Archimboldo Food Portrait by my Preschooler

Sometimes you need to just embrace fun. Today, when I was cutting up food for snack, my preschooler, Third Son, came up to me and started rearranging the cantaloupe on the plate to look like hair and a smile. It would have been easy to shoo him away. But, then I got an idea: out came the whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries and I asked him to make a picture with his food. Yep, "Play with your food, my boy!"

He made a butterfly, then a picture of a man with a goatee that looked like a family friend, then Santa Claus, then he settled on this guy:

"Fruit Man" by Third Son
(he even took the photo, too)

While he was eating, I grabbed my Art History book and showed him this painting by Renaissance painter Giuseppe Archimboldo entitled "Spring" (c. 1573). We talked and laughed about how funny the person in the painting looked and how yummy our people tasted.

I hope you have fun with your kids today!

Spring, 1573
Giuseppe Archimboldo

Easy Sketchbook

In order to study one of my favorite Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci, I'm having my art students make their own sketchbooks to keep in the classroom. This project is very rewarding for the children. They learn to create a VERY EASY BOOK while learning a few things about the Renaissance, Da Vinci, bookmaking and drawing. I also had them do a name tag for the front that teaches a quick lesson on value.

I'll keep these sketchbooks in the classroom and they can use them if they finish their work early. Easy. Fun. Cheap. YEAH! The sketchbooks and the name tags are adapted from two projects I saw on one of my favorite art blogs: Art Projects for Kids. I LOVE this site! She does such wonderful projects! Enjoy!

Supplies Needed:

• 1 piece, 3x5" index card without lines
• Pencil and ruler
• Fine point black marker
• Colored pencils
• Scissors
• Packing tape-clear
• 1 piece, 8 1/2x11" piece cardstock, any color
• 10 pieces, 8 1/2x11" white copy paper
• 24" or so, ribbon or cord for binding

Directions:

Prepare the name tag:

1. Using the pencil and ruler, draw faint lines every 1" lengthwise along the index card.

2. Creating the pencil point: mark the center of one narrow end of the index card, this will be the tip of your pencil point. Then, along the top and bottom edge of the index card, make a mark about 1 1/4" in, this will be where your pencil begins to come to a point. Using these guides make the triangluar portion of the pencil (the sharpened part). 

3. Using a fine tip marker, outline the lines along the length of the pencil and draw in the tip, or colored portion, of the pencil. You can write your name on the pencil at this point. When done the marker work, use an eraser to remove your pencil lines.

4. Use colored pencil to lightly shade the upper portion of the pencil. Then, use slightly more pressure to color the middle section of the pencil a slightly darker shade. Finally, use even more pressure to color the bottom section of the pencil. This gives the illusion that the pencil is three dimensional. A similar technique can be used on the wooden portion of the pencil point to create dimension there. Color the tip of your pencil.

5. Using scissors, cut away the excess paper around the tip of the pencil point, if desired.

Make the sketchbook:

1. Fold the card stock in half the wider way (hamburger fold). Do the same with the 10 sheets of copy paper. If you fold the paper lengthwise, your sketchbook will be too skinny.

2. Place the copy paper inside the card stock with all of the sheets nesting together.

3. Wrap the ribbon or cord around the center fold of the paper/card stock bundle and tie the cord securely with a knot. This knot can stay at the top, middle or bottom of the binding--it doesn't matter.

4. Adhere the name tag to the front of your sketchbook with packing tape.

Ta-da! You are ready to sketch!