Notan Collage

confusion; delusion; seclusion; where am I?; who am I?; where are they?

A high contrast Japanese activity that balances light and dark. My simple explanation: Fold once or twice and cut out shapes to create a paper snowflake (positive space). Place the cut out pieces in the negative space to create symmetrical or asymmetrical balance.

Extension
Create Notan "snowflakes" as you explain how snowflakes are part of the weather system -- how there are similar snowflake structures but that no snowflake is the same.

Notan Collage

Sandpaper Prints

 

Use crayon to create a patterned design on sandpaper. Lay the wax on thick. Then lay drawing paper over the sandpaper and press a hot iron on top of both papers. A cool textured print will remain. You can reuse the sandpaper - try blending a color with the previous colors.

Extension
Create an island and incorporate geographic elements. Create a reprint of the map.

Sandpaper Art

Illustrating Gestures

Students use transparency sheets to draw their partner's facial expressions. The sketchers can use light tables or windows to transfer their sketches to drawing paper. Students write a narrative for each gesture to describe their model's emotion.

Extension
Create a comic that exaggerates facial gestures.

Illustrating Gestures
"The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter."

Silhouette Art

Create a watercolor background and add silhouettes to the foreground.

Extension
Paint an animal's habitat and then place the animal's silhouette to the art.

Silhouette Art

Hidden Safari

Hidden image

This activity uses warm and cool colors to create a hidden image. We drew safari animals upside down in a cool color (light blue works best). Drawing illustrations upside down allows the mind to stress less about the big picture and focus in on details like lines. Then we created a pattern over the top with warm colors (orange, red, yellow). Finally, we used a pair of red cellophane glasses that we created to find the hidden animals.

Image revealed

Extension
Students can write word problems and hide their answer in this art. The word problem can be attached to the art. Students can try one anothers problems out and use the glasses to check answers.

Display

Eric Carle-Inspired Art

"Arnie Albatross spies on flotsam."

Children's author and artist Eric Carle uses his own methods. He paints his own tissue paper to create unique textures and color patterns. Then he sketches a page in the actual size it will be seen. After lining the sketch onto a dry tissue paper, he uses an Exacto knife to cut each piece of the art. He glues each piece in place after he has everything set in the right spot.

Extension activities
1) Language arts: create a book
2) Language arts: vocabulary
3) Math: illustrate math concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

Display

Van Gogh-Inspired Art

Tissue paper

Tissue Paper
Process
1) Choose a color of construction paper. This will be your background.
2) Cut or rip different colors of tissue paper to represent your sky.
3) Use decoupage glue to secure your tissue paper to your construction paper.
4) Choose another color of construction paper. This will be your foreground image/landscape.
5) Cut out your foreground image/landscape (rural, urban, trees, etc.) and glue to the top of your main construction piece.
6) Use oil pastels and sharpie to add line and movement.

Finger painting

Tips
1) Layer tissue paper for extra color and texture.
2) Even out decoupage glue over entire construction paper.
3) After dried, place the art under a heavy, flat object to flatten it.
4) With oil pastels, use light pastels on dark tissue and dark pastels on light tissue.

Extension Activities
1) Recreate a historical scene
2) Create visual music with line and movement

Finger Painting
Process
1) Tape finger painting paper to table.

Display

2) Using Van Gogh's "Starry Night" as a model, create a piece of art that contains a background, middle ground and foreground.
3) Finger or tempera paint will be your only medium.
4) Attempt to use Van Gogh's art techniques while painting, especially his use of line.
5) Allow your art to dry.
6) Cut out a construction paper frame.
7) Glue the frame down around the edges of your art.

Tips
1) Blend primary colors to make other colors, tints, and shades.
2) Press hard to add deep texture and press softly to add light texture.

Extension Activities
1) Phoneme awareness: Practice alphabet and draw a picture that starts with the letters sound
2) Explore patterns and texture