Chris Hagan Owl Collages (2nd Grade)

I'm a Pinterest'in fool, just like every other Art teacher out there. I love seeing all of the wildly diverse and inspiring projects, and I'm not afraid to admit that I beg, borrow, and steal from both the internet and from teachers for whom I've covered. (Long-term sub positions are a great opportunity to see how other teachers organize their classrooms and to pick up a few new project ideas!)

All that being said, on occasion I do manage to come up with a lesson of my own that I end up loving. These colorful 2nd grade owls are one of those projects.

I was looking for a collage project for my kiddos when I came across the work of Brighton, UK artist Chris Hagan. Y'all, I absolutely LOVE his work: bright, colorful, magical, textural, and very reminiscent of both Henri Rousseau and Marc Chagall. His illustrations are wordless folktales. They truly speak volumes. In fact, I was so enamored of his work that I skipped right over to his Etsy shop and bought the print below. (I've felt a connection to Tennyson's lily maid since my Victorian Lit class in undergrad. I can recite all 171 lines, people.)

Chris Hagan, The Lady of Shalott (c. 2015), mixed media collage

So anyway, after spending a good half hour drooling over his gorgeous textured paper and whimsical colors, I decided he would be a terrific contemporary artist to whom to introduce my second graders. We started by talking about artist inspiration and compared Hagan's "Tyger, Tyger" to Henri Rousseau's "Tiger in a Tropical Storm."

The kids were quick to pick up on the similarities in style: both artists are inspired by nature, use bold shapes and patterns/repetition, and stylize their subjects. They also noticed the differences: Rousseau chose a more natural color palette, while Hagan uses bright, intense colors; Rousseau painted in oils, while Hagan often textures his own paper for his collages. (He also paints in gouache and watercolor.) We ended our discussion by talking about the difference between being inspired and simply reproducing another artist's work. After all, even at 8 years old, I want my young artists to begin making their own decisions about their art and how they will express themselves visually.

Chris Hagan - Tyger, Tyger (2014), mixed media collage
(Seriously...beautifully intense color and references to my favorite poets?)

Henri Rousseau - Tiger in a Tropical Storm (1891), oil on canvas

After our artist discussion, we looked at more of Chris Hagan's work and drew inspiration from his "An Owl in the Jungle," thinking about how we could create our own whimsical, brightly-illustrated collages.

Chris Hagan - An Owl in the Jungle (c. 2015), mixed media collage

You know how you always wonder if a project will turn out in real life as well as it's come together in your head? This was one of those. But my young artists and I were not disappointed. I absolutely adore the vivid contrast between the bright, colorful owls and the monochromatic winter sky and birches!

Here they are - a few of our "Owls Among the Birches." (We live in Pennsylvania, after all, haha. I should confess that when we began these in mid-autumn, I was planning to have students cut leaves and tree branches from painted paper we'd made earlier in the year, but holidays, field trips, and a six-day Specials cycle proved more powerful than my ability to plan seasonally, so our owls became winter owls. It's all good. The kids loved the idea that their owls were enjoying the snow as much as we all were!)

Self-Portraits Everywhere!

We're buried in self-portraits at school! I feel like SPs are an annual experiment, and I'm always trying to find new media and inspiration for these. I'm working on Lichtenstein self-portraits with 5th grade right now, and 4th graders are doing an identity project with their self-portraits. I'll post those at the end of the month when they're complete. I'm trying to muster up the strength to do a collage SP project with 3rd grade in April (just thinking about carting around all the materials is giving me a headache). And this year's K and 1st grade splatter self-portraits are here. 

For now, here are a few of this year's 2nd grade self-portraits. As I usually do with 2nd, we discussed van Gogh and viewed a few of his self-portraits. We also talked about impasto and his use of color in all of his work. As with last year's 2nd grade paintings, we used oil pastels and tempera cakes, but this time we just created background textures (impasto style) with lines and dots, sticking with one color scheme for the background: warm, cool, analogous, primary, secondary, or complementary. Last year's 1st and 2nd grade Expressionist self-portraits can be viewed here.

