art club: bottle cap mural

After Christmas Break, I proposed a new Art Club to the school board. This club would meet bi-weekly, sixth grade one week and fifth grade the next, to work on drawing skills and create a recycled mural depicting Van Gogh's Starry Night out of bottle caps. This is something I had stumbled up online and I felt like it was something my kids would really love to do. There were many bumps along the way, which I will talk about as I describe the process, but in the end we got some pretty amazing results. 

Step One: Planning and Preparation

- The first thing you need to right away is to start collecting plastic caps. During the school announcements, I asked for all students to bring in whatever plastic caps and lids they could find at home. I collected caps for a couple months, but even with that much time we struggled to have enough of certain colors (yellow and purple are especially hard to come by). The really cool part about students bringing in caps and lids from home is that every one had the opportunity to be a part of the project, even if they weren't in art club! My little kindergarteners just loved coming down to the art room to deliver caps to me. :)

- Once you have collected a good number of caps, students should begin sorting them by color, and then by shades and tints. (Ex. blue should be sorted into light blue, medium blue, dark blue)

- Make sure you have all necessary materials, other than caps. That would include glue guns, glue sticks, two pieces of 2x3 1/4" thick plywood ( I got mine cut at a local hardware store and was a pretty reasonable price), paint, and brushes.

sorted lids and caps

Step Two: Mapping and Painting

- Before we even though about working with all those caps, we had to prepare out plywood boards. The first part of that was to project a coloring book version (which I found online) of the Starry Night onto the boards, tracing the lines in sharpie.

- Next, we mixed paint for the colors we wanted and began painting the different areas of the board with the colors we felt would go in that section. Painting the boards would prevent any plywood from showing through the gaps in the caps and to help create a map for where different colors of caps would go.

hard at work painting the mural

Step Three: Gluing the Caps

- This part is probably the most time consuming and tedious. Before doing any of the gluing, students arranged the caps on the boards where they wanted them to go. This really helped in knowing what caps we didn't have enough of and how to strategize. For example, because we were incredibly low on yellow caps, we turned clear caps upside down on top of where we had painted the wood yellow, so the yellow would still show through. Some caps you will want face up and some face down. We turned the white ones with blue on the inside upside down for their light blue color.

- When we started gluing, we started with small details first (like the sun and stars) and worked around them as we filled it in. Working from the inside outwards seemed to help as to avoid weird gaps in the middle.

- One challenge I faced was storing the project while it was in progress. Because my art room was so small, I had to leave it on the floor, in proximity to outlets for the glue guns. Unfortunately we had a mildly traumatic incident where a student ran through the mural Godzilla style, kicking unglued caps everywhere. Luckily, we were able to fix everything before the end of the school year, but it did set us back a bit.

fifth grade Art Club students with their mural

Sixth grade Art Club students

The finished mural!

Despite the minor set backs and the time crunch, Art Club finished their mural and they did an amazing job. I could not be more thrilled with what they accomplished and proud of this amazing piece of recycled art. We are hoping to have it mounted in the school with a plaque to go with it! My students are truly amazing and I have been so blessed to have a whole year with them. My only hope is that I will be with them again next year, but right now I have no idea what the future holds...and that's ok. :)

oil pastel cat faces

I really enjoy using oil pastels with my kids, especially because they seem to really like how colorful and messy they are. I had been working on pattern with some of the other grades, so after some internet research, I came up with this project for my second graders.

Assignment Description: Create a cat face design filled symmetrical patterns, using oil pastels on brown parchment paper

Materials:

- parchment paper

- oil pastels

To begin this project, we did practice drawing a cat face, step-by-step, on a practice paper before working on final project paper. Students also had the opportunity to experiment with different patterns when they were finished drawing their practice cat face.

For the final project, they drew a cat face on a large piece of parchment paper, drew in their patterns with pencil, and then colored in their patterns using oil pastels. The last step was to cut out the cat face. 

My second grade students loved this project! Many of them wanted to add a string so they could wear it as a mask, so maybe next time I would use thicker paper and make it a mask project. I really enjoy how colorful all their designs turned out and it certainly doesn't hurt that they loved creating them!

art show

 This weekend was the culmination of all the hard work that has gone into this first year of teaching. It has been one of the most challenging and stressful, yet simultaneously uplifting and joyful experiences of my life so far. I could not be more blessed by the students I see every day, filling my days with their laughter and creativity. I told myself I was ill-equipped to teach at the elementary level, but lucky for me, the Lord had other plans.

Blessed by the joy and giggles of this one

A precious fifth grader made me this thoughtful gift

ketchup and mustard for life

Me and my momma

My boys, minus James

Thank you to everyone in my life who listened to me talk incessantly about my kids, put up with my anxious and sometimes frazzled behavior, pretended to be just as excited as I was about all my students' projects, and offered up words of encouragement and support. I could not have made it through this year without you. 

monet bridge painting

Towards the beginning of the school year, I discovered this really cool lesson online that focused on the bridge paintings of Claude Monet. I loved the simplicity, but also the stunning results of the project, so I decided to try it with my first graders.

