Parabolic Line Drawings

I got this lesson idea from Mr. Rees' Class Blog @ www.mrrees.com.  The main idea of this lesson is to introduce students to pursuit curves and parabolic line patterns (which are repeated straight lines that eventually create curves in art and architecture).  We discussed how this concept is closely related to math concepts.  The students looked at the architecture of the Syndey Opera House in Sydney, Australia, which was designed by John Utzon using pursuit curves and parabolic lines.

I gave each student a 9x9 piece of white paper and a 7x7 square stencil.  Step 1:  Trace the square on their paper.  Step 2: Measure a "finger's width" or 1/2" away from the top left corner of the square, rotate the paper counter-clockwise and repeat on all 4 corners.  Step 3: Connect the dots, rotate paper counter-clockwise, connect the dots, repeat.  These steps should be repeated over and over and over again. 

Sparkling Spiders!

I love this time of year!  I teach this lesson every year, and those students of mine who have done this before, still get excited every year when I tell them we are making spiders!  For the younger grades K-2, I read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.  For the older grades, we discuss some scientific facts about why we see spiders so frequently this time of year and how they are trying to feast up on the insects before the cold winter season eliminates their source of food.

First, I had the students draw a web on their paper using a bottle of glue...(of course, I spent a good amount of time discussing how to squeeze the bottle so a line comes out and not a puddle).  After the webs were drawn with glue, I sprinkled them with glitter.  We set those aside to dry while we drew the spiders and added the line patterns and color.

The Leaves are Falling...

This was a project that I did with my sixth grade students, but can easily be done with any grade level.  I like to use leaves as stencils during the Fall because it helps the students understand that there are many different kinds of leaves and different shapes.  I also like the students to see, firsthand, the array of colors that leaves are this time of year.  I had the students do a simple line/shape drawing of their leaf and then mount the leaf on a variety of colors of construction paper to create a 'rippling' effect, or a repeated shape pattern.  We discussed composition in this assignment, and I had the students think about arranging their leaves in such a way that it looked like the leaves were falling from the trees.

6th Grade Op Art Drawings

Students loved this drawing project!  We created a grid on our papers and added two or three geometric shapes on top of the grid.  Next, we mapped out where to put the color because we are not coloring every other "square" any longer but every other "space".  For some, this was tricky, for others, they got the hang of it right away.  When the color patterns are filled in, the shapes blend in with the grid, playing "tricks" with your eye, and this makes it an optical illusion. 

Van Gogh Line Drawings

I know that Van Gogh can be a little overdone in elementary school art, but I find that students can relate to his artwork easily because they tend to think that all art should be an exact representation of something, and are easily awed at Impressionist art because it is only an "impression" and not an exact copy.  Also, Van Gogh is a great artist to study when working on line drawings and texture. 

For this assignment students began by watching the video, Who is The Artist: Cezanne, Van Gogh, Seurat (which I have to say, is NOT the best video for elementary age students, but we made it through).  Next, I played the PowerPoint on the TV screen that showed three of Van Gogh's paintings on a slideshow.  The students were to choose one of the three paintings to duplicate through a line drawing.  

I taught the students how to make a simple plan on their paper before adding the color by dividing the space into sections where they will then add the lines and color later.  This is an important skill to get the students to think about simplifying an object and not becoming overwhelmed at trying to duplicate the subject.  It also helps the students to break-up a subject into shapes, drawing the easiest first and adding the complicated details later.  Next, the students used markers to add a variety of lines to each section of their paper, trying to use the colors that Van Gogh used in his original paintings. 

One-Point Perspective Cities

Here are the samples of one-point perspective cities my 5th and 6th grade students created in September.  I think they turned out fabulous!  The only down-side to this project was the amount of time it took to get these drawings finished.  I don't know when the transition takes place for elementary age artists, but somewhere between 4th and 6th grade students become very self-conscious about their art and the amount of time they need to finish a work of art takes days, and days, and days...  So, three weeks later, we have beautiful drawings that will most definitely be on display for several months!