Warm/Cool Landscapes

(Photo note: Can't quite get the contrast
right, so the color's a little off.)

Second grade students recently completed warm and cool color landscapes in oil pastel on black construction paper. I've seen this project on several blogs, but I really like the tutorial on Kids and Glitter's blog. 

My students really loved this project, and it made them feel so successful. The basic premise is pretty simple: Students create a landscape drawing with very clearly separated sky and land elements (hills, mountains, etc.) Students place warm colors only in the sky and cool colors only in the land, or they can choose the reverse. (My students and I decided that when the cool colors are in the sky it looked like night time.)

In addition to the tips on Kids and Glitter, I gave my students a large (12x18) sheet of newsprint to put beneath their black paper. For some students, the ability to visualize the concentric circles in the sky is really difficult. They want to connect the lines at the edge of the paper and have difficulty imagining that each circle just keeps going as though the paper continued, as well. I helped students solve this problem by having them continue the circles on their newsprint (so they could see the complete circles), which really clarified this step for them. For many, once they used the newsprint to draw the complete circle a couple of times, they understood what was happening and were able to finish their drawing only on the construction paper.

The results are very dynamic (as long as students press firmly and don't leave a lot of black construction paper showing through the pastel). The other examples of this project that I've seen use black pastel to trace the lines in the drawing, but I gave students a choice. Most of them chose to leave the lines untraced for a softer look. Many also wanted to add snow caps to their mountains. Nice.

Printmaking Test

"Inked" plate ready to go...

I've just started a printmaking project with 2nd grade, using foam printing plates from School Specialty. With Spring Break just a day away, our minds are on the beach, so our theme is folk art beach houses. I stayed after a bit today to do a few test prints, and WOW, I'm so excited to share this process with the kids!

I've used markers to ink plates before, but I just got a set of Mr. Sketch watercolor markers. And after all the great things I've read about them, I couldn't wait to try them out. They work beautifully for inking foam plates! The trick is that you have to print on damp paper (NOT wet...see below). It took me a few attempts to figure out exactly how damp the paper should be to yield successful results. (Note: Lay printing plate flat and lay damp paper on top of plate, pressing gently all over without moving the paper.)

Here are a few photos showing my experiments with various degrees of wet/damp paper.

Print #1: On dry paper, just for comparison.

Print #1: I dipped the paper in the sink, let it drip
a bit, laid it on newspaper to soak up a bit of water,
then laid it on the plate. Didn't work so well.

Print #3: I laid dry paper on the inked plate, then
sprayed water on the paper. Again, not so good.

Print #4: Woohoo! Success!! I dipped the paper in
the sink, then pressed it between newspaper until it
no longer dripped. Then I laid the damp paper on
top of the inked plate, pressed gently to transer the
image, and lifted the print.

Note: I just checked the print, and as I've been typing the edges of some colors have bled just a tad. I'm thinking maybe I'll do one more test (tomorrow...time to go home!) with paper that is just a bit more dry. I think I'll bring in a couple of towels tomorrow and see if that helps. I'll add an update after the adjustments are made.

Kandinsky Color Studies

3rd-5th grade artists just completed Kandinsky color studies. We watched a few YouTube videos of his work, and I was amazed at how captivated the students were. There are several, like this one, that simply show a slide show of his work with background music. They're quite calming. I was really amazed by one group of 3rd grade boys who had quite the deep conversation about the shapes, lines, and colors in Kandinsky's paintings, turning their heads to view the works from all angles. Students sketched and doodled in their sketchbooks while watching, making note of elements that they found interesting.

I think every art teacher does this project in some form, but I chose oil pastels and tempera paints for this year. We'd talked about color relationships, and students were given 5 required color schemes that had to be used in their paintings. The 6th square was a free choice square. Any color combo was allowed.

3rd grade colors: Primary, Secondary, Warm, Cool, Complementary (choose one pair), Choice
4th and 5th grade colors: Warm, Cool, Complementary (choose one pair), Analogous, Monochromatic (one color plus white or black)

I did this in four classes:

1. Color Theory Introduction: Students completed a tertiary color wheel using red, yellow, and blue colored pencils. (3rd graders just did primary and secondary colors.)

