Domed Buildings

Dash Owl

This project is a spin-off of the pointalism lessons.  The objecct is drawn in pencil and outlined in marker 'dashes'.  No continous straight lines are used.  Mixing colors or layering lighter colors is suggested.  Pencil marks are eraced after the drawing is completed.

Winner!

My young student, Matthew, won another award this year during the Earth Day Art Contest. Congrats! You will notice the penguin and the owl that we did in previous lessons.

March of the Penguins

I let the students study photos of real penguins before starting. 

Still Life Drawings

This is a traditional still life drawing, but I teach it with a twist.  I start out with only one piece of fruit, let the students draw it, then I add another.   This simplifies the arrangement and lets them focus on one object.  I ask lots of questions about the objects so the students will begin to look harder and make connections between objects.  "Do you see the triangle of space between the birds nest and the banana?"   "Is the candle one apple wide?"

To start drawing, we simplify each element.  For example, the candle becomes a simple cylinder, the apples become circles.  Only when every element is in the correct place and is the correct size do we add the details.  (the pinecone is really that large) 

This is a strenuous exersize and is usually the only time these young students have done a dry still life.  They are always amazed with their results. 

Blow Paintings

This is my most requested art lesson of all time!  This lesson starts out with cutting drinking straws in half.  We water down water paint until it is very drippy.  I usually place large drips of paint at the bottom of their paper and let them go crazy.  Controling the paint by just blowing isn't as easy as it would seem.  The students soon learn to blow hard and move direction quickly to get the desired thin branch-like drawings.  They usually get light-headed, too.  It is a fun class...

Day at the Beach

During summer art classes last year, we made believe we owned a restaurant 'down the shore'.  I asked them what is their favorite restaurant and what they liked to eat there.  After brainstorming, they were to make a poster or menu of the resturant to advertise.  We made sure that the poster/menu had all beach items and food items drawn to look yummy! Fake phone numbers, web addressses, and street addresses were added.  I had to spell some hard words to some of the younger students; I didn't want them to stress over spelling.