Chalk and Glue Autumn Leaves

Here's another leaf project inspired by our beautiful New England landscape. This time we added a twist by drawing leaf shapes in glue on black construction paper. It was easier than it might sound if you've never done it before. The trick is to use only perfectly unclogged bottles of glue. That required a thorough cleaning of 22 bottles of much-used school glue, but the results are worth the time spent. After practicing a bit to ensure steady hands, our students drew their favorite leaf shape taken from the piles we had available to view.

(Luckily, there is no shortage of leaves right now in my yard!)

After the glue dried clear, only black lines remained. Students then selected two to three colors of chalk pastels to add to the leaves, blending the colors as they went. If they could see the black paper after blending, they added more chalk. The last step was to color the backgrounds using complementary colors, or colors on the opposite side of the color wheel from their leaf colors. Doing this creates the most contrast and made their leaves really "pop" off the page. Many of the pieces show the intense color chalk pastels are capable of, and some show off more delicate color schemes. I think they are all spectacular. Click on any image to see more of these beautiful designs.

Clay Insects

Our 4/5 class celebrated summer's impending arrival with their own insect project. Keeping in mind the rules for what makes an insect an insect (see Insect Collages,) students created their own three-dimensional insect using air-dry clay. When it was dry the insect was colored using paints or markers. Paper pulp served as a base for an insect home, which could be appropriately decorated with grass, tree branches, etc. The bottom half of an upside down 2 liter bottle served as a dome to protect the insect. Here they are! Click to view the insects in their gallery. 

Insect Collages

The coming of summer has had us thinking about a favorite subject of many second and third graders - INSECTS! This project had students exploring when a bug is an insect and when it's not. We learned that all insects MUST have the following:

1.  three body parts - a head, thorax, and abdomen

2.  six jointed legs

3.  two antennae to sense the world around them

Rules are rules in this case. For instance, spiders may be bugs, but they are NOT insects because they have eight legs, not six. After viewing lots and lots of insects from all over the world, students used colored paper to collage their own colorful insects. They were encouraged to be creative and dsign their own insect if they choose to; but they had to follow the rules for what makes an insect. I think the results are wonderful, don't you? Click on any image below to see lots more of our favorite bugs.

 After the project was done students explored recreating their insect in three dimensions using modeling clay.

Line Fish

A fun one day project for our grade 2/3 class began by drawing one long, continuous line which looped around a page of paper. The students studied some illustrations of fish and we discussed what features all fish have in common; eyes, tails, fins, gills and scales. We then added these details to our loops in various creative ways to produce these unique "line fish" drawings. 

Chalk Snowflake Drawings

Winter and snowfall always inspires lots of interesting art projects. After discussing snowflake structure and the concept of symmetry, our 2/3 class used chalk pastels to create these fabulous drawings on black paper. Click on any image to get to the image gallery.

  

Fall Leaf Monoprints

Fall is such a great time to make use of materials from nature in our artwork. Recently our sixth grade class used fallen leaves to make these beautiful monoprints. The backs of the leaves were covered lightly with metallic tempera paint, then pressed onto paper. When the leaves were removed they left lovely detailed prints showing their delicate stucture. Students then used sponges to paint around the leaves. When dry they filled in the leaf prints with colored pencil to finish. The results are wonderful, don't you think? Please click on any image to get to the picture gallery. 

We've Got Fish!

No, not real ones...

Our kindergarten and first grade classes started a fun two week project by closely observing a glass fishbowl. We talked about what a contour line means in art as I traced the outside edge of the bowl with my finger. The students drew the line on paper in black crayon, then it was time to fill their bowls with fish.

After looking at lots of pictures of fish, we talked about the things they all have in common; eyes, mouths, fins, scales. Everyone filled their bowls with lots of fish, cut out their bowls and glued them onto orange construction paper. Since all fish need water to live, the students glued torn pieces of blue tissue paper over each fish. Last step, draw a surface for your bowl to sit on and decorate it. Now, we've got fish!

Click on any image to get to the picture gallery and see lots more fish!.

 

Chalk Pastel Leaves

Seventh and eighth grade students drew leaves from nature, taking care to see and recreate the veins in the leaf structure. Working on black construction paper, they drew larger-than-life leaves that filled up the space for a dramatic composition.

Choosing either a warm or cool color scheme, they selected three colors of chalk pastels. Working from the veins toward the leaf edge, the students put down color and then blended. Adding additional chalk was often required to fully cover the black paper. The last step was to outline the leaves and veins with metallic marker. The results were spectacular! Clicking on any image brings your to the picture gallery and lots more images.