6.18.2010

Jackson Pollock group activity

What day do people want to do the Pollock group activity? And are we combining all 3 sections into one or only 2 or how had people envisioned this playing out? Also, materials? Sheets or craft paper? And I was thinking about setting it up in the 6-8 room because it's the largest and maybe turning the tables on their sides to create a barrier so that golf balls and marbles don't go rolling all over the place. I'm not sure if that would work so I am open to other suggestions for set-up.

6.17.2010

Kindercamp Week 5: Katharine

Lascaux cave paintings group exercise:
Craft paper, oil pastels, masking tape

Kindergartners will create their very own cave paintings as they travel back in time to Lascaux, France in a recreated world with craft paper and turned over tables.

Rain sticks:
Cardboard tubes, wax or craft paper, rubberbands, rice or beans, markers

Students make their own instruments with recyclable materials and dried food!

African papier-mâché masks:
Plastic mask molds (in aaac basement), newspaper/craft paper, papier-mâché mix, tempera paint, hole punch, raffia, yarn, beads, some sort of elastic band to attach it around head?

Students will get a little messy as they learn about the papier-mâché process and sculpt their own African inspired masks.

Aztec pendant:
Tube pasta, colorful beads, tin can lids, construction paper, glue, markers, scissors, yarn or suede cord?

Kindergartners will paint pasta, then while waiting for it to dry create a design for their pendant. This design will be glued onto the tin lid and then all the pieces will be strung on.

Mayan vase:
Salt dough, tin can, tempera paint

Students will experiment with homemade dough and cover a tin can to make a Mayan vase.

Japanese windsock
Paper bag or poster board?, stapler, hole punch, markers, tissue paper, wire, crepe paper

Students will decorate and assemble a Japanese windsock while learning about pattern and repetition as they attempt to imitate the appearance of scales on a fish.

Ghanian stamp print:
Paper bag or craft paper, Styrofoam trays, pencils, tempera paint, scissors, potato stamps, other stamps

Students will learn about basic printmaking and how to create a pattern as they imitate the adinkra cloth art from Ghana.

Papel Banners from Mexico:
Colored tissue paper, scissors, string or yarn

Cutting simple designs in tissue paper, students assemble a collection of colored flags and attach them to string, creating a traditional papel banner from Mexico.

6-8yrs. Week 4: Katharine

Name Stamps:
Foam, pencils, tracing paper, ink, scissors

Students create a stamp of their name that they can use for each image they produce during the week.

Foam Prints:
Foam, pencils, brayers, ink or tempera paint, drawing paper

Students etch a print into recycled meat trays then choose several different colors to print it different ways.

Cardboard and foam piece prints:
Cardboard square for each student, foam pieces, other scraps, glue, tempera paint, drawing paper

Students create prints in different colors after assembling a homemade block.

Puzzle piece print:
Old puzzle pieces, glue, cardboard, ink/paint, drawing paper

Students create prints from old puzzle pieces and learn about repetition and pattern.

Fruit and vegetable print:
Apples, potatoes, tomatoes, pears, any other fruits or vegetables, ink, paint brushes, drawing paper

Learn to make prints from fresh produce!

Bubble Print:
Tempera paint, dish soap, warm water, tub or aluminum pan, drawing paper

Students make prints by simply laying paper onto a homemade mixture of bubbles, soap and paint!

Experimenting with application:
Black construction paper, golf balls, marbles, sponges, brushes, white tempera paint and other light colors.

Students experiment with different forms of paint application by rolling, splattering and sponging. This image does not have to be the final product though and like all of the previous prints, may be added to and layered upon.

Andy Warhol print:
May repeat Week 1 Andy Warhol print if all goes well, or do some variation of it with household objects as stamps.

