Art On A Shoestring

Art on a Shoestring Budget:
Making Affordable Art

at the Springville Museum of Art
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Contents
Artists & Artworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Drawing the Wire: beginning drawing lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Simple Lines: The Visual Vocabulary of Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Found Object Sculptures and Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Recycled Papermaking/Colored Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Painting with Crayons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Is it Good, Bad or Ugly? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Environment Mural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Fourth Graders Make Primitive Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 From Cheap to Chic: Inexpensive Costume Ideas for School Productions . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Drawing TreesSimple Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Life Size Self-Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Making Encaustic Pizza .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 One Minute Sculpture/ Two Minute Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 van Gogh Impasto Paintings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Paper Mch Puppets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Boogie Woogie Flow Grid .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Found Object Art: Sculptures by Deborah Butterfield and Tom Friedman . . . . . . . . . . 89 What Can You Do with Paper? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Pop Art with Faux Silk Screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Visual Culture Vinyl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Postcards from the Other Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 How to Shake the Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Some Possible Resources on a Shoestring Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
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Artists & Artworks
SPRINGVILLE MUSEUM OF ART IMAGES
Bird, Elzy J. Bill, Mt. Olympus (1935)
Elzy J. (Bill) Bird, Near Vine St. & 9th E. (1936)
Elzy J. (Bill) Bird, Near Millcreek Road (1936) 1
Carel Brest van Kempen, Lizard Relay: Jaguarundi with Green Iguanas and Banded Basilisks (1991)
George Wesley Browning, Wasatch Mountains in Early Spring (1921)
Jeanne Leighton-Lundberg Clarke, Entertaining Favorite Ladies II (1992)
Lou Jene M. Carter, Mostly Flowers (1993)
Cyrus E. Dallin, Bust of Emmaline B. Wells (1928)
James C. Christensen, Fantasies of the Sea (1985)
Cyrus E. Dallin, Jimbo (1928)
Alex B. Darais, Over Three Billion Served (1974)
John O. Erickson, Gethsemane: Self Portrait (1986)
H. Lee Deffebach, George II (1967)
Calvin Fletcher, Logan Baseball (1936)
Maynard Dixon, Road to the River: Mt. Caramel, Utah (1940)
Calvin Fletcher, Wash Day in Brigham City
Sharon Pearl Gray, A Well-Red Individual (1978)
John Hafen, Mountain Stream (1903)
Harrison Thomas Groutage, Integration (1959)
Thomas Sylvester Hoffman, Mini-Me (2001)
John Hafen, Hollyhocks (1909)
Fred J. Hunger, Morning-White, Shadows and Monoliths (1974)
Marion Roundy Hyde, Six and Seven/Eighths (1983)
Donald P. Olsen, Chelsea VI (1980)
Michael J. Mogus, Centurys End (1997)
Bonnie Gile Phillips, Whole wheat on Tuna (1981)
Hermann Dudley Murphy, Marigolds and Cosmos (1937)
Lee Greene Richards, Autumn Stream (1930)
Lee Greene Richards, Big Cottonwood Stream (1932)
Mahonri Mackintosh Young, Agriculture: The Farm Worker (1938) OTHER IMAGES
Paul Salisbury, Riders of the Range (1953)
Deborah Butterfield, Lucky (1996)
Dennis Von Smith, Keeper of the Gate (1989)
Deborah Butterfield, Vermillion and Willy
Deborah Butterfield, Woodrow (1988)
Marcel Duchamp, Fountain (1917)
Chinese Paper Cut 1
Albrecht Drer, Self-Portrait at 13 (1484)
Chinese Paper Cut 2
Albrecht Drer, Self-Portrait (1491-92)
Albrecht Drer, Self-Portrait at 21 (1493) and Albrecht Durer, Self-Portrait at 28 (1500) Fayum Funeral Portrait 2
G. Mark England, St. George (2000) Funeral Portrait 3
Fayum Funeral Portrait
Andy Goldsworthy, Cairn
Andrew Goldsworthy, Stone River (2001)
Jen Stark, Sedimentary [close up] (2008)
Andrew Goldsworthy, Tree in Wall
Jen Stark, Transfixed (2008)
Example of Traditional Scherenschnitte
Vincent van Gogh, Vase with 12 Sunflowers (1888)
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Lessons
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Art on a Shoestring Budget

Elementary Visual Arts Lesson by Joseph Germaine YOU CANT DRAW A HAND! You can grow a hand on the end of your arm. You can shake a hand. You can clap a hand. You can even punch something with a folded up hand, but you cant draw a hand. All anyone can do is draw lines, shapes, values, colors, and textures that may or may not remind you of what a hand looks like. No matter how well you draw itIt is still not a real hand. So, the best way to draw an interesting picture of a hand is to learn how to draw interesting lines, shapes, and textures. This is a lesson about drawing what you see.
