Pre K Watercolor Exploration

Our Pre-K students got to explore watercolors (some for the very first time)!  We practiced mixing colors together on the paper, and switched off using different amount of water combined with paint.  We learned how manipulating the amount of water greatly affects the outcome of the paint. Students experimented with adding lots of water for a more TRANSPARENT look and very little water to make the paint appear more OPAQUE.  Our young artists even learned the technique called WET on WET where they add water first on the paper and paint on top.

Student Exploration

Myth and Fairy Tale Repousses

For this project, third grade looked at a variety of myth and fairy tale character imagery and chose their favorite to create a sketch of.    Students were instructed to include as much line detail as possible, as it was going to be important for the next step (carving into the foil).  To help build our line vocabulary, we examined some of Van Gogh's drawings below and tried to describe the different marks or lines we could see.  For homework students had to complete a line chart utilizing at least 8 different types of marks/lines and incorporate it into a drawing.  

Vincent van Gogh, Street in Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer, 1888

Vincent van Gogh, Wheat Field, 1888

Next, we switched to a very different and current artist Kiki Smith.  After examining some of her work, students recognized the common theme in her work was fairy tales.  Kiki Smith's artwork is often times influenced by how women were depicted throughout history in biblical text, cultural mythology, and fairy tales.  For example, in fairy tales there is usually a damsel in distress waiting to be saved by a charming prince.  

Artist Kiki Smith hard at work.

Kiki Smith, Born, Lithograph, 2003

Kiki Smith, Wolf Girl, Etching, 1999

The last step was examining some ancient repousses, which we learned in french means pushed up, due to its appearance.  Students used their fairy tale or myth creature drawings to trace onto a piece of tooling foil and with a dull pencil, created concave and convex areas by pressing into their designs on top of a magazine.  To give the illusion that their masterpieces were from from hundreds of years ago, we added some India ink into the groves of our design.  

Example of a Repousse on an ancient sword.  

The Great Dish or Plate of Bacchus, from the Roman Mildenhall Treasure.

Student Artwork

Printmaking with Insects!

To get started on this exciting printmaking unit, second graders did observational drawings of rubber insects, paying close attention to replicating the details they saw through different uses of line (short lines, crossed lines, curved,  diagonal etc.)  For inspiration, students became familiar with the life and work of current Latin American artist and print maker Rimer Cardillo. In the 1970's Cardillo started to create artwork in an effort to protest violence occurring against everyday citizens, himself included, by a militant regime. During this time, Cardillo's artwork often combined photography with printmaking and would feature enlarged insects with bright colors to invoke a science fiction feeling.  

Rimer Cardillo

Rimer Cardillo, Cicadas Dog Day Announcer, 1978-1979

Rimer Cardillo, Cicadas and Moths, 1980-1981

For our own prints, we traced our observational insect drawings onto a piece of foam and then redrew all of the lines we saw with a dull pencil, to make sure our design was pressed deep enough into the foam.  Next, we rolled ink over our foam plates and pulled up to three prints each making sure to have clean fingers at all times!  Students were thrilled to see how much better their final print were after they became comfortable with the amount of ink that needed to be applied.  The next class, students cut out their prints with funky scissors, labeled properly and mounted to a colored paper.  We even had time to write a song, story or poem about their insect. 

Before the bell rang, students scuffled around the room trading prints with their fellow artists!  

Drawing plastic insects from observation.  

Students roll ink onto their plates.  

Student Artwork