Cleopatra's Cats

I found this lesson on the ole reliable PINTEREST! With a few minor changes and improvements we made some beautiful Egyptian Cats.

We started with a paper grocery bag (I had a ton donated at one school, and parents recycle them at another). The paper bags were thick and the perfect color. We drew a frame and then our cat step-by-step in the center of the paper.

By breaking down the cat into easy shapes, the students did a fantastic job drawing them.

We added collars and Egyptian eye makeup for finishing touches.

The students colored with construction paper crayons and regular crayons and then... the BEST part...added gold paint!

These cats obviously lived very good NINE lives!

Thanks to the giving.

 

 I love Native American Art... but I really, really love portraits by Kindergarteners and first graders.
Once again, my little ones knocked it out of the park with these portraits.
We started by looking at examples of early photographs of Native Americans and a painting by George Catlin.

We discussed headdresses, and how eagle feathers were awarded for brave, heroic acts.

Then, using guided drawing, drew the face discussing proportions and proper placement of facial features. We added the headdress and feathers and BAM! Awesome work. The color was added with crayon and liquid watercolor to create a "fall landscape" effect.

 

Hope these wonderful drawings made you a little more thankful today.

 

 

Moody Blues

Finishing out our study of Picasso, my fourth and fifth graders made some pretty amazing guitar collages. We discussed Picasso's blue period and how artists can relay mood through color choices. We used cardstock and painted it with different hues of blue as step one.

 

Later, we added strings (yarn) tuning pegs (popsicle sticks), a sound hole, (newspaper or construction paper) and a bridge (another popsicle stick).
Now if only these guys would make music....

Mummy Knows Best

To begin our Egyptian unit, my students discussed MUMMIES! Of course, most of my kids are only familiar with the mummies on Scooby Doo or Hotel Transylvania, so a little discussion was necessary.

After view a few NON GRAPHIC images of mummies, we discussed how the Ancient Egyptians believed you must be prepared to live in the afterlife...and needed certain things once you got there. The bandages and special oils made the body stay beautiful (for lack of a better word) until you made it to your destination.

The students used construction paper crayons on brown paper and completed the effect with a black watercolor wash... to make them look "ancient."
I love the way the repetition of line and minimal colors made the eyes really stand out!

Well done, my little embalmers.

Wake Me Up! Before You Go Go...

So, it only took me a month to finally get these fantastic roosters posted on our blog... Some how they slipped through the cracks!

 

 

My second and third graders took a look at Picasso's rooster...

 

 

analyzed the shapes and colors, and made an awesome Picasso-inspired rooster using oil pastels on black paper.

 

 

I loved the way the students found the anatomy of roosters so interesting (spurs?! on a rooster?) and loved blending the oil pastels to create secondary and intermediate colors.

 

 

Looks like another win for Picasso...