Watercolor Giraffes

 

Thanks to my friend over at http://greenbayartroom.blogspot.com/ for this art lesson!

Miss sharing ideas with you in Green Bay!!

2^nd Grade Giraffes

2^nd Graders were inspired by giraffes and the artist Jennifer Mercede for this art lesson.  Students looked at drawings and photos of giraffes to learn how to draw them and then were inspired by Mercedes brightly painted and patterned giraffe art.  After drawing their giraffes students learned about the art element Value. Value means the lightness or darkness of a color.  Students choose 2 colors to paint their giraffe with then practiced creating light values in the background of their giraffes and dark values on their giraffes using watercolor paints.  They used less paint and more water to create light values and more paint and less water to create dark values.  They also learned that values can be changed by adding lighter colors and darker colors.  To add more details to their art students created patterns in the background and on the giraffe’s spots.  They practiced using line, shape and color in their patterns to create interesting designs. 

Great Job 2^nd Graders!!!

African Tribal Masks

African Tribal Masks

Third grade students were introduced to Africa and African Tribal Masks through a power point.  Students viewed many examples of tribal masks and learned that African masks were used for many purposes such as celebrations, preparing for battle, healing the sick, ceremonies and funerals. Third grade students planned the shape and details on their mask and then created the symmetrical shape and details on their mask using neutral colored paper.  Neutral colors are considered earth colors such as browns, blacks, tans and whites. These were colors used in many traditional African Tribal masks because the masks and paint colors used by tribes were made from natural elements of the earth, like wood, clay, mud and dirt.  Tribes couldn’t go buy colored paints from the store like we can today.  After making the masks out of paper students decorated their masks using neutral paint colors to create patterns and designs.  They then used raffia and wood beads to further decorate their masks. Great work 3^rd Graders!

African Landscapes

 

African Landscapes

4^th grade students learned about the African Serengeti during this African inspired Art project. The Serengeti is an area of land over 60,000 square kilometers that is found in Tanzania, Africa. This area of land is known for its animal migration that takes place twice a year.  The Serengeti has the largest animal migration in the world. Over 2 million animals travel in October from the northern hills to the southern plains. Then in April the herds travel back north through the west. We looked at the many different species of animals that are found on the Serengeti and learned facts about them. We also discussed the endangered species of Africa.  We then looked at different landscapes in Africa and how the land is different than ours. Students were able to choose an animal of their choice to create a silhouette landscape of the African Serengeti. They started by creating a watercolor sunset then created the black silhouette drawing. Students learned the importance of negative space (the empty spaces in art) and positive space (the filled spaces in art) while designing and drawing their silhouettes. Finally students studied African symbols and created a symmetrical boarder around their landscape, remembering to create their design using positive and negative spaces.

Winter Cardinals

 

Thank you to http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/ for the inspiration for this lesson!!

Winter Cardinals

The 3^rd Grade students learned about the art principal Emphasis and Focal Point while creating winter cardinal paintings.  Emphasis in a piece of art refers to the object that first catches the viewer’s attention and stands out.  By using contrasting colors students were able to have their cardinals be the focal point or area of emphasis in their artwork.   Students carefully drew their cardinal and tree branches in their art, thinking about size, direction and location.  Planning the size and location of the cardinal can also create emphasis in artwork.  They painted the sky background of their painting and then carefully painted the cardinals and branches of their art.  They finished by painting a black outline and adding details by splattering white paint for the wintery snow.  Great Job 3^rd Graders!