The Helpful Art Teacher: THE ART OF THE BRUSH

The Helpful Art Teacher: THE ART OF THE BRUSH: CREATING A LANDSCAPE LET EVERY BRUSH STROKE SPEAK                 Before you begin this painting lesson, click here to visit ...

Terminally Ill Child Creates Art, Inspires Others

Terminally Ill Child Creates Art, Inspires Others

Line Project: zig zag lines: smaller project

For this class the emphasis will be on creating zigzag lines using rope/string/thread on cardboard paper.
Class: 60 minutes
Age: any age

Materials

• Rope, yarn , string , thread or wool- various colours
• scissors
• cardboard paper (A4  or B5  size) -
• acrylic paint or tempera paint
• paint brush- primary colours

• palette 

Procedure
First let students choose one colour .Have them paint one side of the paper. Dry the paint with a hair dryer.Turn it over and have students choose another colour. Dry it again. Once the cardboard is dry ask students to cut out triangles on the edges of the paper ( not in the centre) . Have them variate it by not cutting out a complete zigzag pattern around the edges. Leave some spaces open.Next let students choose the type  of yarn or wool etc. and weave it across in diagonally. The end result will create  a zigzag spiderweb type of work. Let them leave some spaces open.Students can draw zigzag lines  with a marker in the open spaces.

use a slightly thick but not too thick variety 

 

 

 

 

 

line : zig zag lines a continuation of the first line project

This is a continuation of the line project .If you have started the  first project where students use PVC tape and taped straight lines- you can continue or simply start over.
Class time: 60 min
age: 5-9 years

Materials

• PVC tape ( different colours)

• scissors

• an area or a space to tape

• music*

Procedure
Discuss the different types of lines students for zig-zag Show different pictures with zig- zag lines. Ask students to identify which lines or zig- zag and which ones are not. For ESL learners you might want to focus on teaching the word "zig- zag" first.Have students work in groups or individually to create zig- zag lines.

You can tape two parallel lines and have students tape zig -zag lines within that space.

Using PVC tape is more colourful and less stickier than tape.

Encourage and guide students to create different variations of zig- zag  lines.

For early finishers you can let them draw zig- zag lines  on the PVC tape.

Don't forget to document this work since it's not a permanent creation.

Most students kept their line work  for the duration of the line project class or until the PVC tape came off.
* Music - you can play musical chairs by asking students to swap and work on each other's projects or simply play music for inspiration.

line project : vertical and horizontal lines

A continuation of the line lesson. This is another smaller project. It's fun . Students will create an artwork using vertical and horizontal lines.
Time: 1 60 minute 1 class
age: 5-6 years old.
Material:
paper- ( A2 size)
yarn (wool) or different types of string
glue
glue gun

yarn or wool

Procedure:
Warm up teach students about the different art materials in class. Do a warm up. Teach students about yarn, wool- teach them the vocabulary words, yarn , wool, rope, paper, glue ,gun. Show students an example of an art work.Tell the students to create line work ,but it must not curve or curl. They can only create vertical and horizontal lines. The lines may vary in length.

some students added pvc tape

for early finishers you can let them use pastel to draw lines

a finished work

a work in progress

just getting started

Line Project: A continuation: vertical and horizontal line- smaller project

Vertical and horizontal line-
Time Period 60 minutes
age : 5-9 yrs
 firstly review what the students have previously learnt- horizontal and vertical lines
You can teach them about classroom equipment . Download free flashcards from www.havefunteaching.com
Go through that
for this project you can show students an artwork by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian.Make sure to show several different ones.http://www.twitterevolutions.com/bgs/mondrian-twitter-background.jpg

Be sure to show different ones. Ask students to show you where the vertical and horizontal lines are


Materials
A2 or A3 size paper
Three primary colours, red, yellow and blue( it can either be acrylic based paint or pastels
Black oil pastel or black strips of cardboard paper
glue stick ( if students are going to paste black strips)
flat paint brush ( if students are going to paint)
paint tray or palette



  oil pastels blend better than crayons








  acrylic paint





paint brush





paint palette



 
 black strips of paper
Styrofoam cups are great for cleaning paint brushes -just add water
glue stick