Drawing the Wire: beginning drawing lesson
OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate an understanding of looking to see in the context of drawing by closely observing a non-objective wire design and accurately as possible rendering the wire line they are studying with pen on paper. MATERIALS Wire, Black Ballpoint Pen, and Copy Paper
My Wire, by Hannah, 5th grade
Lets spend a moment and discuss why pen and why pencil for drawing. Each has its own nuance and strengths and weaknesses. PENS: When using a ballpoint pen the student cant waste time trying to erase. A black pen line is easer to see on white paper. No time wasted in the chatty pencil sharpening line. No noise from the pencil sharpener. The teacher does not have to spend a whole prep period sharpening pencils. However, it is a little harder to learn to shade values with a pen (but it can be done) and pens might be a little less familiar and comfortable for some younger students. PENCILS: pencils are a little cheaper than pens (not much). If you actually
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use sets of calibrated, good drawing pencils, they are considerably more expensive than cheap ballpoint pens. The eraser that comes on the end of the traditional #2 or #2.5 traditional pencil suggests to young students that they should smudge around in an attempt to erase, and that they dont have to think first because the eraser can miraculously make all mistakes just disappear. Students become satisfied with that smudgy ugly smear left by erasers. Its easier to learn to shade gradients of value. However, all children are allowed access to pencils, so they are more familiar.
STATE CORE: Rainbow Chart: 2nd grade, Elements of Art, Line Design (repeating organic line). 3rd grade, Elements of Art, p.1, Line Design: (repeat lines to make organic patterns). 4th grade, Elements of Art, p. 1, Contour Line: (a drawn line that defines the edge of an object). 5th grade, Elements of Art, Blind Contour Line: (drawing when the observer looks only at the subject while drawing). 6th grade, Elements of Art, Structural Lines, (interior lines that show the objects unique construction).
eyes to focus on and study the specific details of the lines and shapes. This is an exercise in observation. IF YOU CAN SEE IT, YOU CAN DRAW IT! All you need for this exercise is a length of scrap flexible wire or (as I usually use) an old wire coat hanger carefully snipped open and bent with pliers. Be careful not to stab or cut yourself. I let the older students make the wire image. Use inexpensive copy paper and a ballpoint pen. This can be done with pencil or even fiber-tip pen.
PROCESS: Heres a fun, easy exercise for beginners of all ages. This is one of the first drawing exercises that I use with a new class for primary grades. It is non-threatening because the wire shapes are nonobjective abstract designs you cant really be critical of because no two can be exactly alike. The wire designs are interesting to the students because they are student created. Each student will have a different view and a different perspective. It is also a great exercise in hand-eye co-ordination because the wire doesnt look like anything except 3-dimensional lines and you cant revert to drawing what you think you know. Instead, you have to consistently use your
Bend the wire into any random, threedimensional shape you like. Try a variety of spirals, odd curves and irregular squiggles. With the coat hanger wire, once it has a few bends in it, you can easily reshape it. Try turning it around at different angles. Place these wire constructions on the table with students sitting around so that each student has a slightly different view of the object. I usually place them on a large sheet of white paper to help isolate them visually from the rest of the environment. Encourage students to look at and study the lines, the shapes the lines create, and the way they intersect each other to create new shapes that might only exist from one persons perspective. Give a lot of time for observing. Help students increase their focus time by having them follow the wire lines slowly with their eyes. After they have traced the line visually, it is time to draw. Try not to make the drawing look realistic. Just see it as a line in space. The drawings Bowdee and Matia constructing wire designs
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EXTENSIONS: Sometimes exercises are a bit unfulfilling for young students who see practice as somewhat punitive. An extension to the Wire Drawing Lesson would be to use the excise to complete a design by filling in the shapes and spaces with lines, colors, and textures. This would be an excellent Texture lesson if you have students invent different textures to put into some of the shapes in their drawing. Another interesting extension would be to have student screate wire sculptures other than abstract nonobjective forms. These also could be used for this drawing exercise. See examples of drawings on the next 2 pages.
