Painting Pollock

I had this planned as the first lesson of my fall art session, but due to rain we just got to it this week. It turned out to be a super fun activity- get out and try it while the weather is still nice! Our inspiration for this project is of course, Jackson Pollock. I love showing each student how easy it can be to create art by just using color and texture. It's a great way to get the creativity flowing for the year-messy, but creative (anyway don't those go hand in hand??).

I put out all sorts of brushes, squirt bottles, spray bottles, sponges, yarn, rollers, cups to pour from, etc., and about 15 colors of paint and let them have at it. Couple of tips: Do this outside, be sure and take your shoes off, and wear latex gloves (then they can also use their hands) Also, I reminded students of the color wheel and what happens when you mix complementary colors (mud). I encouraged them to do at least 5 layers and to try not to smear their colors together.

Sun setting on summer

With the cool, crisp air making a surprise visit every now and then, I thought this lesson was a great way to say farewell to summer. I was inspired for this lesson my one of my favorite art lesson girls over at Mary Making. Here's my adaptation to Mary's lesson, Sailboat Collage.

First one hour session: Students used a 9 x 12 canvas board and acrylic paint with texture tool for the background. Lesson objective possibilities are introduction to landscape/horizon line, warm and cool colors, color mixing and texture. I focused mostly on landscapes and warm vs. cool colors. While paint was drying we pulled out some paper in various textures; some handmade, regular, watercolor, etc. We used liquid watercolors to mix and experiment. I put out different sized watercolor brushes, fresh water and spray bottles with a water/rubbing alcohol mix. Students absolutely loved this process.

Second one hour session: Decoupage glue and gold metallic watercolor liquid paint for accents. Students used painted paper and pre-cut stencil shapes and traced their boat parts, added gold highlights, and then after a quick drying time in front of a fan, glued together the collages. Lesson objective possibilities are introduction to watercolor, papers and mediums, collage, fine motor skills. These beautiful masterpieces were all done by 8 year old boys!