city of dreams... and solid figures!

This week the 2nd graders are experimenting with texture as a way to create and transfer images. We are looking at the wonderfully vibrant work of Lisa Congdon. I have shared Lisa's work with students in the past. It is always a treat to introduce students to her refreshing take on the visual world.

For this project, we are looking at a spread in one of her sketchbooks that she titled "City of Dreams". This drawing works so well with the 2nd grade math curriculum because at this point they are learning about solid figures. When introducing this drawing, I ask the kids what solid figures make up the buildings- rectangular & triangular prisms. We also steer towards what makes these buildings look 3d- Lisa uses light and dark and she shows 2 faces of the buildings.

Lisa Congdon's "City of Dreams"

 We are scratching into styrofoam as we draw the elements of our cities. This changes the texture of the styrofoam and is what makes the lines show up in the final print. We build a couple buildings together and then the students need to add at least 3 more. When the shapes are all in, we then add patterns to the faces- trying to use more lines on one side, so the buildings will appear to have light and dark faces.

When coloring the solid figures, we are trying to use one color per building, to make the light and dark line effect more apparent.

When the kids finish printing, they are to reflect on the concepts and process with a written reflection. Vocabulary is posted in the room and they make talk to a neighbor if they are unsure how to answer a question. 

mmm... pop!

This week I did a project with the 3rd graders that is inspired by a collage by artist Lisa Congdon.

I started by sharing this image with the kids and talked about how the background pattern contrasts against the radial design in the middle. It does so by using lots of curves and having lots of detail compared with the straight lines and simplicity of the foreground design.

To make it a bit different for the kids, instead of triangles making up the central design, they used cut paper popsicles:) I show them an example of one of the popsicles and the kids told me that it didn't look flat because of the white and black along the edges that show light and shadow. This is something we have repeatedly worked with all year, so I'm glad they identified it so quickly.

I then explained that we would make a stencil out of paper, so that we may spray paint the background pattern onto another piece of paper. The kids, um, LOVED this part. The background patterns really create a lot of variety in the classes' designs. And really, it's a step that is a "can't not succeed" part. No matter what they do, the patterns come out pretty darn cool.

They constructed their pops out of paper, then they did their background patterns, and then they glued them all together.  I gave students the option of using leftover stencil paper to add symmetrical details to their designs.

Each of the classes worked with a different variation of an analogous color scheme.

As an added bonus (and behavior/creativity incentive) A couple of projects from each class are going to be in an exhibit at a local pop shop called Viva Pops. This will be the 2nd annual Zamorano student exhibit at the store. We'll have a reception for family and friends in a few weeks:)

Great job kids and thanks to Lisa Congdon for the project inspiration!