….my grade two class always embraces my lessons and can’t wait to start
This is the same assignment that I gave to my grade one classes but I asked the grade 2s to add some colourful doodles around their portraits. Dali, Picasso and Warhol never looked better.
….I was hesitant to teach this lesson to the little ones
How much can grade one students do? How far can I push them to try something new and something somewhat difficult? I found out today.
I thought I would try teaching my class how to draw portraits from photos. This was actually an assignment that I was given this week in Carla Sonheim’s on-line class Y is for Yellow.
I printed up several photos of some famous contemporary artists, including Picasso, Dali, Frida Kahlo and Warhol. I showed the class very quickly how to use the negative space around the photo to start drawing and how to lay out some points on the paper to help guide the pencil from one area to another.
Most of the students were very excited about starting and many of them chose to draw Dali. One student, however, was not happy with the assignment and didn’t even want to start it. I asked her what she was going to do because this was the assignment. After a few minutes and some gentle encouragement she asked me if I would help her. She chose the Andy Warhol photo to copy and I helped her with placing some of the key points onto her paper. Once she started she quickly found success. Here are a few examples of their work:
Pablo Picasso
Salvador Dali
Frida Kahlo
Andy Warhol
…..90 of them were put up yesterday
I teach about 110 students art and I feel it’s important that every child’s work should be displayed. This week I knew it was time to take down some of the older work and replace it with newer assignments.
In grade 5, I taught the students about the colour wheel. Even though I’ve taught art as a prep coverage subject for only the last two years, when I had a grade 5 homeroom I always did my own art. So for the last 14 years, the colour wheel was always been an important aspect of my art program. This year I decided to change it up a bit and instead of giving them a prepared wheel that they added colour to, I had the students create their own wheels and I encouraged them to be somewhat creative while remaining true to the colours and placement of the colours.
Once the acrylic paint dried I had the students take it one step further and add a splash of Zentangle designs to their wheels. Zentangle is an art form using structured repetitive patterns to create beautiful images. It’s like doodling but more carefully applied. Here are a few examples of their amazing work:
The other 90 pieces that I hung yesterday were inspired by Picasso’s Peace Art. Here’s a sneak preview.
I’ll post the lesson in the next day or so. Have a great weekend!
….my grade 2s,3s and 4s loved this project
Even though we only have less than one week of school left, my students really wanted to finish their Picasso portraits. I love all of them. They are all so different and so very colourful. The ones that were started two weeks ago were painted with acrylic paint and the ones that were started only a few day s ago were completed with coloured sharpies.
…. is there an artist in all of us?
I really believe that there is an artist in all of us. The problem for most people is that when you say artist they think of a painter, illustrator,or sculptor. So often people tell me they can’t draw. Everybody can draw; it’s just that some people are better at it than others. Why is that?
Very few people are naturally good at art. It takes practice and perseverance. Those that are good at portraits have studied the human face and done countless drawings of eyes, noses, lips and other facial features and then put them together to create faces.
People develop their own style after copying and experimenting and taking inspiration from other artists. I’m not talking about replicating or making exact reproductions of famous paintings. For example, I like Picasso’s abstract portraits with misplaced features and sharp angles. I’ve experimented with his style and have created a couple of paintings of my own. One is done in acrylic and in the other I used a combination of watercolours and oil pastels.
I think you can be great artist and never be an accomplished illustrator. I think that’s why I like abstract art. I love the freedom of it gives me when using paints and other media and how it allows me to play with colour and texture. I like using the word play because when it stops being fun then I lose interest. Why on earth would I want to pursue anything that wasn’t enjoyable and fun to do?
Now I’ve talked mostly about visual artists, such as painters and sculptors, and using traditional artist materials such as paints, clay and oil pastels. My point, however, is that the quilters, knitters, sewers, photographers, writers, bloggers, toymakers, musicians, jewellery makers, weavers, dancers, actors, singers and gymnasts of this world are also artists in their own right. They create beauty and give pleasure to many but most importantly they find personal joy and satisfaction in the doing of their art. Photography has become my new personal art form. I love experimenting with the different features of the camera.
This is the view at the bottom of my street, looking south towards Lake Ontario.
None of these disciplines happen overnight. When you find what you like to do and work at it, you eventually get better. Did you knit a perfect scarf the first time around? Probably not. Are you a better cook today than you were in grade seven when you made your first macaroni and cheese? Hopefully. If you play the piano it’s more than likely that it involved hundreds of hours of practising scales that got you to where you are today.
The same is true for any visual art skill. Practice makes perfect or at least better. I know that if I took some life drawing classes my confidence and my ability to draw would improve. I’ve never met anybody that got worse at something after practising at it but I have a friend that believes only ‘perfect practice makes perfect’. I suppose that there is some truth to that as well.
For the last several weeks my grade 3 classes have been working on sewing quilt blocks and then decorating them with stitching, buttons and beads. It’s taking longer than I thought but their interest hasn’t waned and I hope I’ll be able to share some of their finished pieces in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I finished my example. I think working with the students has helped keep them motivated and inspired to move on the next step. They’re really excited about adding stitches and embellishments to their squares.
Not everything that you create as an artist will be to your liking. Sometimes your vision doesn’t make it onto the paper. Last Friday my friend L and I ‘played’ with my paints. I just started to add colour to my plates and moved the paint around with brushes and forks and then transferred the design onto paper. I kept adding more paint and water to the plates. I usually have a lot of success with mono printing but I can’t say that this is my best work. I did, however, have fun experimenting with the paints. It was therapeutic and great stress reliever.
Is there an artist in you?
I see the artist in many of you whom I follow. I see it in your photography, in your writing, your paintings, your stories, your poems, your refashioned clothes, your DIY projects, your crafts, your recipes, your music and your inspirational quotes. Keep it up. Spread the joy.
Mama Cormier 
