This past week I introduced the first graders to Van Gogh's paintings. We talked about how you will know a Van Gogh (texture, separated brushstrokes, movement lines and bright colors). Van Gogh is a great example what I taught students earlier in the year- that art can stem from your memory, observation, imagination or what you're feeling, as he often combines these concepts in one painting. After another insightful art discussion, the first graders set out to work to create their version of Starry Night. Using their own idea for a setting, students created the first layer of their masterpiece using crayon. Next week, students will apply water colors which will resist the wax crayon, letting their lines shine through. Stay tuned for the follow up photos!
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Last week, the first graders put the finishing touches on their Cezanne inspired still lifes, by doing what Cezanne loved- focusing on texture and light! We studied and discussed these topics and the first graders dove in. I encouraged students to draw a pattern on their bowl or table cloth to make their still life more unique.
I wish I captured more photos, they're great! Last week, we moved from Impressionism, to "Post Impressionism" and I talked to students about French artist, Paul Cezanne. I showed them images of the three categories he liked to paint- portraits, landscapes and still lifes. They are great at observing the art and making inferences about what the artist may have been thinking! For the first part of this project, they began by drawing a quick map of the still life, labeling it with the colors they needed. Then, at their desks, they built their still life with paper, making sure to overlap their shapes to help create a sense of space. They pointed out that Cezanne's paintings have a lot of texture, and I shared a few still life oil paintings with them so they could feel the texture to get a sense of what Cezanne's art felt like. They will add their texture this coming week!
The first graders really impressed me with all they remembered about Claude Monet and Impressionist artists. After reviewing, students set out to put the finishing touches on their paintings. I gave them tissue paper to make flowers, pastels to add details and long construction paper to make a bridge. This part was up to them- I asked them to design their bridge on their own and gave them no directions. I love the overall texture, color and variety in these paintings!
The first graders are almost experts in the elements of art- so it's time to put that knowledge to work. I let students know that from here on out they will learn about different styles of art and artists. We began our journey learning about Monet and Impressionism. We observed an discussed many of his paintings, and I talked to students about how Impressionist artists loved to paint outside and capture the moment. They loved to study the light and would often paint the same thing in different seasons or light to capture small changes. A huge part of Monet's paintings is texture. So, students set out to paint a garden of water lilies inspired by Monet using various texture tools, including sponges, Q-tips and cotton balls. They will add to these next class :)
The first graders are beginning a unit on arctic animals, so we did an art project focusing on arctic animals and texture. The students used their classroom books as references and they practiced drawing their arctic animals. When they were ready, they drew their good copy on black paper and slowly and carefully colored them in using oil pastels to show texture. I love how expressive their marks are!
This past week, I talked to the first graders about birds eye view as a new way of looking at things. I was able to use the classroom's new SMART boards to show them some helpful images and their directions (very exciting!). They then set out to make a birds eye view snowman/woman, composed of cool colors and a variety of shapes. They even had time to write a brief artist's statement about their work. I encouraged students to give their snow person a name, and describe the shapes they used. The class before last, the first graders practiced creating space in their artwork by using some "artist's tricks". For returning stduents this was a review from kindergarten, and they still remembered that objects appear smaller the farther away they are. They used this tool to create a night time landscape using cut paper. Nice work!
Last class, we looked at colors through a new lense: warm and cool. I then told students that today was a special day in art class, because it happened to be opposite day. We thought of animals that live in warm environments and cool environments and used that list to create warm animals with warm colors and cool animals with cool. Then- they reversed it. Their animals went on vacation to their opposite climate to show a strong contrast between colors. Once again, this bunch had a lot of creative ideas.
Last week, the first graders finished up their ROY G BIV portraits. After using a crayon to add texture to their background, they used primary colors to mix the colors of the rainbow. They then applied the color to their hair in rainbow order. I created and lamniated a simple chart of the correct order and formula for mixing colors, and observed a lot of students trying to remember what to paint and how to make it, and then referring to the chart. I'll try to remember this for similiar situations!
I love how these turned out- such a wide range of creative hairstyles and overall characters. |
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