Friday, February 25, 2011

Collage Overlapping with Matisse

DISCUSSION: 
still life: group of object placed together in interesting ways
Perspective: near and far
Overlapping: one object covering a portion of another object
Look at Matisse’s work: "Red Interior: Still Life on a Blue Table," by Henri Matisse 45 5/8 by 35 inches, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, 1947
What colors does he choose
   Do they help tell the story
What about the lines he chooses 
What do we know about zig zag lines and the color red?
What story does it tell?
Can we tell what time of year or day it is?
What might it smell like
Do you have any other sensory reaction to the scene?

MATERIALS: 
Construction paper scrappys in all colors
9x12 construction paper for window frame
Glue
Watercolors
Paint brushes
Scissors
sheet of white card stock for our exterior (8x11)

ARTIST: Henri Matisse 
1869-1954
French Painter,
Studied law until he was 21
Mother gave him a paint box after surgery and he discovered painting
He returned to work, and every morning before work, he attended drawing classes; at lunch time he would paint for an hour or so, and then return to work. After work he would paint till night fell. It was his life. 
In 1891 set off for Paris. 
Matisse began his journey of studies which ultimately lead him to his love of line, shape and color. 
Matisse felt that his greatest influence had been the work of the artist Cezanne (1839 – 1906, French). 
In the 1950‘s, Matisse began creating paintings using paint and paper cut outs. 
In his last years, as he aged and fell ill, Matisse continued to paint, this time on the walls of his room, using a piece of charcoal attached to the end of a bamboo pole. He painted until his death in 1954. 
Matisse had strong feelings about only one thing, the act of painting. 
The purpose of these pictures, he always asserted, was to give pleasure. 
For Matisse, painting was the rhythmic arrangement of line and color on a flat plane. 
He had created the technique of striking contrasts, unmixed hues, flat planes of color (similar to Gauguin, 1848 – 1903, French) 
expressive brush strokes (similar to Van Gogh, 1853 – 1890, Dutch). 
Light was expressed, not in the method of the Impressionists, but with a harmony of intensely covered surfaces. 
For additional information please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse


PROJECT:  Could take two weeks
Step 1: on your white card stock create a view from your window. Use weather from your favorite time of year
Step 2: set your painting aside for it to dry
Step 3: cut out a window frame from construction paper
Step 4: on a large piece of construction paper use marker to create wallpaper
Step 5: cut out a chair or table from construction paper
Step 6: cut out a pet or a vase of flowers from construction paper
Step 7: create a piece of fabric for your table or chair with markers and paper, cut it out
Step 8: cut out a piece of carpet from construction paper
Step 9: glue all of the objects on your page, create depth
Step 10: clean up





Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Value Hearts with Jim Dine



Week one of a two week project: 
      grades 2-6

DISCUSSION: Value
What does value mean?
What happens when you add white to a color? TINT
What happens when you add black to a color? SHADE
How important is it to have value in art?
     DRAW A VALUE CHART: 
White is on this end
Black is on the opposite end
        Pure color is in the middle
                what is pure color? Color in it's truest form right from the bottle
Tint is between white and pure it is a little of both mixed together
Shade is between pure and black and it is a little of both mixed together.
 Look at Jim Dine's Green heart done in the 80’s
how many shades of green do you see?
What other colors are prominent?
        What is hidden in the center? a mitten
What does the work mean? Could we make a story about it?
  Look at the next heart
How many values of red do you see?
How do you think he created this piece?
        can you see the brush strokes?
        if the artwork were only one shade of red, would it be a interesting?

ARTIST: Jim Dine 
born 1935-
He is sometimes considered to be a part of the Neo-Dada movement. 
He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio
He attended the University of Cincinnati and received a BFA from Ohio University 
 He first earned respect in the art world with his Happenings
Pioneered with artists Claes Oldenburg and Allan Kaprow, the "Happenings" were chaotic performance art that was a stark contrast with the more somber mood of the expressionists popular in the New York art world. 
In 1962 Dine's work was included, along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Wayne Thiebaud, in the historically important New Painting of Common Objects.
This exhibition is historically considered one of the first "Pop Art" exhibitions in America
Jim Dine’s Hearts were included in this exhibit
for additional information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Dine

PROJECT: Create Value Hearts in three colors
Step1: On a 12x18 piece of white paper draw 15 hearts about the size of your fist or smaller.
Step2: Choose three colors, white and black
Step3: Paint three of your hearts white
Step 4: paint three of your hearts in black
Step5: paint three hearts in your pure color (red)
Step6: Mix white and pure (red) together now (about 1/2 and 1/2) and paint three hearts
Step4: Mix black and 1 pure together (black goes a long way so just a dot at a time) and paint three hearts

