Little Villages: Folk Art Houses inspired by Karla Gerard

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Thank you to @cassie_stephenz for the inspiration for this art lesson inspired by the #folkart of Karla Gerard. @waitsfieldschool #gradesoneandtwo

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Oct 23, 2019 at 8:09am PDT

Starry Night, Snowy Nights

We used Vincent Van Gogh's famous painting "Starry Night" as our inspiration for a seasonal remake using construction paper crayons.



Here are some images of Van Gogh's Starry Night recreated as a "Snowy Night"

Beautiful Hands

Kindergarten artists read "Beautiful hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten.  They traced their hands and colored them with construction paper crayons, then painted with liquid watercolors in warm or cool colors.  They observed the watercolor resist technique.

Creativity is Intelligence Having Fun! ~ Albert Einstein

#creativity is #intelligence #havingfun #alberteinstein #quote collaborative poster by #waitsfieldschool #gradesoneandtwo

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Apr 24, 2018 at 10:09am PDT

Adventure Ship Scratch Boards inspired by Paul Klee

#scratchboard art inspired by the #adventureship painting by #paulklee (swipe to last image) by #waitsfieldschool #gradesoneandtwo

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Mar 13, 2018 at 11:19am PDT

First and second grade artists looked at Paul Klee's painting of the "Adventure Ship." We made our own scratch boards with a think layer of construction paper crayons covered with two coats of black tempera paints.  Then we scratched our original "Adevnture Ships" onto the scratch boards. 

Click through the images above to see Paul Klee's original painting.

Dragons for Chinese New Year

Every Chinese New Year Parade ends with a Dragon Dance. The parades start on New Year's Day and continue for the next fifteen days until the end of the festivities with the Lantern Festival.

The Dragon Parade is a highlight of the festivities. The Dragon represents wisdom, power, and wealth and a very important aspect of Chinese Culture. It is also said that the Dragon Dance performed on New Year's Day scares away the evil spirits and all the bad luck with them...

During the Dance, a dozen or so performers hold the dragon up on poles. They raise and lower the Dragon making him "dance" as they wind through the masses to the sounds of horns, drums and gongs. (from http://www.china-family-adventure.com/dragon-dance.html)

Here is a Dragon Puppet the was used in a Chinese New Year parade.

First and second grade artists looked at many examples of Chinese Dragons and then drew their own using construction paper crayons and oil pastels. 

Taking a Dot for a Walk : Artwork Inspired by Paul Klee's "Groom'sArrival"

First and second grade artists looked at Paul Klee's painting "Groom's Arrival."  Students pointed out how the shapes made a figure and shared what this figure made them think of.     Paul Klee was a Swiss-German artist who was most influenced by the Expressionist, Cubist and Surrealist art movements. 

We discussed Klee's quote "A drawing is simply a line going for a walk" and that "A line is a dot going for a walk."  

Here's a video of more of Paul Klee's paintings.  What words come to mind as you observe his work?



Students created their own pieces by taking a line for a walk across red construction paper, then looking for closed shapes to fill in with construction paper crayons.  Some students found faces, figures or animals in their shapes.  This lesson provided us with an opportunity to discuss what high quality work looks like when coloring with crayons. 

Check out our work inspired by Paul Klee's "Groom's Arrival!"

Starbursts!