….I knew that some of my students knew about my blog but it still surprised me to hear this question

I needed a break from using paint. Most of the older students are pretty good at cleaning at the end of art class but some of the younger children, especially the boys, have a hard time with the cleaning concept. Two days ago I snapped and told my students that we were done with paint for awhile. When we go back I think I may limit the number of students who paint and have the rest of the students work with another medium. In other words, I’ll have two separate projects on the go.

Yesterday I introduced line drawing using pencil and then finishing if off with a fine tip Sharpie. I place a number of objects on their tables to arrange into an interesting still life.

I demonstrated how to draw what they see without lifting the pencil off the paper. We used rough copy paper to practise and then when they felt comfortable the students produced a final copy that was trimmed and then mounted on black construction paper. The following examples were done by grade 3s.

So what’s next? Maybe I’ll use oil or chalk pastels. At least there won’t be any brushes to clean.

Cheers!