Balloon family

Sometimes I wonder whether I am 'arting' the heck out of my own two girls, who help me experiment  with art lessons, attend some of my classes and assist with others. But lately they have been putting my concerns to rest, and just making things on their own, together and with the family. I mean really, shouldn't every family come in balloon form? Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Van Gogh Sunflower Weaving

The idea for this lesson plan came from Family Fun Magazine online. I was interested in the project for its application of weaving and 3-D art. It is also nice for my small studio because the children make and take their looms home as part of the sunflower. I had a template for them to trace and cut to create the petals of the flowers on their paper plates.

We read the book titled 'Van Gogh and the Sunflowers' to learn more about his life and inspiration. Then I used the lesson to help them create their own sunflowers. They got to decide when they had weaved enough to create the centers. I also had photo reference available for the shape and color of the leaves. 

I gave this lesson to my older and younger students, and have to say that it was more appropriate for the older kids (grades 4-8.) But since my classes are small, I was able to guide the younger ones to create great flowers too! It was also just a great project to send home to brighten up this cold, snowy winter we are having. Have a look:

The Google Art Project

 I am completely blown away by the Google Art Project just released online! I frequent museums and believe that viewing paintings in person is a worthwhile experience. But when I can use Google to walk into the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and view one of his paintings so closely that I can melt right into the brush strokes, it is a good day to be alive! And imagine the people who don't have the mobility or means to travel the world for the luxury of these experiences. If you haven't visited yet, make sure you do! Check out the Visitor's Guide and Behind the Scenes offerings as well.

http://www.googleartproject.com/

New Year, New Studio

New classes, new opportunities, and new students are getting 2011 off to a great start. A couple of new year resolutions seemed to be in order as well. I've started to finish up the final stages of completing the studio I teach in— with lots of help from my husband. I will finally have my utility sink back, hurray! There are now shelves to hold supplies on hand like brushes, water jars and such, which frees up my counter space. We are replacing the wall to wall carpet (warm and comfy, but not good for dropped paint brushes and spills) with a more durable floor. A final cabinet was ordered, and there are a few last places to paint. I also started an art corner with art related books, puzzles and games.

The best part about the studio is it being full of children to teach!
I am so thankful for this Positive Space.

Inspired by Gustav Klimt

My younger students created these works based on Gustav Klimt's Tree of Life. First we drew in pencil and had to think about how to create those swirly branches! After the drawings were finished, the children added bits of shape and color with oil pastels. We talked about adding only to the tree and the ground, to make a better composition and to have nice contrast which would highlight their trees. The final step was painting with metallic tempera, to mimic Klimt's use of gold leaf in his works. I think they are outstanding! Great job little artists.

A World of Art

Last year I hung up a world map to use in class, and told myself I would start posting pictures and locations for things we studied in class. Well, that project never came to fruition, although I did point at the map a whole lot! So I made a New Year's resolution to finally map out a world of art projects.
In retrospect I think it was more successful to complete this project all at once, rather than a couple of images every now and then. I planned out a color coded design and was mindful of including male and female artists, different time periods, native and/or cultural art, different materials etc.
The kids loved it! They got a chance to reflect on past projects, recall names and styles of art, and were curious about projects they haven't worked on yet. I can't wait for my opportunity to share with hundreds of children, instead of just dozens. I know my teaching job is out there somewhere,  but until then I'm happy to share with all who learn and create at my studio.

Turkey Pinch Pots

I saw this lesson at  Deep Space Sparkle and was thrilled to give a new pinch pot idea a try. Plus I had parents talking about not having too many pieces of art that made good Thanksgiving decorations. This project seemed to fit all the criteria!

I have finally moved on from Crayola Air Dry clay, and I will never go back! Not having a kiln has made me hesitant to push on with clay projects, but it is so important to have that tactile experience, and to work three dimensionally. For this project we used Amaco air dry clay and it outperformed the Crayola by leaps and bounds.

We each worked with a baseball sized ball of clay, gently kneading it to use the warmth of our hands to soften the clay. Then each child pushed one finger into the center of their ball to create the center of the pot. We didn't thin out the walls of the pot too much, to allow for pulling the head and neck from one end and the tail feathers from the other. The beak, waddle, and wings were added with extra pieces of clay, and the children were instructed on how to score and moisten the point of contact to get it to adhere well. The turkeys were finished off with acrylic paint after they had completely dried.