Assignment Description: Using the impressionist painting technique of Claude Monet, create a painting of a bridge over a water lily pond

Materials:

- tempera paint

- masking tape

- 80 lb paper

Students began the project by using tape to create their bridge shape. After a demonstration, students used tempera paint to make small impressionist-like marks for their tree background and water lily pond underneath. Once it was all dry, students pealed the tape off their painting to reveal the white bridge underneath! 

I was so happy with how well all the Monet paintings turned out! I loved seeing how the mark making was unique to each student and they really seemed to enjoy the process of painting just like Claude. 

sealife mosaic

Something I am sure all art teachers have an abundance of is colored construction paper. I wanted to think of new ways to use the paper for image making, when I came across some paper mosaic projects on Pinterest. After talking with the other elementary art teacher in my district, I decided to narrow the subject matter down to sea life, which fourth grade students created using small squares of colored paper. 

Assignment Description: Create a paper mosaic of a sea creature, using squares of colored paper to make the image, modeled after the appearance of ceramic mosaics

Materials:

- black construction paper

- 1/2 inch strips of colored construction paper

- stick glue

- scissors

Mosaic Suggestions:

- stress uniformity in the size and shape of the squares they will cut from the provided strips of colored paper

- stress leaving spaces between squares for mosaic appearance

- if they don't use enough stick glue or press hard enough, squares will fall off

- the animal needs to be recognizable, so something too detailed will not work well

- cut lots of paper strips in advance, you will use ALOT

Wonderful jellyfish mosaic

My fourth grader worked so hard on the pattern for his crab

adorable purple killer whale

I cannot get over the cleverness and detail of this piece 

Students loved working on their mosaics, which I think was therapeutic for them. The process was tedious, but they did such a great job creating bright colored sea life using little squares of paper. I would definitely do this again, but perhaps on a smaller scale so it isn't as daunting or time consuming.

pattern mugs

After Christmas break, I decided I wanted to do a drawing project with my fifth graders that was inspired by the art of Zentangling. After doing some research, I found a blog with a mug drawing project that incorporated colorful patterns. It seemed to fit what I was hoping for and I loved how bright and colorful all the student examples were. 

Assignment Description: Create a drawing of a mug, incorporating colorful patterns in each part of the picture. 

Materials:

- 8x11 drawing paper

- thin sharpies

- crayons

We spent a few days talking about the difference between a "pattern" and a "good pattern." A good pattern must have: color, repetition, line, shapes, and detail. Students did a worksheet practicing creating their own unique patterns before even beginning the mug drawing project. 

Once I felt students had a firm grasp on what a "good pattern" looks like and how to design one, we began the project by drawing the mug in pencil. We did this together, me guiding them step-by-step on the board. After the pencil drawing was complete, students traced the lines in a thin sharpie to define the lines. 

Students were able to reference their pattern worksheets as they began drawing their patterns in pencil in the different parts of the image. After all the patterns were drawn, student began coloring, using at least three colors in each pattern. 

So many wonderful, colorful, pattern-filled mugs

This project really allowed students to demonstrate excellent problem-solving and creativity. Some of the patterns students used were incredibly intricate and clever! Each mug was so unique and vibrant. I would definitely do something like this again, maybe change up the object, but I really like how the pattern part challenged them to think outside of the box. 

one point perspective

I wanted to do a perspective drawing project with my fifth grade students, but I wasn't sure where to start or what I wanted to project to look like. After doing some research on the internet, I found a website describing a watercolor one point perspective project of a city street or river. I looked like interesting and like it would allow students to utilize their creativity, so I thought we would give it a shot.

Assignment Description: Create a one point perspective drawing, using a single vanishing point as a guide to draw buildings and trees on the side of a city street or river. Use watercolor paint to add color to the drawing. 

Materials:

- 18x14 80 lb. paper

- rulers

- watercolor paint

We began this project by discussing terms like one point perspective, landscape, horizon line, and vanishing point. Students used rulers to draw the horizon line and then diagonal lines from corner to corner to use as guides that met at the vanishing point. On one side of the street/river, students were asked to draw trees and on the other, they were supposed to draw buildings. If they drew a road, then they were asked to include at least two cars, and if they drew a river, then they needed to include two boats. 

Other than the slight difficulty students had with using the watercolor paint, I was pretty happy with how these turned out. Students did a wonderful job drawing with perspective and I think I will use this project, or something very similar, again. 

paper sculpture

I was trying to think of a 3D project I could do with my second graders when I stumbled upon a paper sculpture idea on Pinterest. I kind of improvised from some images I saw online and took it day by day, but I was very happy with the results.

Assignment Description: Create a 3D sculpture by adding patterns to strips of colored paper and then folding, twisting and bending those strips, attaching both ends to a square of white card stock. 

Materials:

- 1 inch wide strips of colored paper

- 9x9 card stock squares

- Elmer's liquid glue

- crayons 

Each day, I would let students choose three strips of colored paper. Students would use the first half of class creating patterns on the paper; sometimes I would give them specific instructions (add polka dots) and other times I would let them decide what design to add. The second half of the class would be for creating the 3D shape. 

