Ezine Blogs: Holiday Themed Projects

Showing posts with label Holiday Themed Projects. Show all posts

Op Art Eggs

I've seen this project around quite a bit lately, so I just had to give it a try. Of course, I did give it an Art Fairy tweak or two.

Instead of using the traditional sphere shape, we used an egg in honor of Easter.

This was also done in two pieces. The eggs were done on a separate paper, cut out and then attached.

They were given a cardstock egg shape templates to draw the eggs.

To draw the grid on the eggs, I had the students draw a slightly curved line down the center of the egg creating two sections. they drew another curved line in in the center of each new section, creating four sections. I told them to think of the longitude lines they would see on a globe. We repeated this process for the horizontal or latitudinal lines.

The eggs were then colored with watercolor pencil, water was added using Q-tips, and lastly cut out.

Because of time constraints, students were given a grid that was premade on the computer and printed onto cardstock. Again we used watercolor pencils for the grid.

We discussed a bit of color theory and looked at the color wheel. We talked about complimentary colors and how primary colors are mixed to create secondary colors. We also discussed how they complimentary colors are always composed of one warm and one cool color.

Students were instructed to choose one warm and one cool color to complete the grid patterns and hopefully create

a bit of "chromatic tension".

The eggs were then attached using rolled up pieces of tape.

Gluing would probably be better, but tape allowed us to move ahead without waiting for it to dry. The eggs were lightly shaded at the edges with vine charcoal. White highlight was added to the center of the eggs with chalk pastel.

Before we started our project we watched this little video on You Tube about the history of Optical Art. It is actually about Pop and Op Art but is nicely split in two sections right in the middle around the 5 minute mark. Several of the pop art images were more than I was willing to explain to my elementary level students so we skipped ahead and stopped early on the video. We also watched this

video slide show of Op Art by Victor Vasarely.

Next time I try this project, I'd like to try adding a basket as well and see how that turns out. Can you think of any other ways to modify this project to fit what you're currently working on? I'd love to hear your ideas...

Stay tuned Monday for a special Versatile Blogger Awards Post!

Faux Stained Glass

First I found a stained glass coloring page- a very simple oval one. Then we cut up each section of the oval into five or six smaller irregular pieces. This first "stained glass" piece was accomplished by using Prismacolor markers on regular copy paper. The ink bled through heavily. So what we are seeing is actually the back side of the paper. There are little bits of white that resemble some of the frosting you see on traditional stained glass. After that was attached to black paper with glue and allowed to dry. The "leading" was traced over with black glue. Black glue is regular white school glue with just a little black acrylic paint mixed in. It dries with a raised surface. This one turned out very pretty.

This is another simple coloring page sans the extra sections but with a dove added. This is crayon on wax paper. Again the leading is black glue and the frame is two pieces of black construction paper with the oval center cut out. This one would make a really nice sun catcher displayed on a window.

Easter Rainbows

Materials
7 sheets of paper, red, orange, green, blue, purple, white
paper plate
pencil
paper trimmer and or scissors
stapler
clip(optional)

1.Start with 7 sheets of paper stacked in this color order, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and white. Use a paper trimmer or scissors to cut the papers in half lengthwise.

2.Use a large circle to draw a curve at the short edge one of the papers. Cut this curve and use it as a template to trace the same curve on the remaining papers. Turn over and trace on the other side of the papers. You want a mirrored curve here so that later when the pages are folded in the curves will match up.

3. On the white paper, after the curve is traced, add a wavy line on both sides.

4. Cut all the curves.

5. Stagger the papers so that each shows evenly. Fold the bottom up to meet the white and create two rows of cloud. Crease the fold. Clip to hold in place.

6. Reopen and staple on the crease. It is best to staple from the outside in so that staple points aren't sticking out to poke little fingers.

7. Close book up and place under heavier books to get to lay flat.

In honor of National Poetry Month, this is my Easter rainbow poem. You could write this out in the rainbow book you just made! I am planning on making these with my Sunday school class of kindergartners and four year olds this Easter. I will print out each verse on labels or sticker paper and have them stick on the appropriate verse for each color.
If anyone would like the corresponding bible verses, let me know and I will post them.

