Monday, October 3, 2011

Incite their interest with a collaborative painting project.

Incite their interest with a collaborative painting project. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ideas come from all directions--you never know when one is going tohit you. This one was easy. Kim, a friend and owner of a local art shop,had a birthday party and decided to have everyone at the party helpcreate a painting. She divided the canvas into large squares and leteveryone paint whatever they wanted. It was a huge success. I took that same idea with me to my niece's"30th-birthday-and-new-house" party, this time dividing thecanvas into eight-inch squares. Upon arriving at the party, I asked thebirthday girl what she wanted on the painting. I gave her a few options:I could draw a caricature of everyone at the party, I could draw one orboth of her cats, I could draw her portrait or I could draw a largeflower on the canvas. She chose the large flower and, as luck would have it, she had abeautiful vase of fresh sunflowers on her coffee table. So using one ofthe fresh flowers as my guide, I drew the largest sunflower possible onthe pre-squared canvas. I then instructed the partygoers that it wouldbe the job of each of them to paint one square on the canvas. The guests were reluctant at first, but once they got started, thepainting didn't stop until all squares were complete. I instructedthem in their color options--they could use either local color (color ofthings the way they really are) or random color (coloring things the waywe'd like them to be). Many, to my surprise, chose a random color scheme, and the resultwas a beautifully painted canvas even van Gogh would've been proudof. My niece got a lovely painting for her new house, and the party wasone we will never forget. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TAKING THE IDEA TO SCHOOL When our new principal arrived in thefall--with her large office so sparsely decorated--I thought howbeautiful a large painting might look on her wall. This time, it wouldbe painted by her new little charges. To accommodate all 200-plusstudents in my first- through third-grade classes, I divided the canvasinto 108 four-inch squares. I had just over 200 students in grades one,two and three, so each student would work with a partner. I decided the subject matter should be something large and simple,and since our new principal already loved flowers, our subject was allset. I looked at a variety of flower images--some from my garden andothers I found online--and narrowed down the field to two: a daisy and acosmos. The students made the final decision and the cosmos won. Things began with me drawing the flower onto the canvas, trying tocover as much ground as possible. In the background, some smallerversions of the flower were included for interest. With painters' tape, I sectioned off individual squares so thestudents would know exactly where to paint. I did a few demo squareswhile telling the students what I was thinking while painting. Forexample, "Even though the flower is a deep pink, I see some purplein the shadows, and a little green on the edge because of the leafybackground." I demonstrated how to mix the paint directly on thepalette while the students watched in anticipation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because it would have been impossible for the entire class to workat once, I explained to the students that this would be an ongoingspecial project, and whenever they had free time and were finished withtheir other work, they could paint a square. Everyone was given the option to paint a square with a partner.Unlike the party painting and because of the age of my students, theywere instructed to stick to the general color scheme of the flower toensure continuity in the painting. We used tempera paint, but because ofthe transparent quality of some of the colors--such as magenta andyellow--we mixed the paint with a small amount of white for a moreopaque quality. One by one, the students worked on the painting in their free time.I kept a running list of the students who worked on the painting toensure all students were given the opportunity to paint. When everysquare was complete, I used a thick black marker to reestablish a few ofthe edges that were lost in translation, and added some sparkly glitterpaint to give it a little shimmer. Upon completion of our masterpiece, we presented our beautifulcollaborative painting to our new principal. She proudly displays thepainting in her office for all visitors to enjoy. The students enjoyed being a part of the creation of such a largepiece of art, and they were especially pleased to see it hangingprominently in the principal's office. Whenever they are in heroffice--which isn't always a bad thing!--they proudly point out"their" square. Thanks to my friend, Kim, for the great idea! This new type ofcollaborative painting has become--and will be---a great project in mypresent and future classrooms. My husband, a high-school art teacher,also uses it as an ongoing project for his students. It piques theinterest of students of any age! ASSESSMENT 1. Did the students work cooperatively? 2. Can the students mix paints to create tints and shades? 3. Do the students understand what goes into painting on canvas? 4. Did the students create a cooperative artwork? LEARNING OBJECTIVES Lower-elementary students will ... * work with partners to create one 4" x 4" square of agroup painting. * learn what is involved in the creation of a painting. * learn the basics of mixing paints to produce lights and darks,and tints and shades. MATERIALS * Large stretched canvas, canvas board or a Masonite sheet * Tempera or acrylic paints and brushes * Sparkle paint * Thick black marker Jo Woodcock is an art instructor for first through third grade atChilton (Wisconsin) Elementary School.

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