Picasso Cubism Cup Scultures

Second-Fifth Grade

TWO WEEK PROJECT

Discussion: Cubism/perspective/emotion
What does cubism mean?
How do things look from an airplane?
How small are the trees in the park from here? Can they fit in your fingers?
And standing next to them how much could we fit in our fingers? One piece of bark??
PERSPECTIVE: how you see things from where you are
In this classroom: some of you are looking at this half of my face and some at this half
Cubism means to draw things from several perspectives in one space
PICASSO and a fellow artist pioneered this idea.
Picasso would draw one face but show it from profile and forward.
Emotion: how color, music, life make you feel
If you are in a bad mood do you think you would paint the same thing if you were
in a good mood?
What about music? If you are listening to your favorite song/artist do you think you would paint the same thing as you would if you were listening to your Least favorite?
Picasso included emotion in his pieces deciding on colors and images based upon how he felt about them or in the moment.

ARTIST: Pablo Picasso
(25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973)
He was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor.
He is one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art.
He is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Picasso demonstrated uncanny artistic talent in his early years,
He painted in a realistic manner through his childhood and adolescence;
During the first decade of the twentieth century his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas.
Picasso’s creativity manifested itself in numerous mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawing, and architecture. His revolutionary artistic accomplishments brought him universal renown and immense fortunes throughout his life, making him the best-known figure in twentieth century art.

PROJECT: create a clay cup with Picasso face
TO ATTACH ITEMS TO YOUR CLAY: score and SLIP them into place (demonstrate how to
score and slip for the students
Step1: roll your clay around in your hands until you create a perefct ball
Step2: pick a spot at the top of your ball and push both thumbs against the clay
Step3: Begin to go around in a circle with thumbs on the inside of the clay and fingers on the outside
Step4: continue until you have a pinch pot in the shape and size of a drinking cup
Step4: Use your extra clay create facial features: eyes, nose, lips, ears
Step5: attach eyes: one forward and one sideways
Step6: attach a nose but maybe it is upside down or on the cheek
Step7: attach a mouth but maybe it is on the forehead or sideways
Step8: don’t forget hair you can add it with your toothpick using texture

MATERIALS:
Clay
Toothpicks

WEEK 2:
Give the students acrylic paints and have them paint their cups. Ask them to spend time on each object of their face and to paint all of their sculpture: back front and even the inside.

These pieces were made from clay, allowed to harden and painted with acrylic paints. This lesson is easily adapted to firing and glazing.