Can you feel the creepy in the air? Day of the Dead art project to kick off fall!

October is HERE! It's the most wonderful time of the year!! Well some of us think so! I love the fall, almost as much as the summertime, especially because of a little thing called Halloween. Dia de los Muertos is an awesome celebration of death, life, and family. Last year I did an art project with my son's 4th grade class that was a total hit. I found the idea on an awesome blog Modern Art 4 Kids, for Day of the Dead Skulls.
                                             

The craft was done on black paper with bright colors pastels. The kids were informed to draw a BIG skull, to fill up the page, then to decorate their skulls with colorful patterns, designs, and funky lines/shapes. They turned out amazing, and the kids had a blast. They were all different, gorgeous, creepy, and funny. Each one as unique as the child who created it.

 We did this project along with a lesson about Frida Kahlo, the passionate Mexican artist. The kids were very interested in the Day of Dead Celebration, which takes place on November 1 &2. Basically it is a holiday to celebrate and remember the loved ones who have passed away. This tradition goes back as far as the Aztecs, although today is predominately Mexican holiday. This holiday is celebrated by making little offerings for the deceased and basically having a party for them. Sugar skulls are plastic or paper mache or perhaps real, decorated with flowers, glitter, cloth, ribbons, gold, and silver, and beautiful adornments. These are not meant to be creepy or scary, but in fact to show that loved ones are remembered and not forgotten.It is really a sweet, wonderful tradition, that is something we could all benefit from.

There are some other great project ideas for Day of the Dead on the blog Deep Space Sparkle.

Lawrence, Van Gogh, & Frankenthaller Projects

It's been a whirlwind of a year so far! Our house has been feeling particularly creative, with my impromptu gallery show, picture person projects, and now valentines day is right around the corner!

The first graders had fun doing a pattern project for Jacob Lawrence's, the Parade. We did this earlier in the year, but it would be a good one for Black History Month. I pre-cut strips of colored paper and they choose three colors they wanted to draw on. We talked about the print and the colors, lines and patterns. They were to make their own pattern, with characters in a parade, in the same style as Lawrence. Most kids stacked them in a line, although some staggered them more like the figures in the print. They had a blast drawing different parade characters. Since this project is basically drawing and gluing, it is nice and mess free! They were proud of their results. Thanks to my friend, Sharon, for this project idea!

In December, the kids learned about Vincent Van Gogh's, Starry Night. After learning about the edited version of Van Gogh's life, the kids painted their own Starry night with thickened paint on cardboard. I added glue & flour to tempera paint so the kids could really glop it on! They were instructed to create a landscape with a house or trees and a sky. I showed them how to use a fork or toothpick to draw into the thick paint to make a design. These projects turned out awesome! A bit messy, and they need to dry at least overnight. The kids had a blast and really got into painting. These projects went home right before Christmas, so hopefully some parents got a work of art for a gift.

The other day, I ran into an awesome website/book called the Anti-coloring book by Susan Striker. There are a few sample pages on her website that would be really fun to incorporate into a picture person project. The first one could be used in many projects, the 2nd one is specifically for Picasso.

<---A famous artist needs your help. The artist started this picture but was stung on the thumb by a bee. Turn the picture any way you’d like and finish it. 


What do you think this woman sees when she looks in the mirror?-------------->

The 2nd Graders learned about abstract art and Helen Frankenthaller, who invented the soak/stain art technique. It was amazing how interested the kids were in the abstract piece, Blue Atmosphere. The first image below is Frankenthaller, the 2nd was created by a 3rd grader.

They had me turn the print many times to view it at different angles, and they took turns telling me what it looked like! Then came the project. We threw a drop-cloth on the floor and the kids took turns dumping watered down tempera paint onto watercolor paper. They would tip the paper to make the paint run down and create drips and splashes, 3 colors total. They used sponges and brushes to gently cover the entire page and just let the paint soak in some spots and saturate the paper. They also decorated greeting cards using this same technique, for our school's spaghetti supper auction. This is definitely a messy project, maybe even an outside one. Have plenty of paper towels on hand and a space cleared off to lay the finished project to dry overnight.  

Hopper Picture Person Project

Ground Swell, by Edward Hopper was the latest work of art I discussed with my 1st grader's class. The kids liked it because of the boat and the ocean, and in the middle of a harsh Illinois winter it seems almost like paradise. Hopper is a famous American realist painter, most known for his painting, Nighthawks.


Anyway, Hopper is known for painting everyday realistic themes that evoke feelings of loneliness and sadness. His use of color is an important factor in his work and for the kids' project we used color to create an emotion. We talked about Hopper's life and how his work was different than most artists at the time. He painted things to look realistic in a time when abstract art was all the rage. He loved to paint boats and the ocean and other everyday scenes.

I found the project in this AWESOME book. It is a great project that even Charlie (who is 4) loved. The finished project is totally frame worthy.

First off I mounted drawing paper (not sketch) on a board. My makeshift "boards" were made
from free USPS shipping boxes cut in half. I used thick blue artist tape to tape the edges of the paper to the board, covering about an even strip around the edge to create a border when removed. I brought a ton of black permanent markers and told the kids to draw something emotional, something that would create a feeling. I had them name some feelings and then we asked them to tell us what they could draw.
We practiced it at home, like we always do, to test the time and mess factors that will be involved in the project.

Jack drew a dog and Charlie a happy face. Once they drew their main subject, we put the permanent markers away. I then had the kids color with some washable markers, letting them know that those colors would fade and spread out. Some kids colored with crayons too.


As the kids finished up I took them back to a table where I had watered down about 5 different colors of acrylic paint. I had them pick a color to represent the emotion they were showing in their picture.



Most kids chose 2-3 colors, but it was ok since they were really watered down. If they got too much water on the paper we used paper towels to dab up some. They liked the effects the wash had on the marker areas.


The end results were so awesome. My husband actually thought that the dog Jack did was the print we were discussing!! I let the pictures dry in the hallway for a few hours and then removed the tape (carefully). There were so many cool different pieces.







My kids pictures are hanging up in our house!