2. Color Relationships/Introduction to Kandinsky: Warm, Cool, Analogous, Monochromatic, Complementary

3. Pastel Drawings: We folded a 9x12 piece of manila drawing paper into 6 squares (fold once vertically, then fold into thirds). I walked through each color scheme with students as they applied pastels in circles of varying thickness, beginning with a dot. I encouraged students to apply the pastel heavily. I also had to keep reminding them to make some of their circles thick, otherwise I would have ended up with a bunch of skinny concentric circles and A LOT of "naked" paper.

4. Paint with Tempera: Because I'm mobile, I use tempera disks. (I bought the set with lids from School Specialty.) I'm not crazy about how chalky these feel after they dry, but they do serve their purpose well, and the colors are intense.

Winter (or what passes for it in Florida) Drawings

Winter is merely a brief two or three days here in sunny South Florida (OK, maybe sometimes four), but that doesn't stop us from drawing snow! The two videos below are from our school's winter show in December. Since we artists don't generally get up and dance with our art work, I put together a video presentation so my young artists could be part of the show. I love how they came together, and the kids were so proud to be included.

K, 1st, and 2nd Snow Globes

K-2 students created snow globe drawings using crayon resist on coffee filters (easy circles for the globes). Snowmen, Santa, and Rudolf were very popular subjects. The music is "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs. (Such a beautiful song!)

Students drew a horizon line and then created their own winter scene in crayon. The only thing they could not do was color in the sky with crayon. The sky was colored in blue marker, then sprayed with water for a watercolor-like effect. Students then cut a trapezoid "base" from a construction paper color of their choice and glued the base and their snow globe drawing to a piece of black construction paper.

3rd, 4th, and 5th Pastel Drawings: Snowmen at Night

3rd-5th graders learned about creating 3-dimensional space in a drawing using chalk pastels. Working on black paper, students were inspired by Mark Buehner's fun and vibrant work and created their own illustrations for Snowment at Night, written by Caralyn Buehner. Our video is narrated by a 5th grade student.

6th Grade Papier Mache and Set Design

6th grade students made papier mache snowflakes and critters for our winter wonderland. We also spent one class in the dining hall (on location) designing the set for the Winter Show. Students had a chance to submit ideas for the final design, and we incorporated ideas from several students for the final set, which also included a large Christmas tree and navy blue wall drapings with stars (seen below), as well as a very large number of white lights. 6th graders also helped with actual set-up the day before the show. Below is the snowman we made, along with a few of the students' animals. You can see the step-by-step process of building the snowman here.

Lines! (What's in a name?)

I love lines, and once my students realize how important a role lines play in their drawings, they love them, too!

When I first started teaching art, I looked and looked for a source that would tell me the "correct" names of lines. Beyond curved, straight, bent, broken, etc. I never did find one. So I pretty much made up my own.

Now, when introducing students to line types, I talk about dotted, dashed, straight, bent and curved, but I also tell them about the descriptive names I use for more specific lines.  The other art teacher at my school uses some of the same line vocabulary, but we differ on a couple of line types (my curvy/curly vs. his squiggly, for instance), so I share that with the kids, too. I worried at first that this might be confusing for them, but so far it hasn't been an issue at all. I also tell them that if they want to make up their own descriptive name to help them remember some of the lines, it's absolutely okay.  A rose by any other name may not smell as sweet, but lines come together to make beautiful art no matter their name!

This project helps students think about the ways they use lines in their drawings, both together and alone, and how different lines can represent a number of things.

Time: 1 45-minute class period

Materials:

• 12"x18" paper (of any kind)
• crayons

The Project:

I first have a class discussion about various lines and draw and label examples on the board. Then we do the activity:

1. Have students fold a piece of 12"x18" paper in half. Do this two more times. Open up the paper to reveal 8 rectangles.

2. Students then trace the lines of the folds so that the rectangles are clearly visible and separate spaces. I have them do this using only one color.

3. I walk students through writing and drawing an example of 8 lines. They write the name of the line at the bottom of the rectangle (and draw an example, if you wish, just above the name). I also have them choose only one color for the words and line examples so these don't get lost in the drawing.

