If you want to create realistic drawings, you need to add shadows and highlights. Students are learning how to use their pencils to add value to a drawing. They have also learned how to create highlights by using a white pencil on black paper. Students are now studying the illustrations in "Snowmen at Night" by Caralyn Beuhner. We are creating our own active snowmen at night and making them look 3-Dimensional with shadows and highlights.
Story Tellers
We moved on from Abstract Trees to Pueblo Story Tellers. Helen Cordero is the artist we studied during this time. She made clay sculptures of her grandfather telling her stories. We also learned about a legend from the Pueblo Indians which included a turtle taking listeners on a ride down a river. Students were able to pick a story teller or a story turtle to create.
Abstract Tree
Students have learned that abstract art is from the imagination. We are creating trees entirely from our imaginations and using only one shape and one line. The armature of the tree (trunk and branches) is created from one geometric shape (a shape with a name). The outline of the leaves is one line (zig zag, bumpy, wavy, curvy, dotted, dashed...). The tree can be anywhere they would like; in the ocean, outer space... They are using warm (red, orange and yellow) and cool (blue, green and purple) color schemes to color in the images.
Tree Collage
After learning how to draw a tree, students are creating a collage (gluing paper to paper) tree. They began by painting grass and leaves. Next they glued on clouds, the sun, grass and the trunk of the tree. They are also making branches and learning that leaves are symmetrical. I read the book the little yellow leaf by Carin Berger and the illustrations have words and letters in them. We were inspired by these illustrations and are creating our collages with literacy also.
Observational Trees
Our first unit of study for 2nd and 3rd grade is based on trees. We are studying the book Sky Tree by Thomas Locker. This week we are doing observational drawings by looking at the paintings in the book and drawing what we see.
No comments:
Post a Comment