Another Jim Dine post

Source: artnet.com via Katie on Pinterest

I wanted to do a Jim Dine-inspired lesson with Kindergarten to help them get [even more] excited for Hoops for Heart and at first, I planned to do something similar to the lesson I tried out last year. The students noticed the texture in the background of some of Dine's heart paintings, "scribbled" with cool colors on cool colored paper, learned to make a symmetrical heart by cutting folded paper, then used the cut out as a stencil to brush a red heart over the background.

Last year's Dine project

Then I saw the pin below, and since I knew the students would have so much fun with it, I tweaked my plan. *If you pin the image of the cardboard stamps, please do so from the original source to credit Rust and Sunshine, not me! http://rustsunshine.blogspot.com/2012/01/heart-stamps.html

Source: rustsunshine.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

This was completed in one, 40-minute class period. First we looked at and discussed Dine's painting shown at the top of this post. I asked the students to just look and think for a minute, without saying anything before talking. Then I asked "What do you see?" and the students raised their hands to name things. The first thing mentioned was, of course, "hearts". I was trying to get them to say the word "shape" when I asked "what are hearts?" and "what do hearts have in common with circles, squares, ellipses, triangles, and rectangles?" I finally gave up after I got answers of "square!" and "circle!" and told them that they are all shapes! We took a minute to discuss if the hearts on the projector screen look like the real hearts in our bodies (the students were split on this but I convinced them they are a little different) and what we can do to have healthy hearts.

Then the students pointed out the different colors and we talked about how some of the sections looks like they have texture. After demonstrating some crayon techniques to achieve different textures, the students used crayons to fill in their 8x10 inch paper with colors and textures. When they were done with the background, I showed them how to use the cardboard tubes turned heart stamps by gently pressing them into the paint and then stamping on their paper. I made about 30 stamps and that was enough to get through my 6 Kindergarten classes. Some stamps were in pretty bad shape by the end from students banging them onto their papers, but the other end of the stamp was usually usable.

*If you make cardboard heart stamps, definitely use a good piece of tape to make the folded tubes hold their shape, like is suggested at Rust and Sunshine where the idea came from.

1930's Art Education Picture Study

The class I'm taking right now is History, Theory, and Philosophies of Art Education. The module we just finished was about Art Education from 1900-1945. I read about how "picture study" was used to teach Art Appreciation and sometimes use Art to integrate other subjects.  It reminded me of something my grandma gave me recently, so I pulled it out to re-examine it. It was a teacher's edition of a picture study published in 1933 from the Instructor Picture Study Series, Selected and Arranged by Mary E. Owen, depicting Flower Girl in Holland painted by George Hitchcock.

The inside of the folder is printed with a description of the painting and sample questions to ask the students. Here is the description and questions, written by Gertrude Herdle:

This picture gives us a feeling of peace and tranquility. A road follows the bank of a winding canal. Sunny fields border the road, and, far away, red-roofed houses cluster around white windmills. A flower girl has stopped before a neat brick house, to sell her wares. There is a mirror fastened to one of the window blinds, so that the housewife can see who is waiting outside. This useful little device is found on many Dutch houses.

The gently curving lines of the road and the canal carry the eye through the background of sunny landscape to the point where the banks of the canal seem to meet. The upright lines of the tree trunks divide the composition into a number of parts. They help to keep the many horizontal lines of the picture from becoming monotonous.

The artist was interested in showing light and shadow. See the dappled pattern on the road. The shadow of the house falls across the picture, and the girl's dress is dull in tone. The foreground would seem dark, if it were not for the gay flowers. Their hues of red, blue, yellow, and white are in delightful contrast to the softer shades which make up the remainder of the picture.

Questions

Describe the kind of country which you see here. How do you know that this is a picture of Holland? What is the importance of canals to Holland? Can you name the trees bordering the canal?

What is this quaintly dressed girl doing? How does she carry her burden? Describe the house. What do you suppose is the purpose of the mirror on the window blind?

Is there sunlight in this picture? Where is it most beautifully shown? Name all of the details which you see in the background. What color on the horizon furnishes a note of contrast to the colors of the fields? How is a sense of distance given us?

The other side of the folder has "Helpful Material for the Teacher" but I don't think I'll take the time to type that. The picture study was given to my Great Uncle Harlan for 3 years perfect attendance in 1933. When Harlan passed away a few months ago, my grandma thought I might like to have the picture study. Also inside the folder was an Easter drawing, typical of holiday Art at the time. I was excited to find that I had something tangible to connect me to the history I was reading about.

Crayola Color Sticks- Comparison and Review

I finally have enough Crayola Color Sticks to use with a whole class*. I tested them at a KAEA conference a couple years ago and decided to give them a shot. The students really like them so far and I'm pretty impressed too. I wanted to make sure they were really a good value so I decided to be a little scientific and compare them head to head with Crayola Colored Pencils.

*Last year I didn't notice that a class pack only has 10 of each color so there were not enough for a whole class.

