Chuck Close-inspired Abe Painting

Chuck Close-inspired Abe Painting (photograph by Laura Hamilton)

Spring of 2015: 90+ 3rd graders and Ms. Noon studied American artist Chuck Close. Each student was assigned at least 2 paintings (6"x12") and had to recreate the image using only concentric shapes and the correct color palette and values. Chuck Close is an inspiring artist who has overcome a lot throughout his life. We viewed this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxR3ELuZjLw    and looked at his book Chuck Close, Up Close.

Some key points from his life: Close has learning disabilities (dyslexia and face blindness). Because of his face blindness (he can't remember people's faces), he began painting huge portraits of people in such an accurate way they look like photographs ("photorealism"). Close's father died when he was 11 years old. In 1988, totally out of the blue, he suffered a rare spinal artery collapse. This injury is usually the result of a severe accident although he was not involved in any accident. Today he is paralyzed (quadriplegic). In the video you will see how me manages to paint on such a large scale still. Before the "event", he was starting to move towards a looser style. After it, he moved even more to an almost mosaic-style of concentric shapes that look abstract up close but as you step away shape the faces of many of his friends.

This 7' x 8' painting was a hit at the spring Fine Arts Festival. An Encinal family offered to give Abe a proper home and donated a generous amount to the Encinal PTO. Laura Hamilton photographed the piece along with the children so we can all enjoy "Abe" for years to come. Thank you Laura! www.lulujanephotography.com

Week 12- Under the Big Top

Drawing Animals
*paper, pencil, crayons
Follow these simple directions and draw some African animals. Easy enough for a 5 year old! Great self-esteem booster since these turn out so successful.

Drawing Giraffes
*12"x18" paper, pencil, markers (optional: scrap green paper, coffee sleeves, green crayons, scissors, glue)
Show students photographs of giraffes. Notice their spots, horns, long necks...They can draw one big giraffe, a mom with a baby or many giraffes.
-Step 1: Draw a triangle-shaped head and a long neck. Here's a trick with the neck: make the lines slightly come apart near the bottom to show perspective (giraffe will appear even taller). Then add details to the face- draw a line at the bottom of face to show the nose and then draw a stripe down the center of the face (stripe shows the shape of the face). Draw eyes, ears, and horns. Finally draw the spots, which are not perfect circles, and can be drawn on the edge of the neck (and not always centered).
-Step 2: Color with marker. Show kids how some colors contrast with one another. Great choices are complementary colors (opposite colors) such as red/green, yellow/purple, orange/blue. Light and dark colors are also great choices. Demonstrate neat coloring with markers by outlining first and no scribbling.
-Step 3: Cut out dark and light green paper leaves. Using side of green crayons, color coffee sleeves and cut out leaves. Overlap leaves and glue.

Origami Dog
*Square paper (2 per student), crayons, scissors
Motivation: Read Olivia Saves the Circus. In it she's a dog trainer (not a very good one), a tattoed lady, a lion tamer, trapeze artist. A cute book for the younger kids with simple drawings.
Head: Fold paper in half to form a triangle (open point side down). Fold ears up or down. Fold nose.
Body: Fold paper in half to form a triangle (open edge down, 90 degree triangle). Optional: cut out a space to show negative space between legs. Fold tail behind.
Decorate: Add details to face and body with crayons. Some kids use other paper to make leashes, dog bones, bowls, etc.

Clay Oaxacan animals
*Crayola air dry clay (1/8 of a disc of clay- yielding 16 wedges in a container), water, tools (toothpicks, popsicle sticks), paints, brushes (#3 tiny Crayola brush)
Form animal's body and head (if neccesary) by making a ball or cubish shape(s). Pull legs out gently (or attach legs by rolling a thick coil and putting a little water on joint with finger). Do not make legs and tails too skinny and long or they will break off. Note: above lizard sample is from Oaxaca, Mexico and is made out of wood. Frog is made out of clay and tempera paint. Pinch ears out (if necessary), add little balls for eyes or depress eyes and nostrils with pinky finger. Lastly, carve details. Let clay dry for a day or two and paint. Oaxacan sculptures use a lot of pattern the back of a brush is perfect for adding details.

Week 6 Abracadabra!

Spin Art
*Salad spinner (I used the OXO small herb spinner), 4"x4" white thick drawing or construction paper, tempera paints, space to dry art flat
**If you want to sponge paint after, have some sponges and extra on hand
Place paper inside salad spinner and put a few drops of paint onto paper. I was surprised at how much paint you need. Close top and spin away. Open top of spinner and voila, your beautiful spin art is complete and just needs to dry. These are beautiful on their own or could be used for many craft activities (I think they would make great notecards). See idea below for excess paint (which you'll have a fair amount of and seems like a waste to send down the sink).