A Rainbow for Jesus
By Julie Moses

Red is for the blood
Jesus shed on the cross
Orange is the color of spices
Used to prepare his death cloths
Yellow is the color of the hem
Of an angel's robe,
who From the tomb,
Rolled away the stone.
Green is the color of
the brand new life
We find in Jesus Christ
Blue is the color
of the comfort and peace He gives,
even in the midst of strife.
Purple is the color
Used to dress a king.
Remember the rainbow and
How Christ gave us everything.

This book can become many things. You can write your own rainbow poem or story in it, cut out same colored items from magazines and make a rainbow collage,
or think of items that are that color and draw them in yourself.
Turn it into your own favorite bedtime story so that you too can have rainbow dreams!
For older kids who want to get in on the fun have them check out some rainbow history.

This is a video of the same process.

Have A Very Sweet Mother's Day

This project is based on the art of Wayne Thibaud, a pop artist famous for his paintings of food. His desserts are especially delectable. Taking another nod from my art teacher friend at Oodles of Art, this project will be done with first and second graders tomorrow.

My particular spin on this project lies in the timing. Since Sunday is Mother's Day, wouldn't this make an absolutely delicious card for Mom or Grandma?

1. You can make this an oversize card if you start with 12 x 18 inch construction paper, fold in half lengthwise.

2.Start by drawing a "V" shape on the bottom of the page. Top this V with a happy face line and then add as many scoops as you like!

3. The fun part comes in when trying to decide what flavors and toppings to use and how best to represent them with color.

My cone was completed in oil pastel and has five scoops of some of my favorites like chocolate with M&M's, rainbow sherbet, Neapolitan, chocolate chip cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip all topped off with fudge, whipped cream and a cherry!

For the inside of the card you can write this...

For the sweetest Mom (or Grandma)
in the world!
This treat is almost as sweet as you are!
Happy Mother's Day!

For something really special. take Mom or Grandma out for ice cream on their special day.
I am sure they won't mind if you have some too!

Hoppin Down the Bunny Trail...

What in the world do the Easter Bunny and Cubism have in common?
Really not much at all except that I chose Fernand Leger to be my Artist of the Week in art class and it is also two days until Easter, so I chose to do a bunny in a cubist style.

What you will need
Paper
pencil
oil pastels or crayons
oval template

1. Start with a simple bunny drawing. You can follow these steps or create your own. I gave students an oval shape to create the head in the first step. It really had two purposes, one was to keep everyone in the same type of proportions and the second is that it will be used in the the second part of the project.

2.At this point, you will want to outline the pencil lines in a blue or purple marker. Black will be too harsh and just leaving the pencil may be confusing in the next step.

3. Take the egg and trace it over and over again all over the paper. Make sure to make lots of overlaps and intersections, but try not to make too many very small spaces.
Try to let some of the oval shapes run off the page as well

You will now be coloring the areas created by the intersecting egg shapes. You have a choice of using a very limited color palette or using as many colors as you can think of! How you color is key though. Use heavier pressure near the edges of one or two sides of the shapes- not all around. Let the other side get lighter and keep the sides fairly consistent with the pressure- if you start with heavy pressure on the left side and bottom of a shape, continue to do with most of the shapes. You can change here and there, but the consistency is what will really give you the effect we want.

Another Variation...

Add a layer of black oil pastel and then scratch off areas to make lighter and darker values as well as creating texture.

Student Examples

By Taylor- Age 10

By Ryan -Age 7

Have a Great Easter!

An Easter Rainbow Book

This is a video of the same process.

