Fall Frescos

Plaster of Paris scares me a bit. It's one of those materials I hear that people use, but I've never used myself. Well, I've decided that if I'm serious about this "art teacher thing" I'd better start moving outside my comfort zone and trying some media I've been shying away from. So, I bought a big 'ol bucket of Plaster of Paris at the craft store and created a project!

A Scarecrow with a Sunset Sky!

Frescos are paintings done on wet plaster. I showed my students a couple examples of Giotto's work from the late 1200's. He was considered quite good at using color to model his figures and create the illusion of form. When we look at his work today, we may think what he was doing is pretty obvious, but it was innovative at the time when paintings lacked perspective and figures were more "flat."

I also showed them an example of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, also an example of a fresco. Although this piece is considered one of da Vinci's masterpieces, it was also a major mess-up of his as well. He was experimenting with paint and plaster techniques and before the piece was completed it was falling apart. The piece has been restored many times throughout the years, but it is a wonderful way to show the students that sometimes when they are trying something new, they may make a mistake. It's OK. We discussed ways that they could work their mistake into their piece. I was able to share with them my mistake that I made the week before when trying this project out at home: I had mixed some egg yolks with some dried paint pigments someone had given me and tried to paint on plaster--I had been trying to simulate egg tempura, but it was pretty disappointing. I tried to salvage the technique to no avail, and ended up switching to watercolor on plaster instead. SIGH.  Sometimes that happens.

Well, on to the fresco project! Worth the try and embraced by my students! ENJOY!

Supplies Needed:

• Plaster of Paris (quantity will vary depending on the size of your mold)
• Plastic plate for mold (I used a plate that was 1/2" deep and was 5" across the bottom)
• Paper clip for hanger
• Stirring stick and disposable pan to mix the plaster in
• Cold water
• Paper plate
• Pencil
• Piece of paper the size of your cast to plan your drawing on (ours was a 5" circle)
• Hole punch, optional
• Bit of crushed charcoal and cotton balls tied in a muslin cloth, optional
• Watercolors and brush
• Water container
• Paper towel

Directions:

1. Following the manufacturer's directions, mix up some Plaster of Paris and pour into your mold. Insert a paper clip if you'd like the piece to be able to hang on the wall.

2. Let the mold set up for about 1/2 hour or so. While you are waiting, plan what you are going to paint on your fresco. Use the pencil to draw the picture on a piece of paper the size of your mold. Fill up the entire area of the paper with big, bold shapes. You'll want to add detail to make the piece interesting, but not so much that everything becomes a jumble--you are painting with a paintbrush so tiny details will become lost. This drawing that the fresco is planned from is called a cartoon.

3. Once the plaster has set up enough that you can pop it out of the mold, do so gently and place it onto a paper plate. You can transfer your drawing onto the paster in one of two ways. Either, 1. place the drawing onto the plaster and retrace your image with pencil pressing down so a fine impression is left in the wet plaster OR, 2. punch holes around your image using a hole punch. Then place the paper onto the plaster and tap the charcoal-filled bag over the holes in the image. Remove the paper and "connect the dots" using a pencil and the original image as a guide (option 2 is more historically accurate). Go easy on the charcoal if you go with step #2, it will make your image gray and dirty-looking if you put too much.

4. Paint your image using watercolors. You'll need to get your brush loaded with paint and water since the plaster soaks up the liquid. Also, start with the lightest colors you want to paint, say, yellow, and work your way down the line towards black. You can always go darker, but you can't lighten up watercolors on plaster.

5. Make sure you add details and a ground and sky, if applicable. I encouraged the students to paint right off the edge of their pieces (on the 1/2" side of the plaster piece). I thought it made the piece look more finished that way. Let the piece dry for a few days before hanging. Hang out of direct sunlight and away from moist areas. ENJOY!

This flower has some beautiful brushwork in the background.

A beautiful fall pumpkin!

Drawing With Leonardo

Last week we made sketchbooks in my art class & this week--we filled them up! Nah, we didn't fill them, but I certainly gave them a bunch of stuff to draw this week! This week's class was all about Leonardo da Vinci and his magnificent sketchbooks!

The man of the hour--Mr. da Vinci! (There on the left in 1514).

