SchoolArts - March 2009

Craft Stick Houses Early Childhood

The Art Problem How can young students recognize and remember triangles and rectangles? How can they remember basic painting terminology? Objective Students create a house using craft sticks.

Vocabulary
triangle, rectangle, inside, outside,
transparent, opaque, watercolor
paint, tempera paint
Materials
craft sticks, cardboard, white glue,
tempera paint, watercolor, markers,
craft foam, found objects, scissors
Procedures
1. Demonstrate triangles and rect-
angles using craft sticks. Students
use their own craft sticks to repro-
duce those shapes before beginning
the project. Have students “draw”
triangles and rectangles in the air
to show their understanding of the
concept.
2. Demonstrate gluing sticks with
white glue in some possible varia-
tions to create a rectangle with a
triangle roof.

3. Paint outside the houses down to the ground with tempera paint covering all of the cardboard smoothly. Notice that tempera paint covers the cardboard, which is called opaque. 4. Paint watercolors inside houses using watercolors. Notice watercolor paints are transparent ( see-through) compared to tempera paint. 5. Discuss the difference between the two types of paint using the words opaque and transparent. 6. Students add details with marker, found object,s and colored craft foam. Assessment Students are assessed on demonstration of triangles and rectangles, smooth paint coverage of the cardboard outside the house, and complexity of details in their work.

By Janet Barnes, primary art specialist at Rogers Elementary in Bloomington, Indiana.

Mixed-Media Sunflowers Middle School

The Art Problem
Students will create their own
unique sunflower designs using oil
pastels and wet-on-wet watercolor,
while reviewing line types and geo-
metric shapes.
Objectives
After viewing paintings by Vincent
van Gogh and exploring real sun-
flowers, students will be able to
show knowledge of the basic circu-
lar shapes of the centers, triangular
shapes on the rows of petals, and
sturdy stems of the flowers through
a mixed-media lesson emphasizing
color blending.
Materials
6 x 18" ( 15 x 45 cm) white tag
board, oil pastels, pencils, erasers,
circle stencils, watercolor paints,
brushes, and water containers
Procedures
1. Using Vincent van Gogh’s
sunflower paintings and actual
sunflowers as motivation, allow
students to explore the simplified
shapes of the flowers, textures,
double rows of pedals, and thick,
strong stems.

2. Using circle stencils, have stu-
dents trace two circles on the tag
board, allowing room for petals.
3. Have students create triangular
shapes around each circle, keeping
them large enough to fill in with oil
pastels.
4. Create a textural effect inside
the circles, using curved or spiral
lines.
5. Draw a curved or straight line
from one flower to the bottom or
side of the paper.
6. Fill in the negative space with at
least one leaf.
7. Have students fill in the flowers
and stems using oil pastels, blend-
ing at least two colors on each
shape.
8. Have students fill in the back-
ground using the wet-on-wet tech-
nique with watercolors.
Assessment
Did students follow all the above
listed criteria, complete the work on
time, and show effort?

By Marisa Main, a middle-school art teacher in Huntington, West Virginia.

You’ve Got the Music in You Elementary

The Art Problem
Students are introduced to a vari-
ety of contemporary modern art-
ists. They will choose one artist or
piece of art to investigate and be
inspired by.
Objective
Students will create a work of art
inspired by a contemporary or
modern artist.
Materials
tempera paint, water, paint cups,
brushes (various sizes), watercolor
paper
Procedures
1. Define the terms “contempo-
rary” and “modern”
2. Show a slideshow of images of
work by modern artists (e.g., Pol-
lock, Klimt, Klee, Gehry, Moore,
etc). Discuss artist’s name, back-
ground, style, etc.
3. Allow students to choose one
artist or piece of artwork as their
inspiration.
4. Students provide two thumbnail
sketches of their proposed piece
of art.

5. Once each student’s proposition
has been approved, students may
get to work.
6. Have supplies laid out for stu-
dents to choose from as needed.
Assessment
A class discussion, including ques-
tions such as: What is modern art?
Who is the artist that you chose
to be inspired by? What was he
or she known for? How did you
display that technique into your
work?
Lesson Adaptations
Adaptations may be made for
students with limited control over
motor skills. Students can use bulb
brushes, grip brushes, or brushes
with elastic attachment.

By Megan Pendleton, an art teacher based out of Boston, Massachusetts.

Embellished Monoprints High School

The Art Problem
Students will study the history of
printmaking while focusing on
monoprinting and its process. Each
student will create a series of mono-
prints and learn how embellishing
can add to its textural quality.
Materials
scraps of Plexiglas, variety of draw-
ing materials, heavy drawing paper,
brayer, watercolor or acrylic paints
Procedures
1. Begin by showing students
images of monoprints. If you do not
have books available you can easily
search online images to share with
students.
2. Monoprinting is unique in the
printmaking world since it is the
only process that produces only one
image. Once students understand
the basic process, ask each student
to trace their piece of Plexiglas onto

a scrap piece of paper. They should create a design that then can be placed back under the Plexiglas as a template. 3. Ask students to paint on the glass and place a sheet of damp heavy drawing paper on top of the wet paint. 4. With a brayer or roller, transfer the image onto the paper. 5. Once the image is dry, ask students to embellish the image with dry media, wet media, or collage.