Day 1:

- Patterns: polka dots, stripes, your choice

- 3D Shapes: make a circle by gluing the ends together then gluing to the card stock, fold like an accordion to make a zigzag shape and glue both ends to the card stock so it stands up, your choice

Day 2:

- Patterns: squares, curly line, your choice

- 3D Shapes: make a square by gluing the ends together and then folding in half twice (then gluing to the card stock), make a loop and glue both ends to the square, your choice

Day 3

- Patterns: your choice

- 3d Shapes: your choice

Close up of paper sculpture designs

All that color contrast!

Second grade paper sculpture projects

What I really enjoyed about this project was how I was able to see student's individual creativity and problem solving. When students were allowed to do whatever they wanted, they came up with some truly interesting shapes and ideas! They would describe their projects like roller coasters or theme parks; second graders were so invested in these sculptures! My kids were so excited about these turned out, so I filled my display case with as many as I could.

animal block printing

When I was searching through the cabinets in my room, I was delighted to find supplies and equipment for block printing. From what I could tell, students hadn't done any printmaking in quite some time, so I got out the ink, brayers and foam for a new fifth grade printmaking project.

Assignment Description: Create a block print of an animal (on a large piece of foam) and an aspect of that animal's habitat (on a smaller square to create a border)

Materials:

- Foam plates/trays

- black block printing ink

- brayers

- plexiglass squares (for rolling ink)

- paper (I used thick brown parchment paper, but you could use whatever you like)

Students were given a sketch worksheet to complete the final printing project. They were asked to draw four different animal sketches with an accompanying habitat design for each. Once they had finished their sketches, they would consult with me to decide which animal they would use on their piece of foam. 

Students were given two pieces of foam (a large piece for the animal and a smaller square for the habitat) and two pieces of computer paper so they could redraw their image to fit the pieces of foam. Then, they taped their drawings onto the foam to begin carefully carving in the design.

I demonstrated how to do block printing with my own elephant design, talking through new terms and introducing them to printmaking materials and equipment. When students did their own printing, I made sure to do it in smaller groups, so I could monitor and guide them more effectively. I knew if I tried to print with twenty kids all at once, it would be mass chaos and students wouldn't get the best results possible. 

Block Printing Suggestions:

- shade the back of the animal drawing before carving so it transfers some of the pencil onto the foam, making the design easier to see

- tape at the top and the side

- avoid designs that are intricate

- use a dull pencil when tracing the design onto the foam, to avoid cutting through the paper and the foam 

- go over the design one more time using a dull pencil directly on the foam

- print in groups

- start printing the habitat squares by doing the four corners first, and then fill in the rest of the border 

Practice prints and foam 

Three completed prints: an owl, a seahorse, and an elephant

I was thrilled with how these prints turned out and I think my students were equally as excited! The printing itself took longer than I expected, because we printed in groups, but I think that was important for the quality of our prints. This is something I would definitely do again. It was so encouraging to see how much my kids liked printmaking and how well they did with this project! 

huichol yarn painting

One of the things I was blessed with when I started teaching at Park Elementary was an abundance of yarn. A whole closet full of boxes and boxes of yarn. The teacher I am subbing for did weaving projects with every grade, but I don't have experience with weaving and I wanted to give the students a new way to use the yarn to create an interesting piece of art.

Assignment Description: Create an image, using yarn, that is symbolic of something that interests you or is important to you (family, music, reading etc)

Materials:

- Cardboard square 9x9

- yarn (all colors)

- Elmer's glue

Students began the project by completing a sketch assignment in which they had to come up with four different ideas for their yarn painting. They were encouraged to be clever when creating their symbols, trying to stay away from what might be expected or easy. 

Below is an example of a student sketch worksheet. He wanted to focus on his interest in movies, choosing the Batman series in particular. I was more than apprehensive to allow him to take on something so challenging, but as you will see later, he proved me wrong...oh so wrong. Not that I am complaining.     

Once students had conferenced with me on which design they wanted to use for their project, they were given a 9x9 cardboard square to draw the picture on before adding yarn. After drawing their symbols, students began the tedious task of gluing the yarn to fill in the "painting."

yarn painting suggestions:

- start with the small details first and work around them later

- for details and shapes, work from the outside inward towards the center

- for the background, start from left to right, or top to bottom

- make sure to use enough glue, not enough will cause it to not stick, but too much can cause a bit of a mess...as you can image

- use lots of bright colors, especially in the background 

Working on a Percy Jackson inspired yarn painting

I mean...just look at that. It was such a "proud mom" moment.

A student that shares my perfectionism really did a beautiful
 job on her ballet shoes dancing on an infinity sign.

Finished Percy Jackson yarn painting completed

Overall, I was overwhelmed by how well my students did with this project, and how much they enjoyed it! It was awesome to see what their clever minds could come up with and their intense dedication to such a tedious project.