The Dot (a note to myself)

Last week was my first day back at Cornerstone.  Our class meets after school in their art room.  As we all piled in, excited to get to know one another and start creating, one of the students saw the book, The Dot by Pete H. Reynolds propped up in the front of the room.  "Please read it!,"  he begged.  I did, and I loved it!  The book is about a little girl who learns complete confidence and freedom in expressing herself with paint.  It would be great intro to..., well any project really, but I was thinking about abstract expressionism.

This post is a note to myself because I want to get this book soon, and read it to all my classes!

Clay as Physical Therapy

Last month when I was visiting my grandma in Oregon, we spent much of our time going over exercises prescribed by her physical therapist.  Amongst the sparse collection of accessible belongings on the counter was a blob of what looked like silly putty.  She was supposed to press her fingers into it, one at a time, in order to strengthen her hands and fingers.  "If only I had my clay here!", I thought... and I came home with an idea.

Wednesday morning was very special.  I took some FIMO soft over to the house of an elderly friend in the first stages of dementia.  On her fridge in large letters was a reminder for her: "Do your hand exercises!"  I showed her, one step at a time, how to make sunflowers and roses.  It's wonderful because she doesn't need to be able to hear or remember more than one step at a time.  I made one right along side her.  Mixing and kneading the clay with both hands, she didn't even know she was doing "exercise".

I don't know anything about physical therapy, and I used to be very uncomfortable with elderly people.  If I can do this, anyone can.  Giving others a means to engage with, and create beauty is such a wonderful gift!   I keep discovering for myself why this blog is called Creator's Joy.

Ferris Wheel at Night Chalk Pastel Drawing

Around here carnivals pop up now and then along the roadside.  They look so pretty from a distance with all the beautiful, colorful lights spinning and twirling.  Students can create this effect by blending chalk on black paper.  I like to use black card stock because it's blacker than construction paper.  Don't worry about results, the idea is to have fun.  The finished projects will probably look more abstract.  As always it's good to have some reference material.

This version of the project allows students to try the mirror-image reflection.  I used sharpie for the dark pier.  I also used painters tape to mask off the horizon.  Painters tape won't tear the paper.  This works best with high-quality pastels.  It might be even brighter with acrylic paint, but I love the way chalk makes it glow.  Maybe mixed media?  I should do more experiments.  Sorry I haven't had students examples recently.  I think those are very important.  Future post will have some soon!

Lesson Plan for Texture Art Project

This is a fun way to teach the concept of texture in art.  The texture on the castle walls, the ocean, the cliffs, and the clouds are all created by crayon rubbings.

Road Trip Art Project

Ever since I was little, I've wanted my own VW bus to drive around the country.  I probably wouldn't paint it like this, but it would be colorful!

For this project, I walk the students through the basic outline.  With reference materials, students often make their drawings even more detailed and accurate.  I tell the students that this is their chance to design their van any way they want.  I wish I'd taken pictures to show you!  I encourage them to be as creative as possible.  At the end of class we share our pictures and maybe even talk about where we might travel.

Northern Lights Art Project

On one of my many treasure hunts through the book section of a local thrift shop, I found Aurora Borealis a photo memory.  It was full of amazing pictures!  This project goes quickly, so it will only take a short time.  This would be a great make-and-take for an art fair booth.

Materials
black paper
chalk pastels
scrap paper
paper towels
sharpie
example project and photographs

Procedure
1) Scrub chalk pastels on scrap paper to make powder
2) Rub a paper towel on the chalk and then on the horizon line to give the horizon line some contrast
3) Use a black marker to draw the objets on the horizon over the chalk
4) Create the effect of the aurora borealis by using the paper towel to smear streaks of bright colored chalk

This takes some practice.  Students often try to use chalks that are too dark in color.  This is a great project to teach the importance of contrast.

Monsoon Storm Drawing Project

I'm back in Tucson!  I flew in right after one of our world famous thunderstorms.  In honor of monsoon season, I thought I'd share this project.  This isn't a complete lesson, but maybe you can be inspired and improve upon it.  The mountains are drawn with prismacolor markers and the rest is done in chalk pastel.  I like the idea of using different shades of marker to teach atmospheric perspective (kinda like the ocean floor project).  This could be used for any landscape project.  The fun part is letting students look at pictures of clouds and lightning.   I love the pictures in my SKY Cube Book!