Cardboard picture collage:

Design silhouettes:
Magazines, scrap paper and/or any other scrap material, black marker, construction paper, scissors, glue stick

Students design an interesting but simple silhouette and then cut it out and turn it into a stencil. Then they go through and trace it on different patterns and images and colors from different sources, cut them out, and assemble them onto another piece of paper. Students will learn about pattern and repetition

Collage portraits:
Magazines, scissors, glue sticks, scrap fabric, yarn, sequins, pipe cleaners, any other scrap materials

Students create full portraits of themselves or another character by collaging an assortment of items. Students are encouraged to focus on form and color rather than finding representative images: e.g. hair could be a photo of fries or a cutout of text, it doesn’t have to be a model’s hair from a magazine.

Recycled paper collage:
Old maps, sheet music and text, glue, tempera paint,

Students collage these three different materials onto another piece of paper, then paint one coat over it so the design and words still show through. This will serve as the base layer for a collage of student’s choosing.

6-8yrs. Week 3: Katharine

Eco-bots:
Scrap-box materials—foam pieces, Styrofoam shapes, cardboard scraps and cylinders, wire, any other scraps…

Use your imagination and create crazy creatures made from an assortment of recycled objects. The sky is the limit on this one.

Stuffed animals:
Old sweaters, hats, gloves, buttons, heavy-duty needles, thread and/or yarn, felt or cotton for decorations, plastic bags or cotton wool for stuffing (any other ideas?)

Learn how to turn old clothing into adorable little creatures while mastering basic sewing techniques.

Recycle bouquet:
For tulips: Egg cartons (getting them from Whole Foods), tempera paints, sticks/twigs for stems. For vase: chicken wire, duct tape, scissors, papier-mâché, craft paper, old maps or recycled papers or tissue paper

Students learn to be resourceful and respectful of the environment as they take household objects and transform them into beautiful art.

Papier-Mâché jewel necklaces:
Papier-mâché mix, colored scrap paper turned into mulch (done beforehand), more (dry) colored scrap paper, cookie cutters, pencils, yarn

Students create fun shapes and beads out of scrap paper mulch and scrap paper rolls in order to create colorful eco-friendly necklaces. A short discussion of what it means to be eco-friendly and how to recycle and be resourceful!

Milk Carton birdhouses:
Old milk cartons, acrylic paints, raffia for nest, wine corks for chimneys, wire to hang, wooden dowels for perch, buttons or other decorations for outside

Students use recyclable materials to create their very own birdhouse!

Handmade paper cards:
Prepared mulch, tubs, warm water, framed screens (I have some at home), old towels, to decorate: buttons, needles, thread, scrap fabric and paper

Students learn how to make handmade paper from old scraps and once dry turn them into beautiful cards with buttons and other decorations.

Melted crayon weavings:
Wax paper, crayon shavings, iron and ironing board, old towels, scrap paper, tissue paper, ribbons, hole punch and scissors
Students will arrange crayon shavings into different patterns between two wax sheets that the teacher will iron and turn into a stained glass creation. Then students will trim as desired and cut slits in order to weave scrap paper and ribbons through. When finished they may punch holes and add a ribbon to hang up in the window.

Newspaper sculpture group activity:
Newspapers, masking tape

Class works together to create huge abstract sculptural forms from newspaper and masking tape. Students will discover which shapes work best as a base and how to create a sturdy self-supporting structure.

Picture in a box:

Old cereal boxes, scrap paper, magazines, any other recyclable materials

After cutting out one side of the box minus a 1-inch border, students will have a shadow box in which they can create any sort of image using the different scraps available.

Paper bag kite:
Paper bags, strong string, masking tape, hole punch, scissors, crepe paper or plastic bags for streamers, tempera paint and markers/crayons for decorating, foam stickers and glitter/sequins also for decorating

Students learn to be resourceful as they create a kite from largely recyclable materials. Aerodynamics will also be discussed.

Fruit scrap sculptures:
Fruit crates (plastic and cardboard), mesh fruit nets and potato sacks, bubble wrap, plastic bags, scrap fabric, ribbons, markers, wire, any other recyclable materials I accumulate

Still trying to think of a concrete idea for this, but as of now I’ve collected quite a bit of random fruit trays and containers from Whole Foods and I thought kids could either go crazy and use their imaginations or if I think of something nifty I could present that as well. Any ideas for projects incorporating these materials, let me know!

