These year 2 students painted their black trees (silhouettes) straight on the paper without pencil planning first. They also painted from their own mind, realistic or stylised, whatever they preferred. I did a few sketches on the board, but there were no photos or artworks to copy (partly because I didn't have any on hand, but also because it's good for them to come up with their own shapes).
They were asked to touch all four edges of the page with their tree. Later in the day they returned and filled in the spaces with colours, again whichever and wherever they wanted. The effect is a bit like stained glass. Probably a little similar to the last post… The chance for this lesson came up on the day and it happened as I thought of it! But I'm sure I've previously seen similar lessons online, here's one by Marcia from Art Is Basic.
These are stunning! They do look like gorgeous stained glass! I like that you gave them the artistic freedom to choose their own colors... so much of our teaching is becoming so structured here in the USA that I am constantly trying to balance keeping my classes creative and making the powers at be happy and following state guidelines! I did a landscape project with my 4th grades that involved mixing all their colors. At first I was going to have them make sure they were mixing certain colors until they started experimenting and became so excited with all the colors they were creating that I changed the objectives and told them to paint their landscapes whatever colors make them happy! It was a great decision! The students gained so much more by making their own artistic choices! Again I really love these trees! ( I'm a huge tree fan! I use them a lot in my own personal art work! )
ReplyDeleteThanks Mrs C! : ) You're spot on when you say we can accidentally stifle their creativity by being too structured. It's a challenge for us here in Australia too.
DeleteAnd isn't great when a lesson like the landscapes you described really grabs their attention - so cool to see them completely in the creative process zone!
Hey Joe, Cool pictures! Thanks for linking to my blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Marcia, and no worries! : )
DeleteAmazing job Joe! I love every work of art you are doing with your children! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Miriam! : )
ReplyDeleteSo your holidays are over too Joe. We go back tomorrow. Your trees are great. The freedom you have given your children is admirable. I am a strong believer in offering boundaries and letting the children create within them. The trick is where to put the boundaries. They are spot on in this lesson. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gretchen! Yes back to the coal face : ) You're right about creating within boundaries, it's great when a lesson really capture's their imagination.
ReplyDeleteMe ha encantado la idea, me recuerda el colorido a Romero Brito. buscaba una idea para unos murales y tu me la has dado!! mil gracias. hoy me he topado con tu blog a bichear el de otra chica y sólo al entrar me ha encantado, Te seguiré la pista. Gracias por compartir!
ReplyDelete