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Hidden Safari

For this project we learned about the artist Henri Rousseau and two of his paintings that had hidden objects in them. We then discussed what different animals we would find if we went on a safari including lions, zebras, giraffes, hippos, elephants, and monkeys. Then we made our own ruby red safari glasses out of construction paper and red film. Then we learned two new techniques: upside down drawing and contour drawing. Then we learned that to make our drawing look hidden it is important to use cool colors and use warm colors over over the drawing to hide it. We finished our project by framing our artwork and writing three clues on a notecard about the safari animal we chose to draw. An extention activity for this project is having students go on a vitural African Safari. Students would watch this video and write a short journal about what they learned. Then I would have students choose one of the animals that was shown on the video, research it, and give a short 5 minute p...
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Initial Clay Tile

For this project we worked with clay to create an inital clay tile. Before we started, we were taught vocabulary terms that are commonly associated with clay. We were taught how to work with clay because many of us have never worked with clay before. The first step is to work the clay to get the cracks and airbubbles out. Then we rolled the clay and cut it into a 5X5 square. After this was done we used the extra clay to make the rest of the symbols on our tiles. We needed to incorporate at least three different symbols on our tiles, at least one needed to be an additive and at least one needed to be a subtractive. An additive means that more clay was added to the tile, I added my initial (an A), a wavy line, and a straight line. A subtractive means that clay was taken out, I put dots along the straight line and my flower was drawn onto the tile. Then we were given the three primary colors as well as white paint to paint our tiles. I choose to mix colors and add some white to the blu...
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Van Gogh Inspired Collages

For this project we first learned about Vincent Van Gogh and his famous painting Starry Night. We then created our own Starry Night Landscape Collages by ripping up tissue paper and gluing it to a large sheet of dark construction paper (black, blue, or purple). Then we covered the tissue paper with a gel medium to create a layer to draw on and left it to dry. Then we drew using oil pastels to create swirls of color like Van Gogh did. Then we discussed different landscapes we could use and used another dark piece of construction paper to draw a silhouette of the landscape. I chose to draw a city landscape and used a white oil pastel to draw windows. Then this silhouette is glued to the bottom of the Starry Night landscape.  Another activity I would do with the theme of Van Gogh and Starry Night is a Starry Night Melted Crayon Art. For this project all you need is crayons (black, blue, yellow, white, and purple work the best), aluminum foil, cereal box, acrylic paint, paint...
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Wind Sock 3D Design

For this 3D Design art project we created windsocks. First we dicussed the movement of symolism which focused on paintings that held meaning but that the meaning needed to be described because the meaning in the paintings weren't easily seen by another person. An example of symbolism is "The Scream" by Edvard Munch which was painted after he heard a scream in the woods during a walk with friends. Most people wouldn't get that out of this painting. Using the idea of symbolism, we drew at least five different symbols on a piece of white construction paper. Then using shaving cream with paint swirled in it we pushed down the side of the construction paper with the drawings. Then when the construction paper was fully convered we lifted it off and scraped the remaining shaving cream off the construction paper. After letting the paint dry we rolled it up and glued it to another piece of construction paper. Then we stapled on streamers to bottom and punched holes in the t...
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Day of the Dead Printmaking

For this printmaking project we created a Day of the Dead design. Before we got started learning how to create a printmaking, we read part of the book Funny Bones which was about Day of the Dead and had lots of examples of printmaking. Then we were given different ideas that we could draw with the theme of Day of the Dead which included skeletons and flowers. We practiced our drawing first and then drew what we wanted to be on our printmaking. We then taped our drawing onto a styrofoam plate and traced over the image twice making sure to use enough pressure to transfer it onto the plate but not too much pressure or it would go through the plate. We then went to one of five stations that each had a different color. We each made four different prints using our styrofoam plate. To make a print I first rolled the ink out on a piece of wax paper using a brayer. Then I rolled the ink on my piece of styrofoam using the same brayer. After the ink was evenly coated on my piece of styrofoam, ...
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Rainbow Painting

For a painting project we created a rainbow using different shaped sponges. As a class we read "I Spy Shapes in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. While reading the book we discussed four different shapes: squares, circles, rectangles, and triangles and characteristics of each shape. Then we discussed the color wheel including primary and secondary colors. We mixed the primary colors to make the secondary colors. Then using the paint we mixed we practiced stamping paint using sponges which were cut out into the four shapes we discussed earlier. We then created our rainbows using the correct colors in order and using all four shaped sponges.  For an extension activity I would have students use the sponges to make an object such as a train or robot. I would also have different stencils available so students could use the sponges and the stencils to create an object.
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DOT Day

For this project we focused on DOT Day which is generally around Septemeber 15th. First we read the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, which is an inspirational book about a student creating an art work with a dot, even though he didn't believe that he could be an artist. For our DOT Day project we  created our own dots with coffee filters and other art materials such as markers, watercolor paints, crayons, and oil pastels. We created our own designs on our dots and then used to water to make some of the materials "bleed" which created a unique design for each dot.  For an extension activity I would have students do a STEM acitivity. I would have students design and build as many objects as they can out of dots (the candy) and tooth picks. Students are able to plan, design, and execute their own ideas. After they have completed this activity, I would give my students time to journal about what did and didn't work while they were building. 
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