6-8yrs. Week 2: Katharine

Sketch Books:

White paper, hole punch, poster board or construction paper for cover, yarn

Students will use sketch books on a daily basis to focus on developing drawing skills and generating ideas for their final comic creation.

Life-size cartoon group exercise:
Craft paper, colored construction paper, yarn, brads, markers, scissors, glue, Velcro tape and masking tape

Students will work together to create a life-size cartoon character with moving appendages and removable features. This character will function as a sample case for how to create interesting personalities and unique forms that can hold a story together. It will also serve as a testing ground for different poses, expressions and movements so that students can learn how to better express a range of motions and E-motions.

Main Character Bio:
Drawing paper, colored pencils

After brainstorming and sketching out ideas, students will draw their main character and give him/her/it a background story with interests, activities, quirks or any other information. This page can serve as a sort of comic “table of contents” or “meet the character” introduction page to their final book.

Character wheel:

Cardboard, poster board, brads, scissors, markers

Students will receive a wheel made of one cardboard circle and three small poster board circles that they will then decorate with different eyes, noses and mouths. By turning the different wheels, students will be able to create different combinations and thereby see the diverse characters they can make. This tool will help them throughout the week as they create their characters for their stories.

I’m thinking about making some of these smaller activity art projects optional for any student who would prefer to work on their final comic book creation…

Storyboarding activity:
Colored construction paper, glue, scissors

After discussing how to break up a page with different sized and shaped boxes and looking at examples from comic books, students will create a sort of abstract image showing a variety of bubbles and boxes. This exercise will illustrate the range of shapes and colors they have to work with and also help them to think about the formal aspects of comic book art.

Jerzy-inspired storyboarding lesson:
White paper, colored pencils/markers/crayons

Class will come up with two characters, a scene, a location and an activity together. We’ll go through a short scene of about 6 images and then once it is completed, students will decide which scene is the most “important” or should be the “biggest” moment and they will then illustrate that moment.

Jerzy-inspired sound/dialogue lesson:
Large poster board or heavy weight paper, spray paint (red, blue, black—optional), colored construction paper, scissors, glue, letter stencils

Class will discuss different sounds and how they might be spelled and how the way they are written changes the way they sound. After short lesson, students will create their own sound and phonetic spelling and then create a Roy Lichtenstein inspired poster with this speech balloon. This exercise will also include a discussion about graphic design, simplification, and punctuation.

Cover page exercise:
Medium to heavy weight paper, oil pastels or watercolor or markers or crayons

Talk about how to summarize a story in one image using a popular story as an example. Students will then plan out and draw the cover page for their comic book.

Comic books:
Colored construction paper, drawing paper, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, felt tip pens for outlining, glue, scissors, brads for binding or yarn and hole punch, for special effects: googly eyes, glitter, yarn, foam stickers, etc.

Throughout the week students will be working on their own comic books, focusing on using some of the strategies we will discuss. Students will plan out their stories and draw each frame on separate pieces of paper and then attach them to the larger pages as they are completed so as to avoid ruining an entire page because a mistake in one frame.

6-8yrs. Week 1: Katharine

Frida Kahlo Self-Portraits vs. Van Gogh Self-Portraits:
White construction paper, oil pastels

Students will create two self-portraits, one in the style of Kahlo and the other in the style of Van Gogh. This exercise will help students to identify key characteristics to each artists’ work as they attempt to emulate them in their own.

Paul Klee Self-Portraits:
Colored tissue paper that can bleed, white construction paper, oil pastels, paint brush and water

Students will first draw themselves in simple geometric forms keeping Klee’s style in mind, then they will apply water to different colored tissue paper to create a geometric shaped background.

