 2011: 

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

Blue dotted paper mache plates and bowls

 

You need:

1. plate or bowl
2. newspaper strips
3. wallpaper paste
4. white wall paint
5. tempera paint
6. cotton swabs

Cover newspaper strips with wallpaper paste on bowl or plate. Be sure to have 6 layers. Let dry.

Remove the paper mache carefully. Paint it white with wall paint. Let dry.

Use cotton swabs to print patters of blue dots. 

The birds of George Braque lesson 2

artworks are made by students of grade 4

This is lesson 2 about George Braque. First lesson: click here.  

You need:

1. blue construction paper 
2. colored paper
3. scissors
4. glue

George Braque (1882-1962) was a French painter and sculptor. Together with Picasso he was founder of cubism.
After is cubist time, Braque painted simplified figurative paintings of landscapes and still lifes with musical instruments and bottles. Remarkable are the letters and nummers Braque added to his works.
When Braque became ill, he was no longer able to paint. He turned to making color litographs of simple bird silhouettes. The same birds you that can also be seen in one of the ceiling paintings of the Louvre in Paris.

Look at the artwork Les oiseaux of George Braque.  

• simple shapes (silhouet)
• white outlines
• blue background
• geometrical shapes: stars and moon 

What do you have to do: 
Draw at least three silhouettes of birds on colored paper. Cut them. Cut geometrical shapes out of paper scraps. Paste everything on the blue sheet.  

Elements of art: shape, space.

Techniques: drawing, making a collage, cut and glue 

The flowers of Andy Warhol

You need:

1. black construction paper A4 size
2. brushes
3. tempera paint
4. scraps of colored paper
5. scissors 
6. glue

Andy Warhol - popart
Andy Warhol (1928-1897) was an American painter, photographer and filmaker. He started his working life as an advertising artist and became an artist in the early 1960's. He introduced everyday consumer products into his artwork, such as Campbell's soup cans and Coco Cola bottles. 
Warhol is one of the leading artists of Pop art. 
Using printing techniques he created large series of works of Marilyn Monroe or political themes such as the electric chair. Warhol used photographs of others to edit.
The Flowers series clearly show how Warhol applied the silkscreen printing technique. We see the flowers of the rare Hibiscus fragilus.  
The Flowers series are also seen as Warhol's answer toe Van Gogh's famous paintings of sunflowers and Claude Monet's artworks of water lilies. 

Stamp green and yellow tempera on a black sheet of paper leaving about one inch of the edges black. Let dry. 
Cut at least four flowers with five petals from scraps of colored paper. Do not draw in first, but cut by hand. Stick the flowers on the black sheet. No overlap. 

Elements of art: shape, color

Birthday calendar in one color

You need:

1. drawing sheet
2. tempera paint
3. ruler
4. pencil
5. black marker

Draw with pencil a geometric shape in the middle of the sheet. Draw horizontal and vertical lines to divide the background in rectangles. Do the same within the shape. Paint the rectangles in values of one color, using a basic color + black and white. Start with the lightest color. 

Outline all shapes with black marker.

Elements of art: color, line, shape, value 

The birds of George Braque

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A3 size
2. white drawing sheet A6 size 
3. linoleum
4. lino knife
5. lino press
6. lino roller
7. tempera paint
8. brushes
9. scissors and glue

George Braque (1882-1962) was a French painter and sculptor. Together with Picasso he was founder of cubism.
After is cubist time, Braque painted simplified figurative paintings of landscapes and still lifes with musical instruments and bottles. Remarkable are the letters and nummers Braque added to his works.
When Braque became ill, he was no longer able to paint. He turned to making color litographs of simple bird silhouettes. The same birds you that can also be seen in one of the ceiling paintings of the Louvre in Paris.