4. After going through this with all 8 boxes, students draw a picture above the name and example using that particular line type as much as possible. They can use other lines, as well, but the line of focus for that rectangle should be clearly represented in their drawing.


These are the descriptive names I use: wavy, zig-zag, dotted, dashed, curvy (curly, squiggly, etc.), looped, thick & thin (together, due to space), and scalloped. 

NOTE: It probably seems strange to be posting this at the end of the school year, but my classes change out every six to seven weeks, so I just got new groups of K, 1 and 2 classes. And since I didn't start the blog until later in the year...well, here we are. :)

Relief Prints (K-2)

One of the biggest challenges I have with my kindergarten students is giving them opportunities to explore and be creative while keeping a cap on the chaos. This project for K-2 is one that I feel truly lets them be expressive and independent and doesn't require me to spend an hour prepping and another hour cleaning, resulting in delighted, well-informed young artists and a stress-free teacher!

Pretty much every art teacher makes Styrofoam relief prints, so I don't expect that I'm teaching anyone anything here. And I'm sure I'm not the first to discover the value of markers in inking Styrofoam printing plates, but I must say I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to let kids "ink" their stamps themselves without hauling out the paint and smocks. It really is the little joys that thrill me.

For this particular foray into relief printing, I simply had K, 1st and 2nd grade students draw a circle around the flat surface of a Styrofoam plate (the inside) and then cut out the circle. The result should be a flat surface on which to create the drawing. In the past, I've used index cards as a template and cut rectangles out of plates for the students prior to class. Not only does this take time (not a ton since I use a right triangle and an X-acto knife, but still, time is time), it also takes a step away from the kids, and I think it's important for them to be involved in as much of the process as possible. Also, since we're working with a standard size plate, if a child has difficulty cutting and the circle ends up smaller than the plate surface, it really doesn't matter. There's still plenty of room to draw.

The Project:

Time: 45-minutes

Materials:

• 9" Styrofoam plate for each student (or more...1st and 2nd work quickly)
• Pencil for each student (dull tips work best)
• Variety of water-based markers
• Newsprint (I used 9"x12")

Process:

1.  Draw a circle on the bottom/flat surface of a Styrofoam plate.

2. Cut out the circle, removing the raised edge of the plate. The circle becomes the printing plate.

3. Using a dull pencil, draw a picture on the printing plate.

Suggestions:

• Draw large, leaving plenty of space in between lines. When inking, the lines will remain white, so if lines are too close together the student will get large areas of white when printing, and the image/drawing will not be clear. 
• Press firmly, with pencil tilted at an angle to avoid "tearing" the styrofoam. Have students go back over lines to make sure they are pressed down enough to create a relief effect. I walk around the room with a demo that students can touch so they can feel how deep the lines should be. (A whole here or there is okay along the lines...the lines become negative space and don't print anyway!)
• I discourage words, because the image is reversed when printed, and this just causes too much confusion for younger artists (and too many requests for me to write things on the board backward). Also, without words, students focus more on the visual elements of their design.

4. After the drawing is complete and all lines are deep enough to create a relief effect, "ink" the plate with water-based markers. (Dryer markers will not work well...there has to enough ink in the marker for an effective transfer.)

5. Carefully lay a piece of newsprint ON TOP of the paper. Press down with both hands, keeping one hand still to keep the paper from sliding and using the other hand to smooth the paper. Smooth from the center out to ensure a clear print. 

• Students usually want to "stamp" their printing plate like you would a rubber stamp, putting the paper on the table and pressing the plate onto the paper. This doesn't allow for enough pressure to adequately transfer the image.

• Also, thicker papers, like construction paper, don't work as well as newsprint for transferring marker ink. 

6. Peel the paper off of the plate to reveal the print! (I love the delighted chorus of "oooo's" and "ahhhh's" that I get when demonstrating this for the kids.)

A few student examples:

Kindergarten students drew suns and used different line types to express emotion and energy in the sun's face and rays.

I encouraged 1st and 2nd graders to think about the circular shape of the printing plate and to consider this shape when deciding what to draw.