I applied even pressure for both supplies and only put down one layer of color. You can see that the layers of color look almost identical. The students seem to be able to get richer color with the color sticks than the colored pencils. They must be easier for little hands to regulate. Of course, I'm not suggesting we get rid of colored pencils. There are certainly times when colored pencils would be the better choice. For example, when trying to color in small, precise spaces. 

The box boasts "Create think lines & broad strokes" and that works to a certain extent- use the flat side for broad strokes and an edge for thin lines, but once the corners get worn down a little bit, the edges don't work easily, at least for me and my students. I tried using them color sticks on a mandala and found that I was having a hard time getting into small spaces. If I was having a hard time, then the students definitely would have. It would take some getting used to. I'm actually planning to let the students use color sticks and colored pencils together on our next project. It will save them time sharpening when they only need colored pencils for small spaces and when they need different colors.

So up next, a Pros and Cons list for Color Sticks.

Pros	Cons
·      Better value- lasts 4x longer	·      Bigger upfront investment
·      Rich color	·      Not as many color choices
·      Bold, broad strokes	·      Harder to get into little spaces
·      No sharpening required- less wasted time and materials
·      Blends well
·      Seems sturdy
·      Pentagonal shape doesn’t roll off tables easily

And now, the final comparison- PRICE!

At first, the Color Sticks appear to be much more expensive, and they are. But I will argue that they save money in the long run.

*Prices from Sax.

Crayola Colored Pencil Classpack- 12 color set, Pack of 240

$37.99

Crayola Color Sticks- 12 color set, Pack of 120

$59.87

To get the equivalent number of pieces, two boxes of Color Sticks are $119.74

But don't give up on them yet! Since Color Sticks last 4 times longer, here is how the prices really come out.

Crayola Color Sticks $119.74

Crayola Colored Pencils $37.99 x 4= $151.96

If you have room in your budget to invest in some Color Sticks, I recommend them!

Art History Snowmen Bulletin Board

This is the only snow we've seen in my part of Kansas since we got maybe an inch back in December. I'm not particularly a fan of being cold, but it would be nice to have one nice, pretty snow this winter!

If I had unlimited time with my students, I would have had the older kids research an artist or movement, then create a snowman (snowperson) inspired by the Art History they learned about. Because I only see my older students for 40 minutes, every other week, when they don't miss due to holidays, conferences, breaks, etc., I knew they would not have time to do the project the way I would want. So, I changed the idea from a student project into a bulletin board. I spent a bit of time brainstorming artists whose paintings gave me ideas for snow people. Some flopped, some turned out ok and made it onto the bulletin board.

I didn't talk to the students about the bulletin board, or even really encourage them to guess. I just thought it might spark interest. It would have been more successful as a learning tool if we had covered the artists who inspired the snowmen. I heard some students saying it was "cool" as I was hanging the bulletin board but I don't know if they ever had a chance to stop and read it. I did have several teachers trying to guess, so that was fun! One told me she saw an art reproduction puzzle at a toy store and it helped her figure out a snowman. Another said she should see if her daughter could put her experience in Art History classes to use to figure it out.

By the way, it's harder than you might think to design somewhat recognizable Art History snowmen! 

Some, I thought of right away. Like this guy, inspired by Magritte's The Son of Man (though the "Man" has a face in his painting). 

 The Mondrian snowman was an early idea as well.

 My Picasso snowman started to get a little tricky. Why? Cubism doesn't usually keep clearly defined edges of painted objects and I needed to be able to cut out my snowman. So this painting was my inspiration. I tried showing the nose from two different angles and incorporating patterns like in Picasso's painting.

My Keith Haring snowman was pretty easy. You can kind of tell from the photo that I used clear tape to hold the lines next to the snowman without being attached by paper.

 And this guy is inspired by Matisse's cut paper artwork. It was hard because I figured the snow should probably still be white! I tried to layer organic shapes but nobody really "got" this one.

I have little notes written to myself with ideas for next year. I may try it at my other school where we have Art twice as often and have more time for Art History.

Tips for Teaching Elementary Ceramics Without a Kiln

I've been thinking about clay lately. So far, I don't have access to a kiln. Other Art teachers, who are just trying to help with a "can-do" attitude, have offered the advice of "Get the high school Art teachers to fire it for you!" Well, when I have 750ish students, and they have waiting lists for Art courses, you can bet that their kilns are too busy firing work for their students to consider firing my students' work. But, there is good news! I am hopefully going to be getting a kiln by next fall! The fire marshal has approved a spot in the boiler room and one of my principals is excited and working on getting funding lined up for me. I don't even care too much that there are a bunch of stairs to get into the boiler room. All I asked him was who to check with to see if a location would be approved and he jumped right on board and took over making all the phone calls. Now I'm supposed to pick out a kiln (I'm told I want a computerized Skutt kiln?) and give him a price range so he can work out the funding. 

*If you are curious about any of the projects pictured here, view my post from last spring: http://artteacheradventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/finished-clay-projects.html

In the mean time, I'm still working without a kiln. So here are a few tips I've come up with in my long, 2 1/2 year career.