Procedure: ask students to randomly draw vertical or horizontal lines with black pastel or paste the strips on paper . Then ask students to fill in those spaces with three primary colours anywhere they like. Be sure to tell them to colour in only one colour

Variation to lesson- if students are going to use paint - have students draw vertical and horizontal lines with pastel , then let them paint. For first time students show them how  to paint with a paint brush and explain to them it is not necessary to add or wet a paint brush too long with water- show an e.g on another piece of paper so  students can get the idea of what watery paint looks like.Wait for paint to dry or use a hair dryer. Then asks students to paste their black strips over the drawn black pastel lines.

Chinese New year lanterns-
Time :1-3 lessons depending on age
age: 5-9years

 since it was Chinese New year and the lantern festival celebration came up . I decided to incorporate this lesson  into a lantern making one.
We used the same materials as above  but instead of paper we used cardboard boxes or empty carton boxes. I let the students follow through with the same procedure .
Materials
 cereal box
(same materials as above)
glue gun
and
lantern




any kind of cereal box will do. If it's not white ,paint it white first . Make sure the box is flattened when students draw the vertical and horizontal lines and when they  fill in the spaces
.Use a scissors to let students cut out zigzag gaps.
Help students to put the box back together. Make sure to add a handle (use a glue gun).

 

.

The lantern light can be bought at a DIY or hardware store

P.S use recycle materials whenever you can. I collect empty tea cups, or Styrofoam cups ,rinse them out and use them. Whenever you buy something think about whether or not you can re use it in art class-start to build up a collection of recyclable or  re usable materials . You could of  course ask your students parents- however there will also be  some students' parents who forget to bring.If your students  are not from Asia you could also teach them story about lantern festival. Since mine  are from Taiwan , we didn't focus too much on the lantern festival since most students will have learnt about it at school or other English classes.

For younger kids you can use larger oil pastel sticks especially designed for their fingers.
If you have any left handers in your class-it's a good idea to invest in a pair of scissors designed for left handers too. It may be expensive but well worth the invest , minus a teacher's headache and a happy left hander who can cut.

left hand scissors

large oil pastel sticks

First Project line: straight lines/horizontal lines/vertical lines

Lesson 1 -straight lines ( this  project can be continued throughout the line module)
Time:60  minutes
age: 5+ years
Aim: Students will learn about line and the different types as well as create a continuous project.

What you will need:

• PVC tape in many different colours( This tape is easy to use and easy to remove)
• scissors (safety scissors) or a tape dispenser

• A room or space  where students  can tape their lines

• music

• camera

PVC tape

scissors

Tape dispenser

 Procedure
 To start off this lesson ,show artworks from  Hundertwasser and  various other artworks that contain line. Discuss the different types of line- horizontal, vertical, wavy , spiral etc.For ESL learners it's important to focus on  the vocabulary words and showing them artworks. You can of course role play  -show different examples of lines to students and ask them to name it or you can ask them to find different types of line you name from different pictures. You can variate this by asking  students to find different types of line  in the classroom or space where you teach.
Introduce the materials  we will be using for this lesson. Teach the names of each material. You can ask students to  recognize different colours if they know any. Talk about safety rules in the classroom and discuss the "Do" and "Don't" s in class.You can let students work  in groups or on their own. Once students finish taping an area you can ask them to swap or change it into a game similar to musical chairs - if the music stops , the students must relocate to a different spot.

Don't be afraid to let students explore any surface they want to create lines with.

Some older students got creative and created a hop scotch zone

Another variation  of Hop scotch.

A rocket.

Even walls have lines.

If at all possible ,let students explore line on furniture.

A unique design on the floor.

Don't forget to write the students' names.

 This is a lesson most students  enjoy . After class, document each work by writing their names on the PVC tape with a marker and don't forget to photograph it. With this class we  kept the lines on until the end of the line module or until whenever the tape came off  by itself.

A variation of this - you can also let students create their own street map
you'll need large sizes of paper ,preferably A0 size

have students work in groups and use pvc tape to tape the differen roads

when students are done you can ask them to paint between the open spaces