Printmaking

I taught this lesson along with a partner. For this lesson, we taught the students about how printmaking works and also patterns. We gave each student a Styrofoam sheet to use for their project, they had to cut the Styrofoam in half because there was two parts of this lesson. To help students learn better, we went step by step with the students over the printmaking process. The students were told to create a pattern using a pencil on one half of there Styrofoam sheet. After they have their pattern created and imprinted onto the Styrofoam, they took a roller with paint and converted the pattern onto the construction paper by printmaking. They had to create a color pattern on their construction paper with the printmaking pattern. Then we had them brainstorm three symbols, logos, or designs that had meaning to them and create them on their second Styrofoam half. Then they need to take their paint roller and print their symbols, logos, and designs onto the construction paper.

An extension activity that could be done with this is having the students write three paragraphs about the meaning behind their symbols, designs, or logos. This would be a cool introductory activity because students could learn about each other from this.

This is our bulletin board we created for our lesson. We titled it, "Printmaking About Us" because
 they created symbols, logos, or designs about them. Then we hung all the students projects up on the bulletin board and tried spreading it out as best as we could. By displaying students work, it motivates them to do their best and allows for them to feel good about their work and boost their self-esteem because their work is on display for anyone to see.

Clay Pinch Pots

For this lesson, we learned about clay and how to make a pinch pot. We were given clay and told to make a clay pinch pot but our pinch pot had to be an animal of our choice. We had to pinch and mold the clay into the shape of our animal. After we created our animal we had to use some extra clay to make additions to our animal. I created a cat and the additions I made with clay were the tail, the eyes, and the ears. Then we had a little pick and we had to make subtractions from our animal and for this I made stripes on my cat and also made the eyeballs, nose, whiskers, and mouth.

An extension activity that would be cool for this is to project is to create an acrostic poem with language arts using the letters of the animal they created and describe their mom with those letters. They could also paint the pinch pot as well; this would be a great mother's day gift with the pinch pot and poem.

Rainbow Craft

For this lesson, we learned about primary and secondary colors; we also learned about the artist Wassily Kandinsky. We then had to mix primary colors together to make secondary colors for our rainbow. Then we took a sponge and created a rainbow with the primary colors and the secondary colors we made by dabbing and painting with a sponge. We also had to paint a landscape of whatever we wanted using the primary and secondary colors. After we painted the landscape and it dried, we then glued our rainbow onto the landscape. I really liked this lesson because it let students be creative by choosing whatever landscape they wanted and then creating it. I really love baseball and softball so I chose a field as my landscape.

An extension activity that could be done with this lesson is creating a whole scene instead of just a landscape. This was a craft unit so we could create a whole scene by adding people or animals or other things with material such as construction paper and then the students could write a story about what is happening in their scene.

3-D Play-Doh

For this lesson, we learned about three dimensional designs and also the foreground, middle ground, and background. They also incorporated Dr. Seuss in their lesson by showing examples of some of his characters. We had to create a Dr. Seuss type creature out of play doh. First, we had to create our construction paper scenery; we had to create a foreground, a middle ground, and background. Then we drew a picture of what our creature would look like. Finally, we created our creature out of play doh. We had to use at least three materials provided either for the scenery or on the creature. Children would really enjoy creating their own creature. We then had to create a mad lib story about our creature as well.

An extension activity that could be done with this project is creating a Dr. Seuss type of book about our creature using rhyming like Dr. Seuss did. Students would enjoy creating a book about their character and they could learn about rhyming words while doing this.

Eric Carle Paper Project

For this lesson, we learned about Eric Carle and had to create an animal with paper. Eric Carle is a famous author and illustrator who has created many stories about animals. For our art project with this lesson, we had to create an animal using different pieces of paper. We were given an outline of an animal we chose and had to cut out pieces of paper to fill in the template. We had several choices of paper to use and couldn't use just the same piece for the whole animal. This was a fun activity that students would enjoy because they get to choose an animal they like and cut out paper to create that animal. We then wrote a brief description about our animal.

An extension activity we could do for this lesson involves language arts. We wrote a brief description of our animal we created but another activity we could've done with this project is to write a story involving our animal and then create a title page with a background for the animal we just made. This goes well with Eric Carle because he is an author and illustrator.

Jasper John's Fish

For this lesson, we learned about Jasper John and his artworks and methods. We were given a fish that we had to cut out and then we had to paint that fish but we could not use a paint brush; instead we were given four objects to use instead of a paint brush and those objects were: an apple, a carrot, celery, and a spoon. We had to use two techniques, painting and stamping. We had to paint the head, tail, and fins with the objects. For the body we had to create scales by stamping with the objects. We had to use multiple colors and at least three of the four objects on our fish. This was a fun activity that students would enjoy because they are painting without a paint brush.

An extension activity that could be done with this project is another art project. You could have students create a background for their fish while using the stamping and painting method but this time using objects that students come up with in class. They could create an ocean, a fish tank, a river, a pond or wherever they want their fish to live for their background while still using objects to paint and/or stamp.