View the lithographs of birds and discuss the artwork:

• simple shapes (silhouettes) 
• background is often blue
• few colors in the artwork
• birds are black or white
• birds are painted or printed 

Process: 
Draw a silhouette of a bird on A6 sheet and copy it to the linoleum. Cut away the background, so the bird stands out. Paint or stamp a background on the A3 sheet. Make some prints of the bird in black and/or white and let dry. Be sure to get birds in several color nuances by not rolling the lino every time.
Cut the printed birds and paste them on the background.

door Quinty, groep 7

Elements of art: form, space, nuance, color

Techniques: printing, painting, cut&glue

Rembrandt's Cabinet of Curiosities

You need:

1. drawing sheet 12 by 12 cm
2. indian ink
3. dip pen
4. pencil
5. black construction paper
6. glue
7. various shells

Rembrandt was a painter, etcher and draftsman, but also an art dealer. In 1656 he went bankrupt and to pay the creditors his possessions had to be sold. An official made a list of all the things that were in Rembrandt's house. There was, for example, a large collection of objects from various continents in the art chamber, also known as 'cabinet of curiosities'.

In the room were dried animals, shells, spears from Indonesi, glass from Venice, a lion's skin and a box with coins and tokens. Sailors of the VOC often took the objects with them to the Netherlands as souvenir.

Etching of a shell, Rembrandt, 1650 (Rijksmuseum)

Discuss how ethings are made. Why does an etching make more money then a painting or drawing? Why does the artist have to scratch his signature in reverse on an etching?  

View etchings by Rembrandt. What stands out? 

• very detailed
• there are just lines
• shading for dark areas
• lifelike
• black and white

First let students practice in using indian ink. How do you make thick or thin lines? How do you make light or dark areas? What is hatching? 

Students draw a shell like Rembrandt did.  Draw with pencil, trace it wiht ink. Make hatch lines for the dark area's.

Paste all student art works together on a black construction sheet: Rembrandt's Cabinet of Curiosities. 

Life-size Keith Haring groupwork

Show Haring's works and discuss them: 

• comic like people
• few details
• thick black outlines
• bright colors
• dashes that indicate movement 

You need:

1. life-size drawing sheets.
2. tempera paint
3. brushes grote vellen schetspapier 

Paste drawing sheets together. There must fit a child on it. 

Make groups of 4 students. Trace one student of each group using a black marker.

 Students paint the traced figure in one color. Fill the rest of the sheet with patterns in black paint. 

How to make an impressionist painting

You need: four pieces of drawing paper (briefkaart)

1. tempera paint
2. brushes
3. jar with water
4. paper towels
5. dark blue construction paper

Famous impressionist painters are Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Renoir, and Edouard Manet. The last one once said: "I paint what I see and not what others want to see. "
Impressionist paintings are snapshots, a quick impression. Up close you only see dots,  from a distance you see these dots together make an image.
View and discuss impressiont paintings. What do you see? Why do wel call this impressionistic? What is an impression?

To do: 
Step 1: Paint on the 4 sheets a beach in yellow and 3 colors. Be sure your 4 sheets are all the same.
Step 2: Put one of the 4 sheets away, it's ready.
Step 3: Paint a yellow sky on the other 3 sheets. Pick white and yellow at the same time on your brush.
Step 4: Put one of the 3 sheets away, it's ready.
Step 5: Take a smaller brush and make dots in the water using blue and white. Make dots in pink, orange and white in the sand.
Step 6: Put one of the 2 sheets away, it's ready.
Step 7: Paint on the last sheet a simple sailing boat in the water.
Step 9: Paste the paintings on a sheet of dark blue construction paper

I once came across this art work on Pinterest, but can't find it back Is this your lesson? Please contact me so i can add your name. 

Zebra

You need:

1. drawing sheet A3 size 
2. drawing sheet A3 size
3. tea
4. glue
5. sand
6. brush
7. charcoal
8. wool in black and white
9. scissors

After reading The zebra who ran too fast fro Jenni Desmond we did this lesson. 