Alexander Calder Circus Mobiles:
Wire coat hangers (already have some), wire, solo cups in different colors (red—aaac basement already has a bunch, blue, yellow), pop bottles (preferably green), any other bright solid plastics that are easy to cut?, pipe cleaners

Learn about the artist who invented the mobile by focusing on one of his more popular subjects: the circus! Students will use their imagination to create different circus characters from recyclable plastics and wire and then string them up onto a mobile made from old coat hangers.

Jackson Pollock Splatter Paintings:
Old sheet(s), craft paper, large cardboard—box?, shoeboxes, marbles, golf balls, sponges, metal cans, tempera paints

Students learn to appreciate non-traditional forms of art by experimenting with different painting techniques. A group activity will introduce them to the novelty of this revolutionary practice and an individual project will allow students to take what they have learned and create with greater confidence and purpose.

Helen Frankenthaler Pour Paintings:
Tempera paints, water to dilute, sponges, newspaper/craft paper, white water color or other medium weight paper

Similar to the Jackson Pollock exercise, students will learn to appreciate non-traditional forms of art and experimental application by pouring their paint onto the surface and controlling its movement with sponges. This exercise will also include a brief discussion of abstract expressionism.

Andy Warhol Grid:
Watercolor or drawing paper (not construction), tempera or acrylic paints, artist tape (already purchased some), household objects for stamps—solo coffee lids (collecting them), soup or pop can lids, chip clips, band-aids, apples, etc. any other ideas?

Combine Andy Warhol’s famous grid pattern and bright palette while learning about consumer culture and mass production—the central theme of much of Warhol’s work—and create exciting prints. Students will choose a household object as a stamp or create their own stencil and repeat it in different color combinations.

Roy Lichtenstein:
Colored construction paper, poster board or heavyweight paper, spray paint (red, black, blue), stencils for letters, pencils and erasers, glue sticks,

With a focus on Lichtenstein’s airplane and explosion prints, students get a brief introduction to graphic design and plan out their own “big scene” in the style of the artist, including a speech balloon or exclamation.

Matisse Cutouts:
Colored construction paper, scissors, glue sticks

Students learn key terms like positive and negative shapes, pattern, repetition, and abstract as they create their own colorful cutout collage in the style of Matisse.

Picasso Portraits:

Colored construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, oil pastels

Students will be asked to draw two strikingly different faces on two separate sheets of paper (frontal/profile, human/animal, man/woman etc.); then they will cut out the different features and assemble them onto a new sheet of paper in order to compose a hybrid image in the style of cubism. We will also briefly discuss the idea of multiple-perspective.

Michelangelo
--Sistine Chapel:
Craft paper, masking tape, crayons or colored pencils, flashlights?

A fun project to simulate how Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel and to illustrate the difficulty of working upside down!

--Soap Sculptures
Soap, spoon, scrap paper, carbon paper, pencil, pointed tool for detailing

Another way to appreciate the many talents of Michelangelo! Students get a bit of 3-D experience by sculpting their own masterpiece from soap.

Louise Nevelson sculptures:
Found objects, popsicle sticks or shoe boxes, acrylic or tempera paint or spray paint, white glue or hot glue gun?

Students experiment with 3-D art by assembling and gluing different found objects onto a flat surface and then painting it in one color.

Monet lily painting:
Canvas boards (any size whatever is reasonable/affordable)—if not heavy poster board or watercolor paper, tempera paint or acrylics if possible, sponges and brushes, painting tape

An introduction to Impressionism allows students to explore another form of paint application as they try their hand at Monet-style nature paintings. Students also learn how using tape can create clean lines with minimal effort and take advantage of the natural color of the white canvas.

O’Keefe tissue paper flower images:
Colored tissue paper, large poster board, glitter/sequins, cotton balls, black tempera paint, heavy-duty needles, thread

Rather than painting, students use tissue paper to recreate Georgia O’Keefe’s large flower images with a particular focus on abstraction. Threading petals together may help to elevate them while creating interesting and dynamic movement.