St. Patrick and More Shamrocks: Scratches and Rainbows

St. Patrick was actually an English citizen who was captured by slave traders and sold as a slave in Ireland. For many years he worked in the fields as a shepherd. This gave him a lot of time to think, especially about God and His plan for Patrick's life. After many years, Patrick felt God was telling him to return to England. After a harrowing journey filled with miracles, Patrick made it back home to England and to a family who had long believed him to be dead or lost forever. It was after this that Patrick became a priest rising in the ranks to become a bishop. Patrick began to hear God's call once again urging him to return to England to share the good news of the gospel with the mostly druid and pagan tribes of Ireland, the place of his long enslavement. Having been among them for so long, Patrick had an intimate knowledge of the Irish people that many others would not have had. He did return and many miracles have since been attributed to him, including driving all the snakes out of Ireland. To this day, Ireland does not have any snakes.

He also used the shamrock or "three-leaved clover" to help explain the idea of the trinity to his Irish parishioners, which is why we often use the shamrock to symbolize this special day.

Links to help you learn more...

Alphabet Soup

Enchanted Learning

Wikipedia

Shamrock Scratch(Art Project)

What you will need:

White paper(preferably cardstock)

Colored construction paper for the frame- your choice

scissors

crayons- shades of green and black

brass fasteners(also known as brads, or use a skewer or paper clip)

1. Fold paper into eighths
2. Draw half a heart on the fold
3. Cut through all layers
4. Should produce 4 symmetrical hearts

5. Color three of the hearts with shades of green. Color with a lot of pressure.
6. Color a second heavy layer of black.
7. "Scratch" designs on the black layer with a scratch tool-
(Brass fastener, skewer, or paper clip)

8. Arrange in the shape of shamrock and glue down
9. Add a stem
10. Add a background (perhaps a rainbow?)

Go to this link to make a FUN PAPER FRAME

HAVE A GREAT ST.PATRICK'S DAY!

Shady Little Shamrocks- A St. Patrick's Day Art Lesson

Shade: A color mixed with varying degrees of black.

Tint: A color mixed with varying degrees of white.

What you will need:

Paint- I used tempera for this.(Green, White, and Black)
Brushes
Cardstock or watercolor paper

Start by making a heart template. Cut a small piece of cardstock in half and then cut out half of heart shape. Open to reveal a perfectly symmetrical heart. Use the heart template to create a three leaved shamrock. (You could create a four leaved- clover, but St. Patrick actually used the three leaves to help explain the idea of the Trinity to his Irish parishioners.)
Add a stem. Be sure to make the stem very thick.
Draw three gradually smaller hearts and stems inside each of the larger shapes.
In the center shapes paint with your base color of green straight from the bottle. In two of the shapes add white to the green and paint the next ring. Add white again and paint the outer ring.
In the other two shapes, add a drop of black(a drop is really all you need-it is very powerful!) and paint the next ring, another drop of black for the outer ring. Add some grass and maybe a rainbow or a leprechaun! You could also wait for the paint to dry, cut it out and glue it to another background.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more shamrock art and a little more about St. Patrick.

Also a little sneak peak at some projects I've been working on...

Snowman Winter Landscape

The following lesson is a compilation lesson of two or three lessons I found at Art Projects for Kids. It is a good way to explore several key art concepts including: foreground, middle ground, and background, objects that are farther away appearing smaller and darker, shadow, tinting and shading, color value, and drawing offset poses.

You will need:
paper(white or colored)
pencils
eraser
black sharpie marker
crayons or chalk pastels.

When adding color to the picture, have the kids keep in mind:

1. Shadows on snow tend to look blue
2. Objects appear darker or more faded the farther away they are.
3. Decide if the light source is coming from the right or left and add shading to the opposite side. Round the shading on the snowman.
4. Use more than one color green for the trees and make the trees farther away a darker green with less detail in the leaves.

This is a fun project to do on darker colored paper so that you can add the white, but it is fun to start with white paper too. Try it both ways and compare the differences! If kids are using darker colored paper the they should color heavier with white crayon or pastel for the snow closest to them and for the snowman. Using a lighter values of white in the middle and background will give the picture more depth.
The sample at the top of this post was done on white paper and colored with crayon. The following example was done on blue construction paper and colored with chalk pastel.

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