Da Vinci is probably most famous to us today as an artist (painter & sculptor), but he was also an engineer, a town planner, an inventor, a scientist, a writer, musician and more! He filled countless sketchbooks with his notes, studies, and drawings. Here is a lesson that helps kids explore what kind of work he did. The classroom is divided into four stations:

Station One: Drawing From Nature
Station Two: Strange Beasts
Station Three: Backwards Writing
Station Four: Interesting Inventions

I gave a quick discussion about da Vinci's work and then walked around the room explaining what they'd be doing in each station while showing them examples of da Vinci's work relating to each station. They were able to spend about 10 minutes at each station.

Station One: Drawing From Nature


Supplies Needed:

• Fruits or veggies cut in half (I used an orange and a pepper)
• Shells, flowers, leaves or other objects from nature
• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had two pages of da Vinci's drawings from nature: oak leaves with acorns and flowers. The instruction sheet encouraged the children to observe (look at) the natural objects on the table and explore how they are formed. Notice the inside and outside of the object. Draw it's texture and color. Draw all of it's parts and label them like da Vinci did in his work.

Station Two: Strange Beasts

Supplies Needed:

• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Optional Supplies:

• Last year, I created a wheel that the children could spin to select different animal parts to combine into strange mythical beasts. I brought these wheels back in for this exercise, but your children can use their imaginations :-)
• The Bestiary Book from my last year's Medieval Art class (a Bestiary Book is a book of mythical and real animals created in early history to document the animals of the world).
• Blind draw envelopes I took a couple of envelopes and wrote a description of a beast on the outside of each. The children were instruction to read the description and draw the animal described. When they were done, they could look inside the envelope and see what animal I was describing. This is what they said:

"This beast has the head of a [dog]...the eyes of a cat, the ears of a porcupine...the eyebrows of a lion and the neck of a turtle." (that part is from da Vinci's notebook, I added the next part...) It's claws are deadly and its thin, long body is covered with armor-like disks (It's a dragon).

This beast has a small head, long neck and a whip-like tail. It roars to life and it doesn't chew its food when it eats--it uses a whirling force to inhale its prey. Its body shines and can come in many colors. It is walked by man as it hunts its prey (It's a vacuum). *Please note, many of the children did not like this one--they felt rather grumpy that I had deceived them and "made" them draw an animal. 

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I wrote the following: Back in da Vinci's time, travel was limited. Most people never left their village their entire lives! People would talk about the strange animals that lived in other places, but things were often exaggerated!

Create an unusual beast. You can combine the parts of several animals, if you like. Think about these things:

• Where will your beast live?
• What color is it?
• What does it eat?
• What texture is the coat?
• Is it mean or nice?
• Name your animal.

Station Three: Backwards Writing

Supplies Needed:

• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Regular pencils and erasers
• Quills with watered-down tempura paint
• Hand mirrors

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had an example from da Vinci's sketchbook of his "backward" writing. I also had the alphabet printed backwards so that the children could see how the letter should be formed. They were able to create secret signs and messages using the backward writing. I encouraged them to use a pencil first and then go over it with the quill. 

Station Four: Interesting Inventions

Supplies Needed:

• Items to take apart (I used a spring-type clothespin, a cassette tape, a Lego man, a ball point pen and a wine bottle opener)
• Station handout (examples of da Vinci's work relating to the station and instructions for the station).
• Blank paper (the children could also use their sketchbooks)
• Colored pencils and crayons
• Regular pencils and erasers

Directions:

On the instruction sheet for this station, I had a couple of da Vinci's drawings of inventions (the giant crossbow and the armored car). The instruction sheet encouraged the children to observe (look at) the manmade objects on the table and explore how they are built. They could draw the outside of the object (or the object "together") and then take it apart and draw the pieces (of everything except the wine opener). I encouraged them to notice the details such as: screws, lettering, switches, textures, edges and springs.

OR...they could create an invention of their own. They needed to think about what the invention would do, what it would look like and what the parts would be. These could be labeled (maybe with backwards writing!). 

All in all this was a great class where the children were able to explore the many facets of Leonardo da Vinci's work! These stations could be turned into three to four separate classes if you wish, but I think my hour-long class was just enough for my students to get a little sampling of the wonderful work of da Vinci!

Resources:


"Da Vinci," by Mike Venezia (ISBN 0-516-42275-8)
"Discovering Great Artists," by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga (ISBN 0-935607-09-9)
"Eyewitness Books: Renaissance," by Andrew Langley (ISBN 0-7894-6624-4)
"Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer," by Robert Byrd (ISBN 0-525-47033-6)

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!