maandag 28 februari 2011

Paper mache figure on a bottle

You need:

  1. wine bottle
  2. newspapers torn in strips
  3. paper tape
  4. wallpaper paste
  5. tempera paint
  6. brushes
  7. varnish
  8. fabrics
  9. wool, cotton, feathers etc.

Students make a ball of newspaper and tape it on the bottle with paper tape. Tear newspapers in strips and paste them with wallpaper paste on the ball far over the bottle so that the tape is not visible anymore. Be sure to use a lot of wallpaper paste. If the ball on the bottle is smooth, students make eyes, nose, ears and paste them on the head. Fix them with paper strips and paste. Let dry for at least 24 hours.

After drying the figures can be painted. Start with the brightest colour. Paint several times to be sure the ink of the newspaper is not visible anymore. Varnish the dolls to make them shine.

After drying the doll has to be dressed and beautified. Use fabrics, wool, cotton, feathers, beads, lace etc. Paste them on the bottle and head with strong glue.

All artworks are made by students of grade 3

Thanks to Ruth Megens

zondag 27 februari 2011

Making masks

You need:
  1. white cardboard
  2. rectangular aluminum containers
  3. paint
  4. brushes
  5. scissors
  6. glue
  7. cutting knife
  8. oil pastels

We look at masks from Venice, masks from Africa and the culture of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs through photos on the internet. We discuss the form of the masks and look for the differences between the African, Venetian and those of the Incas. We look at the position of the eyes, nose and mouth.

Let students choose the style and material they want to use. The aluminium containers are meant for students who want to make an Inca mask, since Incas often used silver or gold. Draw with pencil the shape of the mask and cut it out. Mark the spot where the eyes should be (at half or slightly above or below the half) and cut them out. Draw a nose and cut it partly in order to create some relief. Colour the mask with oil pastels. For an Inca mask: cut the aluminum container, cut the eyes, cut a nose and paste it on, cut a mouth. Paint the mask with tempera, making sure there will be some shiny material to be seen.

Look at each others masks at the end of this lesson and discuss what style or influence you recognize.

Artworks made by students of grade 3

Thanks to Ann de Naegel (Belgium) and her students

zaterdag 26 februari 2011

Longing for spring: printing flowers!

You need:

  1. piece of linoleum of 12 by 12 cm
  2. several sorts of paper
  3. lino knives
  4. block printing ink
  5. flat piece of glass
  6. linoleum roller
  7. lino press
  8. coloured cardboard 34 by 12 cm
  9. scissors
  10. glue or stapler

Students draw one or more flowers on their piece of linoleum and cut it out. Then the flower has to be printed on three different sorts of paper. In this lesson I choose for coloured construction paper, a brown paper bag and white white woven towels from the dispenser. Cut the prints with 1 cm around. Paste or staple them on coloured cardboard. Spring can come!

Both artworks are made by students of grade 4

woensdag 16 februari 2011

Winter trees glimpse

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:
  1. cardboard in three colours, 15 by 20 cm
  2. ruler
  3. pencil
  4. cutter
  5. cutting mat
  6. double sided foamtape
  7. hook

Draw a rectangle on each sheet of cardboard 2 cm from the edges. Draw wintertrees in these rectangles. The trunk must be on the bottom, the branches must reach the left, right or upper edge. Make sure the three trunks slightly stagger. Cut the parts between the branches/trunk and the frame using a cutter. Use double sided foam tape to paste the three windows together. The lightest colour in the front, the darkest colour on the back.

Attach a hook to the window to hang it.

dinsdag 15 februari 2011

Wild flowers

You need:

  1. black construction paper 20 by 8 cm
  2. colour pencils
  3. tempera paint
  4. q-tips
  5. saucer
A short lesson with great results! Draw a lot of flower stems on the black paper with several colours green. Stamp the petals above and between the stems, using tempera and q-tips.

zondag 13 februari 2011

Patterned landscape

You need:

  1. white drawing sheet A5 size
  2. black fine marker or Indian ink
  3. coloured paper for background

Children sketch a simple mountain landscape with grey pencil. Use different patterns to colour the mountains: spheres, lines, triangles, squares, leaves - as different as possible. Patterns can by filled negatively of positively: fill a moutain with circles and colour the space between them with black, so the white circles will remain. Paste the drawing on a coloured background.

Made by students of grade 3

dinsdag 8 februari 2011

Connected hearts

You need:
  1. white drawing sheet A5 size
  2. piece of cardboard
  3. scissors
  4. oil pastels
  5. colour pencils
  6. watercolour paint
  7. jar with water
  8. brush
  9. coloured paper
  10. glue
  11. metallic gel pen or marker
Draw a heart on a piece of cardboard and cut it out. Trace the heart several times on the drawing sheet. Hearts should overlap. Trace the heart also on the edged of the sheet. Draw smaller hearts within the traced ones; be sure there is about half cm space between the two lines. Draw and erase the the pencil lines of the overlapping hearts as if they weave together: below - above - below - above. Colour the hearts between the double lines with oil pastels. Paint the sheet with diluted watercolour paint and leave the work to dry. Trace the oil pastel harts on both sides with coloured pencils. Paste the artwork on a coloured sheet and finish the hearts on the frame, using a silver metallic gel pen or marker.

zaterdag 5 februari 2011

Patterned hearts like Jim Dine

You need:
  1. drawing sheet A5 size
  2. crayons
  3. liquid water colour
  4. brush

Fold the sheet of paper into quarters. Cut a heart out of a piece in the hearts: Trace this heart four times with a pencil. Draw patterns in the hearts with crayons: stripes, circles, zigzag lines etc. Draw different patterns around the hearts.

Paint the whole sheet with liquid watercolour. The crayon will resist the ink.

vrijdag 4 februari 2011

Concentric circles Like Kandinsky

You need:
  1. drawing sheet A3 size with 12 squares of 10 by 10 cm
  2. temperea paint
  3. brushes
  4. paper towels
  5. jar with water

Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) was a Russian-French painter. His style of painting originally belonged to expressionism, and is sometimes included in symbolism. Kandinsky was one of the artists who gave shape to the abstract art in the early twentieth century.

Kandinsky was inspired by music. According to his own timbre theory, each colour has its own language and expression, and each colour has a soul. Kandinsky tried to convert musical compositions into paintings. He heard colours in music and he saw music in colours. This correlation between music and colour is the starting point of this lesson. Show students images of by Kandinsky. Tell that he listened to music while painting. Look at the painting 'Squares with concentric circles'. Which circle would belong to cheerful music? And what kind of music did Kandinsky hear while painting the dark circle?

Students are going to make a painting in the style of Kandinsky while listening to classical music. During this lesson they listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Each student gets a white sheet with 12 squares of 10 by 1o cm. Tell them to work from the outside to the middle. We may see no white anymore. Try to avoid two the same colours in one circle. Hang all paintings together on a bulletin board for a great group project!

Made by students of grade 1