Matias wire construction can be completely flat, or you can use line weight to create a sense of depth, by pressing harder to get a strong line as the wire comes toward you. Dont worry about shadows or highlights. All we are interested in is the line and shape of the wire. Keep the lines as continuous and relaxed as possible. Dont use short, sketchy, uncertain strokes. A flowing line that isnt perfect is better that a load of perfectly placed but tentative lines. (You can do several on a page of the same wire by moving students around the object or by having them move to different tables. ) Remember this is an exercise; it doesnt matter what the drawing looks like. Take your time and observe carefully. You are training your mind and hand to work together. You are training your brain to see specifically what your eyes are looking at.
Matia and Bowdee focusing on the wire
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SOURCES: Drawing For the Absolute and Utter Beginner, by Claire Watson. (used $10.00) Beginning Drawing for Young People, by Ralph Pereida and Lester Rosin. (used $4.22) Child Art: The Beginnings of Self Affirmation, by Hilda Lewis (used, $2.21)
Video: Getting to Know LINE in Art, (designed for K-5) Everyone Can LEARN to Draw, program 1 of 5, (curved lines and circles). Websites: www.gettingtoknow.com (free teachers guide available online)
Drawing the wire
The Sleeping Wire Laying Down, by Matia, 3rd grade
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Top left, The Wire by Bowdee, 5th grade
Bottom right, Standing Up, by Hannah, 5th grade
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Simple Lines: The Visual Vocabulary of Art
Elementary Visual Arts Lesson By Joseph Germaine If you can see it, you can draw it. OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate an understanding of the line and looking carefully to see detail by drawing the lines they find wiggling around in the palms of their own hands. UTAH VISUAL ARTS STATE CORE Rainbow Chart, Third Grade page 1. Elements of Art, Organic Line. MATERIALS Copy paper and black ballpoint pens or pencils PROCESS This lesson is much like the one in Betty Edwards Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I feel all right about using her lesson because she got it from The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study, by Kimon Nicolaides published back in the 1941. It is now in print again and in soft cover, and the best drawing instruction book I have ever used. Drawing is a kind of seeing. If you can see it you can draw it. We are making a serious distinction between Looking and Seeing. One looks with the eyes, but one sees with the brain. Too see means to understand. See what I mean? So I guess we should say, If you can understand it, you can draw it. The first step in seeing is looking, and successful looking takes practice and should start with the youngest of students. Detail from Trevor Southeys Brothers Keeper SMA
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If you want to learn to draw from life, you must learn to see it. Here is a little game we play to practice looking to see, and it doesnt cost a thing. It is called, I Spy With My Little Eye and just like the traditional game of the same name, a student is chosen to pick out an object in the room and then give hints as to the nature of the object. Other students get to guess, one at a time, what that object is. The difference here is that all the clues use elements of art such as line, shape, value, color, and texture. The winner is not the student who guesses correctly but the student who gives the best clues and has the least number of guesses because the clues are so good. Have students describe with one clue at a time, starting with line by naming the line they see in the object. Like, I spy with my little eye something with a curly wiggly line. Move on to the other elements because, obviously, few young students are going to guess on that first clue. The point is identifying
and describing the visual elements in the object they have chosen. No pointing in the game. The guesser has to use specific descriptive words and names when he or she makes a guess. This is all about developing an accurate descriptive vocabulary in the arts and training the eye to identify descriptive details.
The game is not the project. It is just a warm up for the drawing assignment. You can also direct students to scrunch up the palm of their hand just a little until the lines and wrinkles become more visible and then give a descriptive name to one of the wrinkles like crooked, straight, curved or wavy. Just isolating a line in the palm of their hand and focusing on it is a grand achievement for most very young students. Have students study their hand, observing the lines and wrinkles. Now give students black ballpoint pens and paper and without watching the paper or pen, have them try to reproduce the lines they see in the palm of their hand on the paper. Do not draw the contour shape of the hand or outline of the fingers. I never get too controlling about the dont look at the paper part, but try to get students to learn to spend their energy on closely observing the nature of their subject rather than the lines they have already drawn. When they have finished, have them compare the drawn lines with the lines in their hand. We are working for accurate
Kai, studying his hand. 5th grade observation and accurate reproduction. Repeat the exercise several times. Notice that each time a student does this project, the student will find new and interesting lines to observe and draw. This is a good way to learn to avoid the obvious.
