SchoolArts - April 2008

shapes in the drawing and cut the same shape within that shape, following the directions of the lines. The result will be the creation of a black stencil. (Safety note: Make sure to demonstrate the proper use of knives to prevent injuries.)

• Experiment with water and bleeding tissue paper to create a variety of visual effects and textures. Students can layer colors, apply water with a spray bottle and sponge, and crumple up the paper as it dries.

• Select a tissue paper color to fill in the empty shapes. On the side of the white line drawing, place tissue paper over the shape you want to fill and use a pencil to trace the black stencil around that shape. Use scissors to cut out the traced shape.

• Apply glue to the black stencil and carefully adhere the cut tissue paper shape to the stencil.

• When all shapes are filled in with color, apply clear cellophane to the back of the project for strength.

*Note: The drawing and gluing will be on the back of the finished project, allowing the front image to remain clean; however, the original drawing will be in reverse.

Assessment

Through an interactive classroom discussion and critique, students evaluate how well their completed collages and those of their classmates meet the objectives of the lesson. Ask questions such as: If you were standing in this landscape,

what would be the closest object to you and what would be the farthest away? What devices did the artist use to create the feeling of three-dimensional space? Where in the collage do you see these demonstrated?

The discussion should also focus on the wonderfully unique ways students depict their ideal landscapes. Collages can include an array of objects from natural elements like waterfalls, tulips, and creatures to human made ones like boats, bridges, and buildings.

Janine Vannata is a middle and upper school visual arts teacher at the Hewitt School, a K– 12 independent school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York. jvannata@hewittschool. org

Left to right: Olivia Matticoli, grade six; Olivia Silberman, grade six.

Objective Through designing imagined landscape collages that include a foreground, middle ground, and background space, students will learn to use various devices (overlap, position, size, and detail) to represent three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface.

Materials

• Tiffany stained-glass window reproductions

• white drawing paper

• 18 x 24" ( 46 x 61 cm) black construction paper

• bleeding art tissue paper

• white colored pencils

• X-Acto knives

• scissors

• glue sticks

• clear cellophane

• pencils

Students select media, techniques, and processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of their choices.