Moonlit Fireflies

If you catch a firefly and keep it in a jar

you may find you have lost a tiny star

If you let it go then, back into the night,

You may see it once again, Star bright

- Lillian Moore

My Draw, Paint, Print, Collage classes revisited this lesson I did in 2011. Summer seemed like the perfect time to try it again. Although we don't have fireflies where we live, some of my students have seen them in their travels east. I was thrilled the first time I spotted hundreds of little flickers of light, one summer evening while living in Atlanta.

Children had the option of creating a cartoon firefly or a more realistic one by following a basic direct line drawing lesson. Our branches were illuminated with a silver metallic marker - a great tip from Natalie at smART Class, who did her own great version of this lesson here. I added floral wire antennae to the cut fireflies before they were glued to their moonlit painted backgrounds.
(Artwork by children ages 5-11)