Alyssa, looking to see. 2nd grade
This is in the Shoestring lessons because of the minimal cost of materials and because it is the foundation of all drawing from nature. I use inexpensive black ballpoint pens rather than pencils because it requires students to think a little before they put down a line and because they cant erase a pen line. In Betty Edwards book she encourages students not to use the symbolic left hemisphered naming of objects because there is a predisposition to symbolic rendering of the five digit glove, or as we say in our art class, It is a hand not five weenies and a hamburger. Instead of telling students to draw a picture of their hand, tell them to look at their hand until they can see it, and then to draw what they see. 20
My Hand 3rd drawing, by Kai, 5th grade My Hand 1st drawing, by Kai, 5th grade
EXTENSIONS: The obvious next lesson is to do contour and blind contour drawings of their hand, but contour is different from the internal lines in the hand and much more akin to texture drawing. SOURCES: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards and the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Video Another good resource for drawing is, Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth.
My Hand 2nd drawing, by Kai, 5th grade
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Found Object Sculptures and Photographs
Elementary Visual Arts Lesson by Joseph Germaine An important part of education, especially in the arts, is to model that art (or any subject) is not a thing that takes place exclusively in the school or the classroom. We dont use Math exclusively in a classroom, and we dont only read while we are at school; likewise, we need to extend the creative arts experience into our students real life. The main reason that we seldom send art homework home with the students is that the parents are insecure about the making of art and frequently will unteach art by demeaning the process or teaching short cuts and symbolic shorthand in art production such as stick figures and coloring book artwork. Like all adults, parents who are untrained in the production of visual art want to avoid the uncomfortable while maintaining credibility with their children. However, if we send projects home, we have the opportunity to put learning into our students whole lives and also have a chance to impact the parents art education. Be specific in your expectations. OBJECTIVE: Students will demonstrate an understanding of 3-dimensional composition by creating a found object sculpture of natural materials at home and then photographing the sculpture and bringing the photo to school.
Andrew Goldsworthy
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YSP_ goldsworthy_07-3.JPG C C A-S A 2.5
UTAH STATE VISUAL ARTS CORE Rainbow Chart: Fourth Grade: Elements of Art with definitions; Unity & Emphasis, page 3 & 4.
MATERIALS: Since this is a Home project there are no required materials. Some preparatory aides such as books and videos on Found Object sculpture are suggested. However, on a shoestring, they are not absolutely required. See Bibliography for a list of suggested visual aids.
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PROCESS: We should start with some background and insight into the world of Found Object sculpture and some instruction on the compositional principles of visual art. If your students dont know about principles of design, they wont bother using these ideas. Once they are exposed to these basic concepts, they will be willing and able to use them in their works of art. For this project we are looking at building
3-dimensional compositions made from natural found objects such as leaves, sticks, rocks and pebbles, plants and flowers, and any other found things including debris. Rather than finding them in nature, we want to reorganize these objects to compose a meaningful arrangement of visual elements using visual principles of art. It is a good idea to demonstrate in class by using natural found objects from the playground. I usually start by recruiting several students to compose something from found objects on the school grounds.
PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL DESIGN: Balance: Balance is the concept of visual equilibrium, and the idea relates to our physical sense of balance. It is a reconciliation of opposing forces in a composition that results in visual stability. Most successful compositions achieve balance in one of two ways: symmetrically or asymmetrically. Balance in a three-dimensional object is easy to understand; if balance isnt achieved, the object tips over. Stacking 3-dimensional objects is a terrific way to learn about visual balance.
Practicing in class with playground chips
Proportion: Proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the various elements in a design. The issue is the relationship between objects, or parts, of a whole. Rhythm: Rhythm can be described as timed movement through space; an easy, connected path along which the eye follows a regular arrangement of motifs. The presence of rhythm creates predictability and order in a composition. There are many variations of visual rhythm such as variation and repetition and gradation.
summarizes all of the principles and elements of design. It refers to the coherence of the whole, the sense that all of the parts are working together to achieve a common resulta harmony of all the parts. There are other principles of design composition such as contrast, variety, proximity, scale, movement, and pattern; but for young students I usually focus on balance, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, and unity. These principles are best learned by observation and exposure to their successful use in nature and in works of art. The written (memorized) recitation of definitions is not necessarily a successful way for students to learn competence in manipulating these design principles to communicate their own over riding visual intent. Notice that the expense in this project is only the reusable media such as books and videos and images. Most of that information, including images, can be found for free on the internet, in media centers and Public Libraries.
