Life is Not Still!

Sorry for the lack of posts my friends. Life definitely hasn't been still these past months! Without all of gory details, let's just say things have been busy! And I see that my fellow bloggers have been busy as well. Kudos to you for keeping up the wonderful community we share. I'm ready to throw my hat back in the ring. Thanks for checking in!

Watercolor Still Life on Newsprint

Here are some gorgeous paintings we created, staying with the recycled theme. Newsprint can be a tougher surface than you might imagine. It also adds pattern and dimension to these still life paintings, not to mention that is being saved from the trash. Try to use pages with all type and no images, which may detract from the final piece. I can not remember where I was inspired by this lesson, so please speak up if you know. The children first drew their subject with as much detail as possible, using black and white cray pas. Then they were asked to add color using watercolors. Brilliant!

I found the blog that inspired this lesson! It's from Briargrove Elementary. They have lots of great recycled art projects! Thanks!

Fruit Contour Drawings

I took this lesson from the Art for Small Hands website. A piece of fruit is placed on each table, resting on a white sheet of background paper. The children are then asked to observe carefully and draw the contour of the fruit, as well as any defining lines. They may sketch in pencil first and add final lines with permanent black marker. Each fruit is then cut in half, and they repeat the exercise. Repeat again as a quarter piece, and finally only a core or peel etc. When all drawings are done, the children add color to their drawings with watercolor. We used apples and oranges and the children really took to taking a closer look at things that they wouldn't usually think too much about. Plus we had a lovely snack by the end of the lesson!