scary symmetry.

I get to play with my kinders again this week. We are focusing on some major concepts- primary colors, geometric shapes, and symmetry. All those, while making some scary/funny creatures out of cut paper:)

The lesson starts with a quick review of how we used line to make shapes in our earlier lessons. I then introduce them to geometric shapes- I draw them on my board and they tell me what the shapes are. I draw triangles in different ways and the rectangle both vertically and horizontally and see if they still know those shapes;)

Then we look at a short video, a cool commercial really, for Stack and Scare blocks by Invisible Creature. Normally, kids can't shouldn't call out in my class, but I tell them that when they see a shape they know, to say it out loud. They kids love the video and the music, and by clocking in at just under 2 minutes, it's a sweet little hook to get them jazzed about making creatures with shapes.

For this project I have all the shapes pre-cut. Next week they are going to start working on cutting skills, but I just want them to get familiar with what they can do with these shapes this week.

When my classes come in, I already have a few cut shapes for each of them at their tables. Each of them is one of the primary colors, so I visit this right before diving in to play with our shapes. I show the classes some examples that I have done, as well as other kinders, and I emphasize that their creature can be arranged any way they like, as long as one side matches the other.

I have the students plan out/play with their shapes before doing any gluing at all. I demonstrate moving things around on mine after I have all my shapes placed. Once they are satisfied with their creature, they glue the pieces in place.

Students then add line patterns to some of their shapes, using primary color construction paper crayons.

If we have time at the end, I guide them in writing a sentence about their project.

old school little people.

Last week the kinders visited Sesame Street, this week they met some Little People. Both lessons were trips down memory lane for me and both were inspired by contemporary artists revisiting these pieces of the past.

Meredith Steele is an artist and educator working up in the Bay area and she does many portraits. The color palette of these paintings and the rough finish/brushwork of many of them draws me in. One portrait series she has done focuses on the old school Fisher Price Little People that I grew up with.

Since the kids did the Sesame Street abstractions last week I thought it would be interesting for them to see another artist's approach to those characters. Where Thom Pastrano rearranged and flattened the characters, Meredith used light and dark, as well as curved lines and shapes to make them look more real and 3d.

I pointed out the different ways Meredith made these Little People look real in a couple examples of her paintings. 

The students and I drew out the basic shapes together, starting with the head shape and then using a couple cylinders for the body. I showed them a number of ways to make facial expressions and hairstyles and they chose which way to go in their drawings. 

I modeled pressing hard and soft to create shadow and light in a drawing and then the kids went for it. I was pleasantly surprised at the sensitivity to touch and pressure that many of the students have developed over the course of the year.

The kids came up with a wide variety of Little People. it would be cool to make small clay or wood sculptures based on these drawings...

Thanks for the inspiration Meredith!

Here's a few more from today!

who needs mondrian?

When you have Joaquin. That's overdoing it a bit, but if you are looking for an alternative to good ol' Piet to introduce your students to primary colors, Joaquin Torres Garcia is an artist you should know.

His work evolved until he came to an abstract style that combined geometric shapes, a pretty minimal color palette, and symbols that represented various aspects of the human experience.

I think this incorporation of the symbol allows the younger students to identify more with Joaquin's work and the project that they make. It makes the abstraction more acceptable and/or understandable.

While introducing the classes to Joaquin's work with a powerpoint, we identify the different primary colors and geometric shapes that are present in his paintings.

1. draw out composition with pencil- horizontal, vertical lines, followed by diagonals and curved to make geometric shapes and a couple human symbols

2. trace lines with black crayon

3. add primary colors to shapes with watercolor paint

I have used this project with my kinders at the beginning of the year numerous times. It starts the year with a bright, colorful shape and line study.