Abstract Sculptures using Stockings

Here are some photos from the ever popular 'stocking sculptures' made by some Grade 7/8 classes. I first did this lessons years ago when I was a student teacher. I found the original lesson plan here on the Incredible Art Department website. I followed the lesson step-by-step and it worked brilliantly.

You essentially cut the end off a wire coat hanger, have a small block of wood with two holes drilled into it, and then put the wire ends in. bend it around to get a pleasing form, then stretch a knee high nylon over-top and around the wood base. Then you need to coat/prime it (gesso, house paint, whatever) a bunch of times. Then students paint it using acrylics (don't use tempera- it ends up cracking, a least it did with me). I spray them with gloss varnish afterwards for protection and shine.

It's a great lesson for introducing the concept of Abstract art. After the sculptures are finished, as an extension, I have students do a black and white charcoal drawing of their piece (see photo below). This is a very popular projects and students can get really creative with these.

You can see in the orange and white sculpture above, the student cut a hole through the nylon.
I didn't think it would work, but it did!

These were the sculptures made during my student teaching days. We used some metallic/pearlized paint and glitter for these- they turned out super cool!

Mixed Media Palm Trees

This is a fun 'tropical' project that involves drawing directly with glue and incorporates 

line and texture. This is a lesson I saw in a 2004 issue of Art and Activities magazine. It was entitled:  "Breezy palm trees with mixed media" by Michelle Crosby.

So I started off by having Grade 6 students look at photos of different types of palm trees and then I demo-ed how to draw them. You might even be so lucky as to have palm trees on your school grounds and can do some direct observational drawings. 

Students then practised in their sketchbooks until they felt really comfortable drawing them.

Photos of palm trees I took in Las Terranas, Dominican Republic.

Then, on heavy white paper or watercolour paper, students draw a palm tree directly with a bottle of white glue. Add in a beach scene, ocean, coconuts, sunset, etc. Whatever they want. We didn't draw first with a pencil, but you can definitely try that if you want. Just draw lightly.

Let these dry FLAT overnight and the next day the glue will have flatted out quite a bit.

Dried glue

 Then paint the scene using watercolours. Try not to paint over the glue lines, if possible.

 Once it's painted, let it dry a bit.

Then take a black wax crayon and peel the paper off.  Use the side of the crayon to rub all over the painting- this really stresses the kids out! They all think it will 'ruin' their lovely watercolour. I always demonstrate on my own samples first; then they see it actually looks cool and takes away some of the fear. Have them verbalize how the crayon affects the painting. I use this as a lesson in risk-taking and artistic experimentation.

Having said that, if you want to lessen the stress, have the kids create TWO glue paintings- one they can leave simply painted, and the second one they can add the crayon rubbing.

When you do the rubbing, it's best if you only go in one direction- start off lightly and try to concentrate the rubbing on the raised glue lines.

Ta da!

Shiny Foil Collages

This is a fun and simple collage project my Grade 2 class worked on. It's a great way to use up any scraps of cardboard and coloured tissue paper you have in the classroom.

Simple pre-cut a bunch of cardboard to whatever size you like. Then rip off pieces of tin foil slightly larger than the cardboard. Students cover the front of the cardboard with glue (we used glue sticks) and then carefully wrap the foil around the cardboard and glue it on the back.This is the base for the collage. 

Then the kids cut up tissue paper into whatever type of scene they wanted- most did simple landscapes or seascapes. Using watered-down white glue, use a paintbrush to apply these to the foil covered cardboard. Then the kids made additional shapes, objects or animals out of coloured paper scraps and glued them on. They also used sequins and plastic gems (from the Dollar Store) to add a little extra zazzle dazzle.

The tissue paper, being transparent, allows some of the shiny foil to show through and it has a lovely shimmering quality that these photos unfortunately can't capture.

                                                           

Ta da!

Keith Haring-Style Social Issue Poster

This poster is supposed to represent 'alcoholism'.

This is a poster project based on the artwork of American Pop Artist Keith Haring. Haring tends to be very popular with Art teachers as his work is very colourful and accessible to students of all abilities. 

For this project, Grade 9 students had to think about a social issue they felt was important to them. Then they had to come up with a composition, in the style of Keith Haring, to best illustrate the message behind their chosen issue. Haring's bold lines and active figures work well in a poster format; indeed, his works have been used in many posters and advertising campaigns.

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Haring's famous trademark 'radiant baby'   Image Source

So I started off by showing a slideshow of Haring's work and having the students describe his style. Then we brainstormed and discussed various social issues that might be appropriate.

Then, for practice, I printed off colouring sheets from his website http://www.haringkids.com/master_act_stories.htm  for the students to practice painting on. They used tempera paint which is perfect for this project as it dries nice and flat and opaque 

(but you generally need two coats of paint).

After their practice, they figured out their designs in their sketchbooks, then drew them on large heavy white paper and painted them. A bold black outline finishes them off nicely. Popular choices for the posters included environmentalism, bullying, and drug/alcohol abuse. On the back of each poster, students had to write a bit about what their social issue was and why they chose it.

Practice painting sheets.

 

 

 

 

Rhythm & Movement Figures

This is a great lesson for teaching about the principles of rhythm and movement in art. I found the lesson on the Mrs. Art Teacher blog where she gives a detailed explanation of the project. 

Movement is definitely an area I rarely teach in my classes, so I was really happy to find this project as it seemed really fun for the students and so colourful as well. I taught this to a Grade 8 class and some fast finishers managed to finish it during one 90 minute class period, but I would recommend double that time to ensure good craftsmanship.

I started off by showing some examples of the use of movement in Art. Artworks from the Futurism movement seem to work really well, as they show how to give the illusion of movement and speed through repetition of shapes. Discuss with students how the illusion of movement is created in these works (repetition, overlapping, diagonal lines, etc.)

Rhythm is a principle of design that suggests movement or action. Rhythm is usually achieved through repetition of lines, shapes, colors, and more. It creates a visual tempo in artworks and provides a path for the viewer's eye to follow.

"Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2", Marcel Duchamp, 1912
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"Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash", Giacomo Balla, 1912
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"Speed of a Motorcycle", Giacomo Balla, 1913
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So start off with a sheet of black paper for the background and then choose three colours of bright coloured paper. I bought a pack (500 sheets) of multicoloured coloured printer paper from Staples- both brights and neon colours.  I've also tried this with construction paper but I found the colours just too dull.

Students need to flip through magazines looking for a full page figure in motion- someone walking or jumping or doing sports. I only had fashion magazines, but Mrs. Art Teacher recommends fitness or sporty mags like skateboarding/snowboarding, etc.

Here's an example of a suitable figure:

Do a 'bubble cut' around the figure and then paper-clip it to a stack of your chosen three colours.

Then carefully cut it out. You'll need to move and reposition your paper-clips as you go. I encouraged the kids to really try and cut out the small details (hands, fingers, etc) but it might be too difficult for some. Any interior shapes need to be cut out using an x-acto knife. Save the coloured scraps of paper left from the cutting as students can swap with each other for the background shapes.

Done.

Then you'll have three figures in different colours.

Now design the background. Choose three different coloured sheets of paper and cut out three shapes each of a variety of angular shapes (squares, triangles, rectangles, diamonds, etc.) 

The angular shapes contrast against the curves of the figure. 

Using a glue stick, glue these onto the black paper, trying to overlap the shapes in a balanced way. 

Then glue your figures on top, making sure to overlap and try to use a diagonal line of movement.

My students had fun creating their compositions!

Ta da!