Winter Trees -- Mixed Media

Winter Trees on a Snowy Day

Mixed Media Art Project for Kindergarten Kids

This week, even though the weather has been beautifully mild lately, we are working on creating winter trees (which will later be displayed at the holiday show).

The kids began with the background of our snowy scene. We talked about color and brainstormed about what we thought the colors of a cold winter sky might include. Using watercolor (and lots of water) the kids filled their pages with swirls of winter color.

Then the children began work on a paper mosaic which will (next week) be transformed into trees. For this the kids were asked to glue multi colored squares of tissue paper and construction paper onto a second piece of watercolor paper. This is a sticky job but they did well.

In next weeks class we will take the mosaic papers and cut out trees. These trees will be glued onto the snowy watercolor background. The kids can then add details. Holly berries, snowflakes etc. You will see the final pieces next week!

Also, don't forget to stop in to MMS if you can and see the robots! The kids are very proud of them. They are on display in the main hall and look incredible!

Robots!

Make Your Own Robots! 

Kindergarten robot creations from found materials.

This two week project began with an invitation for the kids to name all the things that a robot can do or be.We talked about how robots are usually made: what parts are typical (head, arms, body and legs) and what parts might be unusual (wheels, lightning bolt hands (!), antennae).

With these ideas as the spark of inspiration, the kids were each given a large piece of construction paper, a bottle of elmers glue and a variety of precut cardboard pieces. They were encouraged to add as many layers and features to their robots as they wanted. They could cut any of the cardboard pieces to suit their needs.

Next class the cardboard robots were painted silver, carefully cut off their construction paper background and laid out to dry. While the robots were drying the kids worked on drawing a space scene on black construction paper. Kids added stars, planets, suns, shooting stars, and moons as they liked. Then the (now dry) silver robots were glued onto the outer space background.

After that I presented the kids with a variety of small found objects: buttons, pennies, beads, sparkles, and pipe cleaners to name a few. They added these to their robots in any manner they liked. As you can see the results were amazing!

Kindergarten Self Portraits -- In Watercolor!

Self portraits have arrived!

Today the children finished (or almost finished) their self portraits!

We began class with a quick lesson on how best to use watercolors. The most important thing is to be sure that you use lots of water! Never let your brush get dry! The kids warmed up with some small free form pieces. They had a chance to get to know their paints and explore what effects they could achieve. The variety was incredible and the finished pieces were so lovely that I will be hanging these around the school as well.

Then we began working on painting self portraits. This is a real challenge for any artist because watercolor is such a fluid medium. It can be a challenge to feel comfortable and confident but the kids worked well. We began by painting the backgrounds, then moved onto clothes and then finally the faces. We will use oil pastels and colored pencils to clarify the eyes and mouths next class and to give the hair a little more definition and texture.

Wonderful, emotional pieces. I can't wait to hang them!

Next class your child can look forward to making some autumn prints!

Kindergarten Self Portraits -- Sneak Peek!

It's ME! Early Year Kindergarten Self Portraits

Today we did our first structured drawing class -- the theme was self portraits!
(Plus: Read to the end for a special invitation!)

During this 2 class project the children will be drawing (and then painting) self portraits and make personalized frames. These portraits will be displayed around MMS. They will also be on display at MMS Kindergarten graduation alongside a second self portrait that they will make at the end of the year. You won't believe how much they will grow as artists!

We began our class with some warm up drawing exercises. These are intended just to get the hands moving and to introduce the children to some of the shapes we will be using to draw the features of the face.

Then the kids drew a quick practice portrait. This is where we observed and discussed how the features of the face are arranged. Using a center line and two horizontal lines we divided the head into sections to make it easier to know where and how to add the features.

Then we worked as a class to create the portraits step by step. Next week the kids will be painting their portraits! Adding color will give these sweet faces so much personality! Here are a few sneak peeks of the drawings that were done today. Next week I will include photos of all the completed work. Stay tuned until then!

Conversation starters:
What is a portrait?
What is a self portrait?

Stay tuned for the complete work next week!

 I'd also like to extend a special invitation for you and your children to come to Seven Stones Cafe in Media  during the month of October to see my current art work on display. Here are a few examples of what you will see....

