How does one begin a multi-step painting project without losing one's mind? Well, it's all in the Prep. While some people look at an art teacher's schedule and scoff at the amount of prep time we get, others understand that good preparation is key to a great project. That was the case with this project. We had a fish to cut-out, scales to glue down, and bubbles to paint. I find that if I can get the tables set before the class comes in, they can see how the tables should look before they leave so the next class can do the same thing. With my schedule, my 2nd graders come first and the Kindergartners come next. The 2nd graders LOVE to get the class ready for the little ones! So, here are the tables all set and ready to go!
Now, we work with the least messy supplies first and the most messy supplies last. So, we drew the fish, cut it out, and glued the scales down first. After that, we used the lids to stamp white circles onto the blue paper.
And here is a finished project (by a Kindergartner, nonetheless):
My FAVORITE lesson of all time!!!! I just adore salt painting. The texture, the unexpected element of surprise, the "how did you do that" from fellow teachers, the "WOW!" from my students. And, to top it all off, ALL of my students were enthralled with this lesson to the point that they gave their 100% effort (and we all know that doesn't happen with every lesson).
Of course, I went into the symbolic meaning of koi fish to the Japanese culture. We discussed where one could find koi fish in the STL area. Some have never seen them, while others have, etc.
Next, I showed them this video I found on You Tube which is a time lapse painting of a professional artist Lori Andrews (not as important as the process she goes through). While there are some words in the video geared toward the 'seasoned artist' I breezed through them explaining some different types of resists that artists can use while painting. I really liked the music in this video and the simple fact that it is geared for adults (which I told my students and I think that made them try even harder). Here's the video:
After drawing the fish swimming in different directions on our paper (to create movement and to add a sense of life to the work), we used white crayons to draw ripples in the water that will show up after we add the paint. I showed them how to paint a 4x4 area at a time so the paint will still be wet to add the salt. It takes awhile for the salt to totally dissolve, but after about 5-10 minutes the students start to see the interesting textural effect the salt leaves in the watercolor.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I used my new liquid watercolors again - which I TOTALLY LOVE and highly recommend!