Emphasis: Emphasis is also referred to as point of focus or center of interest. It marks the locations in a composition that most strongly draw the viewers attention. Usually there is a primary, or main point of emphasis, with perhaps other secondary emphases in other parts of the composition. Unity: Unity is the underlying principle that
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In my class, we do this project as a response to Andrew Goldsworthys work and photographs. Some discussion about competent photography and the difference between an Art photograph and a family snapshot is important. Most people think that the camera takes the picture. This is not true in art photography. The artist takes the picture and uses the camera as a tool to render the idea 2-dimensionally. As with all homework assignments, there will always be some students who dont play. I use the exhibition incentive as a carrot to get students
A finished stack with coke can
A Flower of Flowers by Claire, 4th grade
Below, Ring Around the Rocksies, by Sarah, 3rd grade
on board. We display the student photographs in the Main Hall Gallery at our school, and it has become a Fall and Spring tradition. If you have students who just dont get to it or dont have access to a camera, let them do this project with material from the playground and use a school camera. It is also possible to have students bring in their found object assemblage and avoid the whole issue of photography.
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EXTENSIONS Any thematic home photography project can be used. Make sure that there is a learning window in the project because if not, you will get a lot snapshots of pets and friends without any sense of composition or meaningful photographic content. Some discussion about what makes a photograph interesting is necessary. Not only does the sculpture need to make good use of the principles of design, but so does the photographer. Some interesting thematic photographic projects to be done at home are Winter or Spring photos. SOURCES Here are some books and videos by Andrew Goldsworthy, who is a preeminent environmental and nature sculptor and photographer. (Three images on the CD included in the packet) Wall by Andrew Goldsworthy, used at Amazon for under $8.00. Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature, by Andrew Goldsworthy. Time, by Andrew Goldsworthy. Wood, by Andy Goldsworthy. Video: Andy Goldsworthys Rivers & Tides. This is an excellent film that can be purchased from Amazon used for under $6.00 and can be rented from some video stores.
Goldsworthy working, nga.gov public domain If you have photoshop, you can also make copies by right clicking on the image, choosing copy from the drop-down menu, creating a new file in Photoshop, and pasting the image. Then flatten the image under Layer. The image cam be saved as a jpg, so its not too big a file but is a good quality. Another good Andy Goldsworthy site is http:// archlandscapes.com/2009/inspiration/12/andygoldsworthy/
Andrew Goldsworthy websites: For free image downloads try: wikimedia.org/ walk/Category: Andy Goldsworthy If you would like to make a bigger print or adjust the photograph, just click on the image and a larger version will come up. If you want to drag it into iPhoto so you can adjust it, enlarge it and print it as photo quality, just drag the free image onto your desktop; then drag it into iPhoto and use the adjustments. Of course, this assumes that you have a computer and a decent printer. I got my printer as a gift from the PTA. Let them know what you need and how you are going to use it. If you will just do a Google search for Andrew Goldsworthy, you will come up with dozens of sites, many with free downloads. You can always use the school digital projector to get very large images.
Other found object sculptors to look up online are Michelle Salrin Stitzlein at, http://www.artgrange. com/HTML/foundobjectsculpture.html. She does elegant butterflies from found objects. Zach Pine at, homepage.mac.com/zpine Look up Nemo Gould (animal sculptures) and Jim Shores (faces and masks).
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Left, Andy Goldsworthy, Stone River http://godutchbaby.blogspot.com/2009/03/stoneriver-by-andy-goldsworthy.html image used by permission
The photograph below does not exactly meet the criteria for the assignment, but it does show some creative thinking. Both little girls are former students at our school.
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Recycled Papermaking/Colored Paper
ElementarySecondary Visual Arts Lesson by Joseph Germaine Have any of you teachers noticed how often our classrooms are used for advertising? Nearly every day I pass out handouts to be sent home with students. While some of the handouts have to do with school business and issues, most of the handouts are advertising all kinds of extracurricular activities, places to eat and play, and vacations and sales. When I think of the expense of paper in my art program for over 700 students, I wish that I The Diamond Sutra of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, the oldest dated printed could confiscate that paper for book in the world, found at Dunhuang, from 868 CE. art projects. Several years ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ I figured out that many of those handouts end up in the trash or Desert Industries. I have never paid more that on the playground. I started saving the throw-aways for recycling. It dawned on me that all those $6.00 for one, usually less), mulch screen (The beautifully colored papers might be used as paper mulch screen is called a deckle, which is also the name of the ragged edge of hand made paper. The mulch for a wide variety of art projects. This is deckle can easily be made from window screen just one. (D.I. As Is Dept.) and scraps of wood about 2 x 2. It is okay to tack or staple the screen to the OBJECTIVE wood. An old picture frame works well as the Students will demonstrate an understanding of papermaking and color compositions by recycling wooden frame. Make the frame about the size you want the finished paper to be. I use a range colored paper into simple pictures made from of sizes from about 4 x 6 to 24 square), white colored recycled paper mulch. glue (liquid starch will do) and canvas or felt, a sponge and a heavy rolling pin. You will also MATERIALS Throwaway paper, water, a blender (I have always need a plastic washtub or basin large enough to immerse the frame. used the heaviest duty blender I could find at 29
UTAH STATE VISUAL ARTS CORE Rainbow Chart, 3rd grade, pg. 3, Refine/ Contribute: Create an abstract painting. Fifth grade, page 1, Refine/Contribute: Create a distorted work of art.
