Ocean Textures

My Animal Art Fun class is working on some multi-media tropical fish pictures. (Yes I've been reminded that fish don't fall into the "animal" classification -thanks Mom - but they are a living creature, and that's good enough for me. : ) This is a sample background of their layered project. I rather like it just by itself. The ocean was created with plastic wrap and watered down tempera in blue, turquoise, green and purple. Note to self .... be sure to buy a name brand plastic wrap that won't tear and get stuck on the roll while children are scrambling to place it on their piece before the paint dries. Next week they will add the seaweed and coral effects with matt board edge and sponge printing with acrylics. And of course, they have some large and colorful cut Angelfish to glue to their backgrounds. Stay tuned.

Clay Seals and Sea Lions

A "Harem" of Seals or a "Raft" of Sea Lions?

My Kinder thru 4th grade Animal Art Fun campers created these seals and sea lions from air dry clay. I had them start out with a "baked potato" shape and then define a head. We split the back in two with a short wooden skewer to form the hindflippers. We added front flippers adhering two leaf-like shapes. Details such as eyes, whiskers and flipper marks could be added using the end of the skewers.

We also discussed some basic differences of these two animals:

*Sea lions have ear flaps, long front flippers and can walk on land by rotating their hindflippers.

*Seals have ear holes, short front flippers and move on land on their bellies.

After their pieces were dry, the children mixed acrylics in white, brown, and black to give it a realistic look. (I had a little fun with my mini photo shoot and posed them on some leftover driftwood. These were a little tricky to photograph - my apologies)

On a side note, occasionally I'll see a seal frolicking in the surf or hear one barking early in the morning as I walk my dogs. Most of the children had a brush with seal story to tell as well.

Winter Foxes

Amanda, 3rd

Abbie, 1st

Summer, 2nd

Charlie, 1st

Ryan, 3rd

Scott, 2nd

Kendall, 3rd

Jenna, 4th

Sydney, Kindergarten

Calvin, Kindergarten

Alexa, 2nd

We kicked off our first summer art class, Animal Art Fun with these adorable winter foxes. Because when you think of warm June weather, foxes in the snow just make sense, right? : D In any case, my K through 4th graders created these pieces in a series of steps. First they used watercolors to create a snowy sunrise or sunset. We looked at photos for inspiration. These were then put up to dry. We turned our attention to our foxes which were drawn via a direct line drawing lesson. The age range was varied and for some children, this was their first art class. Everyone did a beautiful job! Chalk pastels were used to add color and shadow. Back to our now dry background, the children added winter trees and later a smattering of snowfall. Foxes were cut out and added to their pieces. Next week, the children can add some extra details if they choose, cast tree shadows, snow in the branches, footprints, ect. These foxes are just begging for a short story or a poem to go with them, don't you think? : )

Happy Feet and a Nomination

With just 30 minutes to go in my last art class for the school year, I decided to have the kids do a modified version of these adorable "Happy Feet" penguins I found via Pinterest. Thank you to art teacher, Lauralee Chambers! Because of our time constraints, we drew our penguins with Sharpie and added charcoal shading on 8"X10" watercolor paper. Watercolor washes were painted for an icy backdrop. And last, they added some charcoal smudges to create shadows in the snow for their "happy" penguin feet. I plan to do this fun lesson again when my students don't feel so rushed. :)

I will be posting projects throughout the summer from my three themed art classes: Animal Art Fun, Drawing and Painting Explorations and Art Projects from Around the Globe.

Enjoy your summer Everyone!

Click on graphic to vote

I just received a nomination for an Art Teacher, Fascination Award for my Dale Chihuly Inspired Sculpture. Thanks so much for including me with such wonderful art teachers! You can click on the link above to see the other nominees or if you would like to vote.

(Nominees Posted and Voting begins June 18th and ends June 25th)

Fauvist Self Portraits

Amanda, 2nd

Jenna, 3rd

Scott, 1st

Calvin, K

Aidan, 4th

Katie, 2nd

Brendon, 2nd

Abby, K

Sonja, 2nd

This lesson was inspired not only by the work of the most famous Fauve, Matisse, but also this Wonderful collection of Fauvist portraits I found on Artsonia. Thank you Ms. Tiedemann! I've been slightly obsessed with them! Day one, my class created the base of the portrait by mixing their own flesh tone and using solid colors for the shirt and background. The second day they created their facial features using oil pastels and were encouraged to add expressive colors throughout their portrait using acrylics and tempera. I emphasized that they were "wild beasts" and should paint with bold, unrealistic colors. "Cut loose guys!" And that they did......nice work kids! : )