Curious? Swing by on Media's "Second Saturday" (October 10th) between the hours of 6-8pm and I will be there to say hello and answer any questions you and your children might have about the work. I would absolutely love to see you and your children there!

Kindergarten Art Quilt -- Squares of Primary and Secondary Colors

Creating an Art Quilt with Hand-Mixed Colored Squares

Last week the children got messy mixing primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and discovered what secondary colors they created. This fun class project left us with sheets and sheets of beautifully painted paper. This weekend I cut these up into squares of varying sizes so that the kids could make art quilts this week.

The children began by filling their paper with a checkerboard of the largest squares. They were asked to really notice how the colors looked together and to choose combinations that they liked.

Once the paper was filled, they layered a second smaller square on top -- again with an emphasis on personal color preference. Finally the children were asked to add a third very small square on top.

Here are the results! Please try to ignore the glue-- I took these pictures in class on Tuesday and the art was not yet dry!

As you can see there were a wide variety of color preferences in general -- as well as quite a variety of what the children liked in terms of color combinations. It is amazing to see how strong and unique color preference can be, even at such a young age.

At the end of class, we had a little class "quiz" where all the children reviewed together what the primary and secondary colors are. They knew it well!

As a side note, we did discuss (and you may have heard) that in art class there are no "boy" or "girl" colors. I feel that it is important in art class for the children to feel totally free and safe to explore their creativity. Worrying about being judged is a hindrance to freedom of expression. So with gentle reminders (if needed), we work towards commenting on each others (and our own) work with sensitivity and kindness.

The Great Color Mixing Experiment

Getting Messy and Learning About COLOR!

Today the children had a chance to get messy and learn about the relationships between colors. We began our class by guessing what would happen when we mixed one primary color (red, blue or yellow) with another. MMS work has given these kids a leg up. There were some excellent guesses!


After that we put our theories to the test. In pairs of two or three, the children had a chance to mix the primary colors together on large sheets of paper to create the secondary colors (orange, green and purple). These pages, full of bright color, will be used in next class to create a color quilt!

Red and blue make purple!

 

Blue and yellow make green!

Red and yellow makes orange!

After a big clean up (look at all those messy hands!)we returned  to our seats where everyone had a chance to do a quick color mixing worksheet that will be added to their sketchbooks as a reminder of what we learned today. 

  
Conversation starters for you:
What  colors did your color team mix?
What is a primary color? (Clue: Primary comes "first". What are the original colors?)
What is a secondary color? (Clue: Secondary means "comes second". What colors did you make?)
How did you like getting messy in art class?
 

Even the mess made a beautiful piece of art!

These "hand-mixed" colored papers will be used for next weeks ART QUILT!

The kids did wonderfully today! I hope that they returned home without too many painted knees and elbows. Luckily it is all washable. See you next week for our Art Quilt!

Lines, Color and Construction

First class of the year was great!

Before beginning the fun on our first day of art class, we discussed what the guidelines and expectations for behavior are in art.

1. Have Fun!

2. Listen (to teacher instruction AND classmates comments/questions)

3. Respect (for classmates/teacher, art materials and classroom space)

4. Talk Quietly (during work time)

And for our ART lesson today: we explored lines: vertical, horizontal and diagonal. After a quick warm up sheet, the children had a chance to work on original pieces.

1.  Children began by gluing vertical lines of construction paper to their pieces. 
2. This was followed by the addition of horizontal lines with construction paper.
3. Some children added diagonal lines as well.
4. Lastly children were given the option of stamping patterns onto their pieces using paint and common household objects (bottle caps, empty tp rolls and plastic easter eggs) and adding texture with oil pastels.

A lovingly constructed piece. Delicate patterns here are beautiful.

A subtle piece with excellent grasp of vertical lines.

Love the limited color palette and clean lines!

Layering on this piece was Maya's inspiration. Beautiful!

Lucy's work : confident and bold, adding all types of lines and pattern.

Gorgeous color palette and lovely use of layered pattern!

Beautiful: full of both energy and control.

Beautiful color choices -- and lots of energy in this lovely piece.

I like to give the kids freedom within the limits of the assignment. What results is such varied and interesting work. Freedom of color choice and how to interpret instruction gives the kids a chance to express themselves on the paper. I hope they had fun!

First class was a great success!