After removing "drain basket", there will be lots of paint remaining on the sides of the bowl. This can be a great opportunity to sponge paint. I used sponges on a stick but any sponge would work. There's beautiful colors hiding and that rich brown. This could be lovely abstract or non-objective art or turn the painting into something. The curved line could become a roller coaster, one might turn into a dinosaur after drawing on top of dried paint. The circles could become cupcakes with some glitter and jewels. Let your imagination run wild!

Shrinky Dinks

See past Camp lessons 2011 on this blog.


Oobleck (repeat from Week 1)
*Cornstarch, water, food coloring, paper/plastic bowls (1 per child), little paper cups/ziploc bags to take home mixture if desired
Arts & Crafts? Maybe not. Fun and mad science? Definitely! See more info at Sciencebob.com
(note- blue food dye stains for a day or so, other colors did not)

Spray bottles and/or Watercolor Resist
see week 1 lessons, Mad Scientist Week

Camp 2012 Week 1~ Mad Scientist Week

'Tis the summer camp planning season! I'm looking forward to some fun summer arts & crafts at Kids Camp. Please let me know what ya'll think of the lessons, including your experience, tips, etc. Note- this is way more lessons than can actually be done in one week of camp, but the theme was inspirational and perhaps some of these projects can be used during other weeks. Mahalo!

Spray Bottle Mural on Butcher Paper
*spray bottles filled with diluted tempera paint (red, yellow, blue), butcher paper, white crayons, tape
First have kids draw with white crayon on the butcher paper (press hard with the crayon). They then spray the bottles on the butcher paper. What happens when primary colors overlap? How does gravity play a role when the paper is on a vertical surface versus a horizontal surface? Why does the paint not stick to the crayon? The wax in the crayon resists the watery paint. Note: I recommend colors that are more saturated than these (less water, more paint).

Scratch Art

*materials: thick crayons, construction paper, stylus to scratch with (sharp tool, shishkabob stick, old dried pen, pin taped to an old pencil), newspaper to keep tables clean
With newspaper on table, cover construction paper with thick blocks of colored crayon. Then color over with black crayon so colors are covered. Tip: apply a thick layer of black, you'll know if it's not enough when you start scratching. You can always add more black if you're not happy with the contrast. Scratch name or other designs into paper. Be prepared to wipe down tables after as black crayon crumbs will be everywhere. "Katie" sample is from Princetonol Art Lessons. "Kids Camp" was made by me (you can see the first round of black, "kids," was not enough so I added more for the "camp" part).

Spin Art
See Week 6 Lessons

Suminagashi
*marbling dyes (see: http://www.dickblick.com/items/01309-1009/?wmcp=google&wmcid=items&wmckw=01309-1009 , Dippety Dye paper (see: Dippety Dye paper), large & shallow tub that paper will fit in (fill halfway with water so paper can float), paintbrush to move ink in water, newspaper/drying rack to lay drying paper on, pencils to mark names
Write name on paper (in corner) or newspaper. Drop a few drops of ink into water in tub (limit kids to 3 colors and just 2-3 drops of each color). Swirl gently with paintbrush. Lay dippety dye paper carefully onto water so it floats. Remove paper and lay to dry on drying rack/newspaper.
Note: Suminagashi is Japanese for "ink floating". This may be one of the oldest forms marbeling, dating back to the 12th century in China and Japan.

Follow up: You can use these papers for many craft projects. Check out the books we made using the colored paper as the cover and the "smoky" as the end papers.

Lunch bag kit
*lunch bag per student filled with assortment of items such as paper clip, gum, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaner, etc.)
Each child needs to create something creative out of the items in their bag. They must use every item in their bag!

Oobleck
*Cornstarch, water, food coloring, paper/plastic bowls (1 per child), little paper cups/ziploc bags to take home mixture if desired
Arts & Crafts? Maybe not. Fun and mad science? Definitely! See more info at Sciencebob.com
(note- blue food dye stains for a day or so, other colors did not)

Paper Pulp Project
* paper shreds, water, paste
See lesson plan at "There's a Dragon in My Art Room" - paper pulp sculptures

Blast from the Past: Art projects from Stephanie's Childhood (circa 1980-1996)

Dug out the portfolio box of art projects, from my childhood, that had been hiding in my grandparents' basement. What a fun trip down memory lane. Here are some of my favorites that I will resurrect soon in the art room. Maybe you'll try one with your little one or class too!