6.16.2010

9-12yrs. Week 5: Loren

Intro activity: Making sketchbooks, name tags, and portfolios

Materials: sticky name tags, very large sheets of thin cardboard, light colored construction paper (8.5 x 11), drawing paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, markers, colored pencils

Chinese flower paintings (show examples, use of symmetry)--using still life as inspiration, paint a floral design on half your paper, then fold to duplicate--can also try in fourths

Materials: flowers, drawing paper, tempera paints, brushes

Japanese landscape painting (examples, use of calligraphic/expressive brushtroke)--using the traditional tools and style of japanese landscape, render a scene from your own life in Ann Arbor

Materials: drawing paper, black ink/inkstone, calligraphy brushes

Japanese stick puppets—
salt dough is used to create character heads on sticks. After drying, these can be painted and embellished with fabric, etc…

Materials: flour, salt, cream of tartar, tongue depressors or dowels, tempera paint, fabric scraps

Indonesian Batik—draw a design and then use batik paste and acrylic paint to bring it to life on fabric

Materials: Alum (spice), flour, plastic squeeze bottles, 1 cotton sheet cut into squares, paper, marker, masking tape, acrylic paint

African beaded jewelry—create handmade beads out of rolled paper, and then string with wooden beads onto yarn

Materials: printed scrapbooking paper, glue, scissors, wooden beads, yarn

African masks—salt dough, cut cardstock? Sculpted from soap?

Materials:

Mexican style mural, politcal art referencing a current event--students will collaboratively design and execute a "mural" made on large sheets of thick watercolor paper attached to one another

Materials: largest watercolor paper available, 1 per student, tempera paint, brushes, pencils, markers

Mexican metal tooling, outdoor hanging sculpture--design and create a multi-component hanging metal sculpture from decorated metal panels

Materials: 36 gauge aluminum tooling metal, wire, beads, colored permanent markers, masking tape

9-12yrs. Week 4: Loren

Intro activity: Making sketchbooks, name tags, and portfolios

Materials: sticky name tags, very large sheets of thin cardboard, light colored construction paper (8.5 x 11), drawing paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, markers, colored pencils

magazine creatures/ self portraits (show hannah hoch and the other female artists who does this)--choose subject matter and then use images from magazines to create something unique

Materials: magazines, 11 x 17 drawing paper, scissors, glue stick, elmers glue

torn tissue paper landscapes (show turner, monet, whistler, tonalists)--choose a place from memory or a picture in a magazine or from home, mark in general composition with pencil, use bits of tissue paper painted with glue to color the image

Materials: elmers glue (watered down), tissue paper (mulitcolor pack), various sizes of white drawing paper, pencils

crude stamp-making--show examples of woodcuts and block prints, then use potatoes, styrafoam trays, and soap to create unique stamps to use and save for later

Materials: potatoes, ivory soap, stryrafoam meat trays, plastic knives, clay tools, drawing paper, water soluble ink, rollers, ink knives, wooden spoons for rubbing

linoleum cutting--show examples of woodcuts and block prints, then show how to make a linocut, including safety training

Materials: linoleum (1 per camper), linoleum tools, candles, mulberry paper, water soluble ink, rollers, ink knives, wooden spoons for rubbing

monoprints (show degas, others)--show how to draw with ink on plexiglass and print directly from this

Materials: plexiglass (1 per camper), brushes, various mark-making tools, tempera paints, rollers, ink knives

Your dream room mixed media—use paint, collage, and printmaking to create an image of your dream room

Materials: all from previous projects, tempera paint, watercolors, oil pastels, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, larger canvas paper (1 per kid)

final project, mixed media artworks--choose a theme or subject, brainstorm, sketch, and use the techniques we've covered over the week as well as drawing and painting to create a work of art of your own

Materials: all from previous projects, tempera paint, watercolors, oil pastels, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, large canvas paper (1 per kid)

Kindercamp Week 3: Loren

Intro activity: Making sketchbooks and name signs

Materials: light colored construction paper (8.5 x 11), drawing paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, markers, colored pencils

Eco-bots, warriors for a greener future--create a story of a robot in your sketchbook, then use recycled materials to bring it to life

Materials: cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, milk cartons, juice jugs, plastic caps, bottle caps, newspaper, packing supplies, yogurt lids and cups, foil, anything!, elmers glue, hot glue & gun

Mixed Media Abstract paintings--use recycled materials as tools for creating unique effects with paint--go wild!