PROCESS The invention of handmade paper in about 105 A.D. is credited to the Chinese artist, Tsai Lun. This paper is not to be confused with Egyptian papyrus. Ancient methods of making pulp often consisted of boiling vegetable fibers with lye. Today, handmade paper is often considered an art form with examples of cast and manipulated paper seen in art galleries around the world. The first step is to collect the discarded paper and organize it into colors. I use boxes for color bins. White is one of the colors. Students collect paper from other teachers. We collect so much paper that this ongoing project became a recycling project for the whole school until other teachers started doing the paper-making process in their own class. I love when that happens!
Keep the wet pulp in a plastic container or plastic bag until ready to use. A handful of pulp in a dishpan full of water is adequate to make a few sheets of paper approximately 4 by 6 . Students could work in groups to prepare the vat of pulp. When the pulp is in the dishpan, stir it up to disperse the pulp evenly. Add 2 or 3 teaspoons of liquid starch or white glue for sizing. Place the screened frame into the bottom slurry with the flat back side up. Level it out while it is submerged and gently wiggle it side-to-side until the pulp on top of the screen looks even. Slowly lift the screen up out of the water. Let most of the water drain out of the sheet of paper. The thickness of the paper depends on the amount of pulp in the slurry.
Have students do the preparation. After sorting the paper into colors, students should select the color or color and texture blends they Pulling the screen from the paper mulch want. Students should then tear the paper into small pieces about 1 by 1 When the screen stops dripping, gently place inches square. These scraps should be torn, not on edge on the side of a square of fabric (felt or cut. Put a half dozen of these into a blender with canvas of flannel). Gently ease the mold down a pint or two of water. This will grind the paper flat, with the paper directly on the fabric. Use a scrap into a very wet slushy pulp. Try blending sponge to press out as much water as possible. it to pureed slurry or loosely to a rough texture Hold the fabric square flat, and slowly lift the of larger chunks. Pour the watery pulp through a edge of the screen. The wet sheet of paper should wire screen sieve before blending the next batch. remain on the fabric. If it sticks to the screen, you It is possible to blend about a gallon of pulp in may have pulled too quickly or not pressed out less than half an hour. You can also blend large enough water. It takes a little practice. You can quantities of pulp by using an 18-inch paintgently press out bubbles or loose edges at this mixing extension on the end of an electric drill. point. This is the procedure for making a sheet of 30
paper, but we are now going to build an image on this background by using colored pulp and thinly smearing it and placing it in the appropriate places to create the desired image. Avoid tight, detailed images as this medium lends itself to a looser, freer application. When the image is done to the artists satisfaction, place another piece of material over it and roll it down flat with the rolling pin. Start lightly and increase pressure as the water squeezes out of the image. And voila! There you have a paper pulp image ready to dry by hanging on a clothesline or flat on a sheet of newspaper. When it is dry, frame it, and exhibit the handmade paper artworks.
Either set up a corner of your room for paper making, with small work groups, or use the entire room for paper making for short periods of time. The students will begin to use their imaginations only after understanding the basic process, so allow time and experience for experimentation.
The Book Cover, by Jesse, 4th grade
Color is created by the dye in the colored paper you are using. You can augment this color by adding dye or colorants to the slurry to intensify or mix the colors. Feel free to experiment with various colorants such as food coloring, tempera paint, or batik dyes. To keep the slurry from molding or rotting and creating an unpleasant odor, add a about a cup of rubbing alcohol to the vat.
