T is for texture.

The 1st graders and I are looking at texture during their current two week rotation with me. We have been identifying and describing different textures in the classroom and then altering the surface of printing plates to use texture to create art.

Last week I showed them the abstract skateboard designs of Portuguese designer Elna and this week I showed them some landscape collagraphs done by Ross Thompson. With the Elna inspired project we scratched the surface of styrofoam plates to change the texture of the surface. With the Thompson inspired collagraphs we added on cut and torn pieces of paper to change the surface quality of the base cardboard plate.

Both have been a lot of fun with the students. It's been cool to do both additive and subtractive processes with them. Once they make their print, students need to write a sentence about what they did. I supply a sentence frame and on topic words on my smart board for students to refer to. I emphasize that they should write about what they did and how they did it.

spray paint? sold.

I don't think there is a material out there that can hook kids as quickly as paint in a highly pressurized can.

Allowing them to use it as the final step in projects has proven a highly successful way to get most projects finished on time. (Which makes for quieter recesses and lunches for me because not as many students are coming in to finish then:) )

The 5th graders have been working on mixed media images that have to show unity. As with my most recent 2nd grade project, I did not introduce students to an artist in the project. Some classes used collagraphy and stencils and others used relief printing and stencils to create their mixed media pieces. This was due to the extra time some classes needed to finish their Ryan Kapp landscapes and assessments. The collagraph and stencil lesson took a 1 1/2 class meetings, while the styrofoam relief and stencil took 1 class meeting.

When introducing the project, I discussed what unity is in art and the variety of ways an artist can create it.
In order to make things in an image look like they belong together an artist may use similar colors, similar materials and techniques, similar shapes, or use a common theme. There are more ways to do it, but these were the ones we focused on. For students to show that they were proficient in unity building, they needed to use at least 3 out of the 4 ways.

I gave students a selection of themes they could choose from- implied motion, an outer space scene, a food related image, or a landscape similar to our Ryan Kapp landscapes. This gave students some freedom in choosing what to do, but also provided structure to those students that get a little stressed when they can do anything they want.

After students printed their main image, then they created a stencil for the spray paint portion that would make this a mixed-media lesson. The stencil could be an abstract pattern similar to a snowflake design or it could relate to their image, adding even more unity to the project.

I have really loved the variety of images that the students have created with this lesson. That said, after working with spray paint for 3 consecutive days, me and my brain cells are glad we are done with it for a while.

collawhat? collagraph.

I'm focusing on texture with my 2nd  and 5th graders right now. Some of the 2nd grade students have made collagraphs to explore this element.

A collagraph is when you glue different materials to a plate of some sort, let the glue dry, apply ink to the surface, and transfer the inked image onto another piece of paper.

Normally I use an artist to introduce the content, but in this lesson we dove right into the element of texture and how to make a collagraph. Students were required to use at least 3 different textures to be proficient and 4 or more to be advanced.

Students glued a variety of materials to their board during our first meeting and in the second meeting they printed their plates and applied a stencil afterwards to turn their image into a mixed media work of art.

The stencil was created by folding paper a couple of times  and cutting shapes from it. With this added layer, students were able to revisit symmetry in art and shape.

This was the first project that we used our new printing press for. Students really enjoyed being able to crank their plates through the press and peel back the paper afterwards to see what had transferred.

Applying the spray paint stencil afterwards was just gravy. Icing on the cake for the students.