1. No talking with clay in your hands. The best way to do clay projects with my school schedule is one class period for wet clay and one class period to paint. To help students focus and finish on time, my rule is that there’s no talking while working with clay. The students are so excited that they really don’t mind working silently. (Most of the time.) I try to play music or read a book like “The Pot that Juan Built” by Nancy Andrews-Goebel while they work.
2. Buy Air-Dry clay- If you can afford it. Some people say that there is no difference between air-dry clay and regular earthenware clay but I disagree. I order air-dry clay and when dry, it is harder and sturdier than the earthenware clay leftover from the previous teacher in my position.
3. Cover basic skills but plan sturdy projects. Avoid attaching long, skinny pieces without support. It’s ok for the projects to be a little thick. Thick = Sturdier.
4. Paint dry pieces. Obviously glaze is not an option with no kiln, but painting works well. I’ve used tempera and even watercolor. Just remind students not to use too much water or they will start to rehydrate the clay.
5. The most important tip: Emphasize the process over the product. I know that being unable to fire clay projects leaves them in a fragile state and probably more than one project will be dropped in the hallway on the way home and shatter beyond repair. Because of this, I really emphasize to my students that the most important part of the lesson is learning the skills and getting practice. When pieces break, the students are sad, but I can remind them that we’ll work with clay again next year and they still learned a lot.

Do you have any no-kiln-available clay tips? If so, please share in the comments!

Kindergarten Dancers

This lesson started off with me just wanting to incorporate Dance with Visual Art. One of the KSDE Visual Arts standards is about students making connections between Visual Arts and other disciplines. I remembered that my mom had give me the book "Katie Meets the Impressionists" by James Mayhew, and when I reviewed it, I thought it might work well. It tells the story of a little girl who visits an Art museum with her grandmother and is able to climb through frames into the paintings and have little adventures with the people there. Toward the end of the book she ends up performing on a ballet stage with Degas' dancers before escaping through the frame back into the museum. *After reading to the first class, I skipped a few paintings from the book so the Kinders were more likely to still be interested when it got to the dance scene at the end.

We talked about dancing and watched some short video clips of ballet performances on YouTube. I actually found a ballet based on Degas' paintings but ended up focusing on a clip from Swan Lake since it showed the male dancer doing lots of lifts and I wanted to show that it's not just "girly". Everyone was impressed with the skill of the dancers. Next, we talked about our joints and how they let our body bend and move. We practiced moving our necks, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. I think this is important- the students are much more likely to try to draw what they see when they are reminded of this. Finally, the students took turns posing like dancers in the giant frame while their classmates made gestural (as gestural as Kinders get) drawings of them, trying to show movement.

In the next class, students who hadn't had a turn posing got their chance and the students either added costumes to their first drawings or made a new drawing of a dancer using oil pastels.  These were more about the process than being gallery-worthy finished pieces. I am still developing my philosophy of teaching and so far it's just been "a little bit of everything"- giving the students a little guidance but sometimes keeping my distance so they can discover and do things their own way. 

I'm guessing this is dancers doing a lift.

This is by one of my PreK students. :)

They all found their own ways to show movement.

This student actually sort of made a gestural drawing using crayon!

Messy Mondrians

Kindergarten at my school, as I'm sure they do in many schools, studies a letter a week. A couple months ago for "M" week, I wanted to do an Art lesson that incorporated the letter. At first I had "magenta monkeys" in my head but I never came up with a lesson I was excited about. Then one day I had some extra liquid paint from a lesson with paint droppers and not wanting to waste the paint, I decided to play! I came up with an idea that I really like: Messy Mondrians.

Most classes used paint droppers* to drip horizontal and vertical lines of black paint across their papers in the first class, after the Mondrian introduction and discussion, of course. In the second class, they were given only the primary colored tempera cakes to paint in their shapes.  A few classes used cardboard to stamp horizontal or vertical lines and colored with primary colored crayons. I prefer the dripped artwork over the stamped but uneven scheduling with two classes, and students who were too chatty in another, meant changes were necessary. I wish I would have checked the diluted paint for the droppers more carefully because I added a little too much water and it ended up gray instead of a rich black..

*Some people might think I'm a little crazy for giving Kinders paint droppers. For the most part it was fine. I did have one little mishap. As I was describing how you only need to squeeze a little bit of paint at a time on the edge of your paper and let it drip to the other side, I was holding a dropper full of paint in the air in front of me, and a little boy who can't always control his impulses shot his hand out and squeezed the dropper, splattering black paint all over the table and one little girl's paper. He immediately said "Sorry!" but I was stubborn and didn't let him use his dropper independently since he had shown poor judgment. At first he was upset but I went on helping other students and told him when he was calmed down, I would help him. He came to get me a few minutes later and I had him direct me as I dripped paint exactly where he pointed for one side of the paper, then I held the dropper with him and let him squeeze the paint on the other.

The last 2 years I've done a collage Mondrian lesson with Kindergarten. The students took some of the elements of Mondrian's artwork (primary colored squares and rectangles and black "lines") and arranged them in their own composition. I think I was getting a little bored with it and wanted to try something different. (I just saw a mixed media Mondrian lesson on Artopotamus that was pretty cool!)