Last class I introduced students to an artist who is also new to me, Geoff Slater. I read about his work and was so excited to take his unique approach and share it with the second graders. Geoff Slater creates beautifully colored and intricate paintings using one continuous line. I had students read Geoff's artist statement, where he explains that a line is the most basic element of art and it also connects people, places and ideas. His line changes in thickness and color to make up one final composition. We are trying a much simpler version of Geoff's work by choosing one object to draw (no background). Students started with an outline and filled in the space with one winding line until their piece was complete. In order to plan for the complex color changes Geoff does naturally, I had students trace over their pencil with colored pencil so they know what colors to use when painting during their next class.
Check out Geoff's work at www.geoffslater.com www.geoffslater.com/ Last week the second graders learned about the unique glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly. They watched a video of Dale sculpting and dying glass and turning individual pieces into a larger organic form. They were really excited to see his work because they saw one of his sculptures earlier this year on a filed trip :)
The students used markers to draw designs on coffee filters which I later sprayed with liquid starch as they sat over a cup for support.. The results are amazing! Students kept one (or a few) for themselves and some students donated their work to create a collaborative sculpture for the school musical. The second graders have done a great job going with the flow the last few weeks. They paused the final wrap up of their Kehinde Wiley portraits to create some awesome artwork for the musical. Last week, they presented their portraits to each other and I had students share one thing they were proud of, one thing that was difficult and they could accept one compliment from their peers. After this, students filled out the next page in their artist's brochure with facts about Kehinde Wiley and the big ideas in this project, such as portraiture and a background whose positive and negative space have contrasting warm and cool colors. When they were all done, students cut out their mod podged collages sea life for the play. They look great!
After all of their hard work on their Wiley inspired portraits, the second graders have been helping to create artwork for the school musical "The Little Mermaid Jr." Before Spring break, they used tissue paper to create fish, that were later added to ribbons by the middle schoolers. This past class, they used tissue paper and glossy finish Mod Podge to create under water plants and coral. Students will re-draw/cut out their designs this week, now that the work is dry.
Keep an eye out for these pieces during the play! The second graders were a little behind due to the snow day, but over the past two classes, they've caught up and for the most part, are almost complete! The second graders should be very proud of themselves, these turned so well! Click through the photo gallery to see the portraits come to fruition!
Last week, I modeled how to draw from a photograph by estimating proportions. Their goal was to make observations about their printed photograph and then draw helpful marks on their page that mirror their observations. Students were encouraged to ask themselves questions like- do my shoulders start at 1/4 of the page or in the middle of the page? Is my head almost touching the edge of the paper, or is there a lot of space between my head and the edge? and so on. From there, students drew the big, simple shapes first and then continued to add details and texture. This is not an easy task, but they have really stepped up to the challenge. I can't wait to see these all come together!
Sorry to not post last week! Students continued their Kehinde Wiley inspired portraits by adding color to their backgrounds with oil pastels to mimic the brightness of oil paint, like Wiley uses. I instructed the to use warm colors and cool colors to make their positive space in the background stand out from the negative space. It was up to them to choose which color group to use where.
Today, the second graders did a great job at a very difficult task. They began to draw their portraits based on a photo I took of them last week and printed out. I showed them ways to make marks on their page so that their drawing was in the same proportion of the photograph (we did the best we could by making careful observations). They are off to a great start! I will post more photos from today later on. Last week, I introduced the second graders to the work of artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley is known for his photo realistic portraits of people of color, from his neighborhood posed in classical positions. He has taken this idea onto a world stage, finding strangers on the streets of various countries to ask if he can paint them. I told students that they can find his art work in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and asked them to think why Wiley might want to put people he knows, or strangers from different countries into these paintings? Then, played a clip from CBS Sunday Morning, where Wiley explains that he loves these famous European paintings, but never saw a reflection of himself in them, so he's creating a space for it in his artwork.
Students learned that they will create a self portrait, and we started with the background first. Inspired by Wiley's work which stems from his interest in African textiles and Islamic architecture, they created a stencil of something from nature and traced and repeated it to fill the background. Last week, the second graders continued their Yayoi Kusma inspired mini installations. They built their organic 3D forms with model magic, and glued them in place. Tomorrow, they will complete their installation by decorating walls, and completing a brochure page about the artist and this work. I'll post finished photos in the gallery below!
I've added photos of their completed mini installations. After decorating and attaching the walls, students reflected on this project and completed the next page in their artist brochure. |
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