Owl Print Collage

       Fourth grade students created these multi-media artworks portraying owls in their habitats. The pictures combine elements of printmaking and collage. Students viewed and discussed a woodblock print of an owl by the 19th century Japanese printmaker, Hiroshige. They also looked at photographs of various species of of owls in nature.

       A printmaking plate was created using a styrofoam tray. After printing the owls using brayer and ink, a background was made using collage techniques. The owl prints were cut out and glued into the background.

                                                                               

Grade 5 - Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest Biome Drawing

Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest Biome Drawing - Grade 5

Learning Goal:  Students will be able to use pastel drawing techniques to create a drawing of an animal of the tropical rain forest biome.

This was an interdisciplinary lesson connected to the fifth grade science curriculum.  The science curriculum includes a study of biomes which are large ecosystems including many habitats.  Students learned about the various types of animals that live in the Amazon Rain Forest of Brazil.  Students read the book, The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry and viewed the illustrations.  They also participated in a Visual Thinking Strategies discussion of a painting, The Tropics, by French painter Henri Rousseau. Students then compared the painting with Lynne Cherry's illustrations from The Great Kapok Tree. Each student chose an animal from the Amazon Rain Forest as the subject of their drawing. Some of the animals chosen were sloths, jaguars, monkeys, toucans and parrots. After learning pastel drawing techniques, students created their pictures.Students drew lines with black oil pastel and then applied chalk pastel colors using blending techniques.

Kindergarten - Van Gogh Sunflowers

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Kindergarten - Van Gogh Sunflowers

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Kindergarten students viewed and discussed Vincent Van Gogh's painting, Fifteen Sunflowers in a Vase.  They talked about his use of color, texture and brush stroke. Students created their own vases, cutting them so that they had symmetrical balance, and decorating with line patterns.  They learned about brush stroke by painting the petals of the sunflowers and completed their pictures by drawing the stems.

Third Grade Watercolor Whales

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Third Grade Watercolor Whales
Third grade students learned drawing and watercolor techniques through the creation of these paintings depicting different species of whales in their marine habitat. Students began the lesson by viewing a painting entitled The Whale Ship,  by the English artist, J.MW. Turner.  Students participated in a Visual Thinking Strategies discussion of the artwork.  They also viewed and discussed a print of a whale by American artist,  Rockwell Kent.

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The students began their painting by making a line drawing of a whale in black crayon.  They used watercolor mixing techniques to create the intermediate colors blue-green and green-blue. These colors were used along with blue and green to create the waves of the whales' habitat.