The Eagle, by Landon, 3rd grade 31
EXTENSIONS This paper mulch can be used to create direct additive sculptures. It does not stand up well so use wood or wire armatures. The wet mulch can also be put into any kind of mold and it will take on the form of the mold. Try using simple Jell-O molds or making ceramic press molds, or even plaster molds.
This paper, after being flattened and dried, can be used for printmaking or for book covers in a bookmaking project. Try adding other materials to the mulch or laying materials on the surface of the wet paper such as leaves, grass, colored pencil shavings, and flower petals. Try some other kinds of recycled paper such as newspaper, magazines (National Geographic), egg cartons, toilet paper (not recycled), brown paper bags, non-waxed boxes (pre-soak in warm water), wrapping paper, tissue paper, napkins, construction paper, and so on. Use your imagination. SOURCES Paper, Handmade Style, by Jeanette Bakker, Jill Elias and Helen Roberts Hill. The Papermakers Companion, by Helen Hiebert (used for $9.00). The Art & Craft of Handmade Paper (used for $1.00). The Complete Book of Papercraft, by Lynne Garner (new $8.95, used $1.00)
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper. html has links to videos
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Painting with Crayons
Elementary Visual Arts Lesson By Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVES Students will explore mark and line making with crayons and will use some of the kinds of marks and lines they discover in a landscape painting. Students will also incorporate the color of their piece of construction paper in their painting. Students will discuss artworks and look for specific qualities in those artworks. Students will use problem-solving skills in a variety of decisions as they make their artwork. (You may also choose to incorporate some of the specific skills and ideas listed in the Rainbow Chart section below.) UTAH STATE VISUAL ARTS CORE Rainbow ChartElements of Art: K: Line, Color, Art Criticism. 1st : Line, Organic Line, Organic shapes, Art Criticism, Color, Unity. 2nd: Characteristics of line, Organic shapes. 3rd: Contour line, Organic line, Texture, Aesthetics. 4th: Contour line, Characteristics of line, Implied texture, Art Criticism. 5th: Unity, Organic shapes, Value, Art Criticism. 6th: Contour lines, Cross contour lines, Unity, Value. All ages, Increased skills.
E. J. Bird, Mount Olympus SMA crayons, you may have to choose lighter colored paper. Copy paper for planning Pencils
MATERIALS Images of E. J. Birds Conte crayon artworks from the CD, preferably, made into overhead transparencies To the teacher: Often, elementary students Crayons (Crayolas Construction Paper use crayons only to create solid areas of color, Crayons are particularly nice, but regular usually within lines on a photocopied design. If crayons work too) encouraged to explore, students will discover that Colored construction paper: 1 full sheet per crayons can make a variety of interesting kinds of student and some sheets of differing marks and lines. These marks can create feeling colors. If you dont have construction paper of a painting, hence the title of the lesson. 33
Show the class at least 2 examples of E.J. Birds work from the 3 on the CD. Ask the students to identify as many kinds of lines and marks as they see. Also ask them to look at how Bird has used the color of the paper as a main color in his paintings. (Bird used Conte crayons, which provide more control than regular crayons, but sharpened crayons can make similar marks.) You may also want to tell the students a little about the artist (see artist Biography, at the end of the lesson). Pass out the small pieces of paper and ask the students to see how many kinds of marks and lines they can make. If students need help with ideas, you can ask the class for ideas. Students can then look at their marks and lines and identify ways they might use the different kinds of marks in a painting. For example, what kinds of marks might work best for grass, or trees, or look like wood, or the sky, or dirt? Which kinds of marks have energy and which are peaceful and calm? What happens when all your marks go in the same direction, in different directions? You can have this discussion as a class or in small groups.
Pass out the planning paper and have students fold the paper into 4 planning spaces by folding in half one direction and then in half the other. Have students make a sketch of a landscape, using techniques you have learned, or teach a few of these techniques as a prelude to this lesson. For example, use of overlapping shapes, greater detail in close objects, objects in the foreground (the front) are bigger. Students should think about which way they want to orient their paper, vertically, or horizontally. When students have chosen their best sketch, they should choose the color paper they want to use. If possible, let them each have 1 full sheet and a sheet in their chosen color. The sheet is for trying out ideas as they work on the painting. Having chosen the color for the background, they should identify places on their sketch they particularly want the paper color to show through. Students may want to look again at Birds work to see how he has used the color
A 5-year-olds ideas for lines and marks. If this is the response youre getting, make all kinds of marks on the boardat this point, copying is not the issue, you want the students to develop a rich visual vocabulary of mark making. of the paper as an integral part of the drawings. As they work on their landscapes, remind them to occasionally glance at their experiments with mark making to see if a particular kind of mark is suitable for part of their drawing.
