Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Chinese Lanterns







In honor of Chinese New Year last month, I thought this lesson from Art Stars would make a great project for my K-5th graders. As Amy describes in her post, the children started their lanterns by drawing "squashed circles". I encouraged them to overlap some lanterns and have some go off the page to create an interesting composition. They used oil pastels to add color and patterns and then painted the background with watercolor. Once dry, they used the backs of their painted brushes dipped in white acrylic to create strands of white lights. I told them to imagine their backyards decorated for a party with colorful lanterns and strands of draping lights.

7 comments:

  1. These are so whimsical! I love the dark navy backgrounds with the twinkling lights!! So pretty....

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  2. Those lights bring a bit of magic to kiddos' scenes!!

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  3. Thank you Mary, I am always on the lookout for excellent subjects. These are brilliant.

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  4. These brought back a wonderful memory. We were on the island of Martha's Vineyard a number of years ago, staying in the town of Oak Bluff. We didn't know it when we made our plans, but we were there for what they call Illumination Night. A community of tiny colorfully painted gingerbread cottages were all illuminated by hundreds of Japanese paper lanterns. It was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. Look it up; it will make you want to go there for this wonderful summer night!

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    1. What fun Phyl!! I went to Martha's Vineyard years ago after my brother graduated from UCONN. I would have loved to have been there for Illumination Night. Gorgeous photos! Thanks :D

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  5. any idea where art stars disappeared to? It's such a fun looking project - would love to do with my 3rd graders...just wish I had more directions

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