Dillute glue with a cup of strong tea and add some sand. Paint the large sheet with this. Color and texture will emphasize the natural habitat of the zebra. 

Fold the other two sheets in half and cut a neck and head (oval). 

Use charcoal to draw vertical lines on the head and horizontal lines on the body. Cut ears and draw lines on them. Cut pieces of white and black wire and paste them. 

Elements of ard: line, shape and texture.
Techniques: cut and glue, draw with charcoal

Son of Man - Like Magritte

You need:

1. white drawings sheets A3 size
2. white and blue tempera paint 
3. paper with stone print
4. white round paper
5. camera
6. bowler hat and black coat 
7. brushes
8. small dishes
9. sponges

René Magritte
Rene Magritte is born in 1898 in Belgium. When Magritte is 13 years old, his mother commits suicide. She jumps in the river Samber and is found with her dress covering her face. This image has been suggested as the source of several paintings from Magritte: people hiding their faces with several objects.
In 1924 Magritte became friends with members of a surrealism group in Brussels: André Breton, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. These artists influence Magritte's work. In the end Magritte became famous with surrealistic paintings.
Magritte gave his paintings a realistic effect of surrealism. He painted simple objects, like a shoe, an apple, a pipe or a tree. Magritte took these things out of their ordinary environment and placed them in a special surrounding.
One of Magritte's most famous works is "La Trahison des Images" (The Treachery of Images). This is a very realistic painting from a pipe, with the text: Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe). The painting is not a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe. As Magritte himself commented: "The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe,' I'd have been lying!"
By putting us constantly on the wrong track, Magritte forces us to think about art. Magritte thought it the task of an artist to place reality in a different context.

Look at the artwork
Discuss the painting The son of man. What do you see? What does the man wear? What's on his head? Why can he see little? Can he see nothing of can he peek at the edge of the apple? What's wrong with his left arm? (his arm appears to bend backwards at the elbow). What do you see at the background? What does the sky look like?

How do you make this artwork?
Take photographs of the students wearing a bowler hat and a dark coat; arms hanging beside the body. Students paint their sheet blue and let it dry. Cut a wall out of stoneprint paper and stick it on the blue sky. Stamp white spots on the artwork using a sponge. Let dry againg. Cut the photo neatly along the edges and paste it on the blue sheet in front of the stoneprint paper. Draw a piece of fruit on the circle sheet and show color transitions, just like real fruit. Paste it on the face.

Both artworks are made by students of grade 1

The fall of Icarus - like Matisse

You need:

1. dark blue construction paper
2. black construction paper
3. leftovers of construction paper in several colors
4. scissors
5. glue

In this lesson students cut a performance out of paper just like Matisse did with his work: The fall of Icarus. 

Matisse (1969-1954) was a French sculptor and painter. He is seen as the founder of fauvism. In his last years of life Matisse wasn't able to paint anymore. A pair of scissors was the tool he used to transform painted papers (painted by assistants) into a world of plants, animals, shapes and figures. 

One of these cut-outs is the artwork Icarus (1947). 

Read the myth of Daedalus and Icarus. 

Then look at the original artwerk Icarus.
What do you see? At what time of day were  Daedalus and Icarus flying and how can you see that? (at night - dark blue paper, stars). What do you notice about the body of Icarus?  (limbs have different thicknesses) What can you deduce from that? (no drawing in advance but cut out of the hand) What could be the red dot? (heart)  How do you know Icarus is falling? (arms spread, head not straight on the body) Can you see that Icarus is falling into the see? (no) What else could he fall in?

Task
The real Icarus fell into the sea, but our Icarus falls into something else ... and you  decide for yourself into what! Trees? A city? On a church?
Cut a falling human out of black construction paper.  You're not allowed to make a drawing in advance, just cut 'out of the hand'. If the first time fails, you take a new black sheet. Cut some stars. Cut a surface: in what is Icarus falling?  Place the loose parts on a blue sheet and stick all of them.

All artworks made by students of grade 3.