Van Gogh's Sunflower

For this lesson, we learned about Van Gogh and his sunflower painting. He actually created four sunflower paintings to decorate the walls of his friends bedroom. Each painting had a different background. We were told to create a vase however we wanted for our sunflowers. We created the vase with crayons and colored them in. Then we drew our sunflowers and painted the petals yellow after painting the petals yellow, we had to draw the stems on the sunflower and have them go into the vase. Finally, we had to use brown to create a checkerboard pattern in the center of the sunflower and glue sunflower seeds around the center of the sunflower.

An extension activity students could do is more with art. Students could create a background for their sunflowers. They could create things such as a table, a window, a desk, and then cut out the sunflower painting and put it on their background.

Monet's Bridge

For this lesson, we learned about Claude Monet and his painting "Bridge over a Pond of Water Lillies." We then had to create our own version of this painting. We started off by using bright colored crayons to create the bridge, the clouds, and the lily pads and flowers in the water. Then we took our watercolors and painted over the whole paper using either purple or blue. The watercolors didn't color over the crayons, so our drawings still showed up.

 An extension activity that could be done with this is with science where students are learning about some of the most famous bridges and shown those bridge designs. You could teach them and show them about the bridges before this and have them try to re-create a famous bridge with this painting or the students could create their own famous bridge and name it.

Van Gogh Collage

For this project, we had to create a collage based on Vincent Van Gogh's painting of "The Starry Night." We learned about Vincent Van Gogh and some of his work. Then we had to create a collage. For this, we started off by gluing on tissue paper that we cut out in random designs to show movement like Van Gogh has in his Starry Night painting. We then had to create a landscape and glue that on over the tissue paper. I created a house in the countryside for my landscape. We then used oil pastels for more detail and also to add more movement as well. This was a fun project based off of a real painting that we could take and create as our own. It is cool because it is based off a famous painting but is unique and creative because we got to create it how we want instead of having everyone try to recreate the painting.

For an extension activity with this project, the students would write a paragraph about their landscape and why they chose that landscape. This is an extension activity because it is associated with language arts since they are writing about their artwork.

Hidden Safari

For this project, we had to create a safari animal and then hide that animal so it can only be seen through special glasses. We created the safari animal with a cool color, I used blue, and you draw the animal lightly. Then you take three warm colors, I used red, orange, and yellow, and with each color you make a design over the animal to cover and hide it. After you draw your animal and hide it, you glue it onto a piece of construction paper, where you write three clues about your safari animal to help others guess what it is before they look at it through the special glasses. We created the special glasses with a red film that helps you see through the warm color designs over the animal to see the hidden animal. This is a really fun activity that students would enjoy.

An extension activity students could do with this hidden safari art project is where students need to research about their safari animal and write a paper about the animal including things such as where it lives, what it eats, the life span of the animal, and a few interesting facts about their animal.

Elements and Principles of Art

For this project, we were sent on a scavenger hunt to find elements and principles of art. There are twelve elements and principles of art that we had to find pictures for. Here are five of the best pictures and what element or principle they are portraying.

 This picture was taken on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota of a tree on the campus green. This picture shows texture.

 This is a picture taken at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This picture shows balance because the the infield is symmetrical.

 This is a picture taken inside the student center at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This picture does a good job of showing movement with the lines on the glass.

 This is a picture taken of one of my shirts at my house. This picture is used as an example of a pattern.

This is a picture taken at Wylie Park in Aberdeen, South Dakota. This picture is an example of emphasis, the flag is the emphasis in this picture.


Here is the link to our presentation of all twelve pictures:
Presentation

A science extension activity they could do with this is project is to find a picture of all the elements and principles from nature. The students could go on a nature walk during the science class and take photos of things in nature that have an element or principle of art. This relates to science because they are finding things in nature with science such as rocks, trees, the sky, etc. and they can only take pictures of things outside in nature.

Footprint Project

This is a footprint project we created for our art methods class. For this project we had to trace one or both of our feet and put things on the footprint that interest us. If using this project for elementary students, I would suggest using both feet since they have smaller feet and wouldn't be able to get many things on one of their feet. We had to come up with things we like but we needed to use at least three different media so we couldn't just use crayons or markers or picture but rather had to get creative and use different art medias to complete this assignment. This was a fun project and a good way to introduce ourselves to our classmates and also a good way for teachers to learn about their students.

I used blue construction paper for my footprint because blue is my favorite color. On my footprint I had a barbell because I really enjoy working out, especially weight lifting. I also really like watching movies and so I had a picture of popcorn on there. I used a cowboy boot from a sales add to symbolize country music. I drew a go-kart on my footprint because I work at a go-kart track during the summer and absolutely love it and I really enjoy riding go-karts too. I also included the number 12 on my go-kart because that is my favorite number. On the bottom of my footprint I cut-out a rectangle from white paper and wrote "Welcome Students" to symbolize me being a future teacher. Finally, I used sports balls in my name because I really enjoy sports especially the four I included which are hockey, football, baseball, and basketball. That is my footprint.

This footprint project could also be used in language arts as an extension. The students could write a paper about themselves and the things that they included on their footprint. This would allow students extra practice with spelling, grammar, and handwriting. This would be a fun way to introduce the class to each other and also to hang in the hallways because the students could show off their footprint and then people walking through the hallway would be able to see and read about the student. The students could also get footprints from their family members as well to show to the class while writing about them to help students learn even more about each other.