MATERIALS: 
paint: white, black and one pure (I choose red)
       12x18 paper 
        pencils


WEEK 2 
RECAP last weeks vocabulary, etc.: 
Jim Dine: Value, Value Chart,  Pure color, Tint, Shade
DISCUSSION: Show Jim Dines work again
Collage: What does this word mean?
    Does he use collage in the green piece?
    What is he trying to say in this piece?
Overlapping: to place on top of something 
Balance: finding balance in your art is as important as staying balanced in life
      it is no fun to have someone let go when you are plying tug of war
           or jump off on the see saw. 
  How is Jim Dine's work balanced? 
Project: collage together a Jim Dine style heart with mini value hearts on a large heart
Step1: on a 9x12 sheet of card stock Draw a heart that fills the page
Step 1/2: WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE BACK
Step2: cut out all your hearts from last week
Step3: begin to lay out your small hearts into the larger heart
will the be light to dark, dar to light of random?
Step4: Think about all the things we talked about. 
Is it balanced?
Should I overlap?
Step5: when you get it just right you may begin to glue down each heart. 
Materials: 
Painted hearts from week 1
scissors
Card stock
glue sticks







Thursday, February 17, 2011

Collage with Dr. Seuss



PRESCHOOL Lesson Plan
PREPARATION: see material list below to see what collage items need to be prepped.
DISCUSSION: 
Read a few pages (or all) of the cat in the hat
Ask the students what they think about Dr Seuss’s use of color
How many colors did he use?
How did he use color to create emotion?
On what objects did he put red?
What objects did he make blue?
What objects only were black and white?
   What is collage?
Have we done it this year?
What artist did we use collage already? Eric Carle.
Is he also and Illustrator like Dr Seuss?
ARTIST DR SEUSS: 
March 2, 1904
Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts
Graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925, went on Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature.
In May of 1954, Life published a report on illiteracy among schoolchildren, because their books were boring. This problem inspired Geisel's publisher.
He sent Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important for children to learn. 
The publisher asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words and use them to write an entertaining children's book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him, published The Cat in the Hat, which brought instant success.
He wrote green eggs and ham on a bet with a friend that he could not write a book with less than 50 words
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards
Geisel authored and illustrated 44 children's books. 
Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991
Dr. Seuss lives on in the stories
for additional information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss
Materials: Light blue card stock
Red strips of construction paper
White card stock cut in a square
White card stock cut in a long rectangle
Orange paper cut in 3”x3” squares
Glue sticks
Scissors
Black pens
Cut water drops in white. 
PROJECT: Create Suess hats with the goldfish Playing "Up, Up, Up"
Step 1: Grab a piece of light blue carrd stock and write you name
Step2: Glue a white square piece to the center of the blue paper
Step3: Glue a white long rectangular pice to the bottom of the white square creating a hat
Step 4: using red strips add stripes to the hate creating a dr. Suess hat style
Step5: Draw the fish using a black pen on small orange paper
Step6: Cut our your fish and glue it to the middle of the hat
Step7: add the water drops








Friday, February 11, 2011

Weaving Tissue and found objects with Ellen Kochansky

































K-1-2 Grades

DISCUSSION: Look at several examples of Ellen Kochansky's  work
Weaving? How is weaving art? 
What is weaving? 
Art A: how would this art feel? 
Is there a pattern? 
What is the pattern of this weave? 
Why did the artist name this piece riverdance? Nancy Curry
How to Weave: Over under, over under
Under over, under over
ARTISTEllen Kochansky
American textile designer
owns and designs for EKO. 
From rural South Carolina, 
she has made quilts and textile art for over 30 years. 
She has served as an American Canvas panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and as a trustee of the American Crafts Council. 
Her works are in many public and private institutions including the Museum of Art + Design in NY, and the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC.
PREPARATION: Create looms in advance (one per student):
Step 1: cutting 12x18 black construction paper down to 12x12 square
Step 2: Gently bend them and cut strips one inch from top bottom and sides.  
MATERIALS
Looms
Chenille stems
Glue
Found objects
Yarn
Fabric
PROJECT
Weaving with Tissue paper
Step 1: grab loom and tissue strips
` Step 2: begin weaving by going over and under stems
Step 3: with you next tissue strip go under over the stems
Step 4: return to over under
Step 5: return to under over
Step 6: embellish the weave using found objects like our artist
Step 7: glitter station
Step 8: glue on yarn 
Step 9: glue on fabric, glitter, beads, pom poms, feathers