Materials: anything with unique or interesting holes or textures, scraps of plastic or paper to cut stencils from, toothbrushes, kitchen utensils/cutlery, yarn, paint rollers, watercolors, tempera paint, brushes, sand, scissors

Sock puppets—decorate and name a sock puppet character of your own

Materials: white tube socks, yarn, colored fabric scraps, pompoms, sequins, googly-eyes, stuffing, white cotton "tags", sharpie, markers, glue gun

Weaving--create cardboard looms, create warp with yarn, weave with all sorts of materials

Materials: 2 sticks per child, cardboard boxes, scissors, yarn, fabric scraps, newspapers, magazines, plastic bags, 6-pack rings, shredded paper, plastic "ribbon"

Handmade Paper—create beautiful handmade paper from scraps

Materials: scrap paper, basin, screens, sponges, blender, bowls, sequins, leaves, flower petals, confetti

?collaborative project idea: Rube Goldberg machine
-each teacher assembles a section so we know in advance it will work. the kids then each decorate a piece of the "machine", and then we bring all the groups together to set up the machine and video tape the results. kids could each get a burned cd of the machine going.

Materials: scraps (carefully selected to create a working machine), paint

Kindercamp Week 2 (Loren)

Intro activity: Making sketchbooks and name signs

Materials: light colored construction paper (8.5 x 11), drawing paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, markers, colored pencils


Presentation on comics/graphic novels--show variety--color, b&w, simple, complex drawing, basic layout, creative layout, types of subject matter

Materials: chalk/white board, chalk/dry erase markers, books and comics, computer, projector

Prinicipals of comics—mini-lessons throughout the week
space=time, detail=time
sounds, word balloons
sloppy drawing
storyboarding
moment choices
mini comics
cover designs

Materials: drawing/sketchpaper (8.5 x 11 and some 11 x 17), ballpoint pens, ink pens, markers, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, stapler

Who is your hero?— build a full-size person with movable joints together, discuss movement, discuss characterization, each child draws a main character and collages images around it that tell something about who they are

Materials: posterboard (to cut out human parts for example), brads, drawing paper, magazines, scissors, glue, crayons, markers

Create a comic—learn to create stamps with styrafoam trays and use stamps to make thought and speech bubbles and margins for comics. Draw your hero in a story using these tools

Materials: styrafoam trays, tempera paint, drawing paper (11 x 17), crayons, markers, pencils


Kindercamp Week 1 (loren)

Week 1:

*each day will include a presentation on relevant artist/artworks

Intro activity: Making sketchbooks and name signs

Materials: light colored construction paper (8.5 x 11), drawing paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, markers, colored pencils

Still life (Rembrandt, DaVinci, Carravaggio)—learning about shapes, exploring crayons and watercolor

Materials: fruit, flowers, vases/bowls, drawing paper (8.5 x 11), pencils, watercolor paper (8.5 x 11), crayons, watercolors, brushes


Marble bas relief (Michelangelo)—using shapes and cutting to make a picture

Materials: various weights of white paper, scissors, glue, pencil


Color (Georgia O’Keefe)—explore both oil and dry pastels on paper

Materials: Drawing paper (8.5 x 11), colored paper, oil pastels, chalk pastels


Magazine color collage (surrealism)—create a monochromatic scene using magazine pictures—practice cutting and pasting

Materials: construction paper, tissue paper, glue, scissors, 11 x 17 watercolor paper, watercolors


Photo prints (Andy Warhol)--take a photo of each child in prior class and make b&w copies for them to paint with tempera, choose the best, and arrange and mount in multiples

Materials: camera, copy paper, tempera paint, brushes, large railroad/matte boards

Jackson Pollack group activity