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You may want to have the students draw a border around their paper. Bird drew his freehand, but students could use rulers instead. Students should first lightly sketch in the major shapes of the landscape with a darkish crayon or with colors that work with the particular part of the design. Then students should begin to color the painting with a variety of marks that help to convey the texture, shape, and sense of the objects in their drawings.
You may find it helpful to give the students a list of criteria they must meet in order to be finished with their painting. The following list is one possibility: 2 small sheets in different colors with lots of kinds of marks on them 1 planning sheet with 4 sketches Border drawn around paper Landscape that fills the area within the border 6 kinds of marks Background color shows through in some places Have students write a label to go with their artwork that has their name, the title of the work, and a comment about how they have used crayons in the painting.
Display the finished works in an appropriate area of the school. ASSESSMENT Young students should be given credit for completing the assignment when they meet all the criteria. Older students can use the criteria as a checklist for formative assessment, and self-assess the quality of the work using a form similar to the following: I completed these parts of the assignment: _______ 2 small sheets in different colors with lots of kinds of marks on them _______ 1 planning sheet with 4 sketches _______ Border drawn around paper _______ Landscape that fills the area within the border _______ 6 kinds of marks _______ Background color shows through in some places _______ I used marks in a way that made my painting interesting _______ I used 3 techniques to show distance _______ My painting looks different from everyone elses _______ My painting has variety and unity
VARIATION FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS Show the students the artworks and tell them a little bit about the artist (see the brief bio, below). You may also want to show them the image on the CD from the childrens book, How Do Bears Sleep? (The image is not listed in Artists & Artworks, but is in alphabetical order on the CD.) Explain that they are going to learn how to use crayons like an artist would. Give the students small sheets of paper and let them practice making different kinds of short lines as a way of applying the crayon. Have them try going first all the same way (see example 1). You can even sing about it: This is the way we draw our lines, or color our pictures, or draw like artists. Then, if the students seem to have mostly mastered that skill, have them make lines going one direction, and then another. Have them use their new skills in a landscape or a drawing of their own choosing. Artist Biography Elzy Jay Bill Bird (1911-2001) is a Utah artist who painted with oils, watercolors, conte crayons, made prints, cartoons and drew architectural drawings (buildings). He studied art with several Utah artists and then went to California to study more. He wrote and illustrated childrens books, including How Do Bears Sleep? Bird worked as an animation artist at Walt Disney Studio and participated in several government programs such as the Public Works of Art Project, as well as a time as director for the Utah Federal Art Project. He had artworks exhibited at the New York Worlds Fair and in many other places, including at the Springville Museum of Art.
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Is it Good, Bad or Ugly?
Elementary Art & Science By Vicki Gehring OBJECTIVE Students will evaluate how their actions and lifestyle impact their environment and have a creative experience turning something undesirable into a work of art that reflects the things they have learned.
Utah State Visual Arts Standard 3: choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas
MATERIALS 2pieces of cardboard about 2 x 3 glue green & black paint trash and litter the students have collected an image of Alex Darais painting or SWAP poster, Over Three Billion Served(included on the CD)
Alex Darais, Over Three Billion Served (1974) SMA on the ground instead of putting it in its proper place? 5. Has this activity made them more aware of their own actions? 6. Do they think they will change their behavior?
THE LESSON Part 1 Give the students an assignment to bring a grocery bag to school and for the next week collect whatever trash and litter they see coming to and from school. (If the students ride a bus, ask them walk around the school grounds before and after school to collect it.) *Have an aesthetic discussion about this experience. 1. How do they feel about finding trash in their neighborhood? 2. Do they think litter makes things more or less attractive? Why? 3. Do they have any ideas about how to solve this problem? 4. Why do they think people throw trash
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Part 2 Discuss biodegradable and non-biodegradable and have the students investigate the different effects the things in each category have on the environment. Have the students sort the trash/litter they have collected into these two categories. Have a discussion about going green, and have the students investigate what people and companies are doing to make things more environmentally friendly.
Show: The print or an image of Over Three Billion Served Have the students identify what is in the picture Tell them the title of the artwork Have them express their ideas about why the artist created the artwork Ask if they see any symbolic images Let them talk about how they feel about what they think the artist is saying
The Project The students are going to create two symbolic collages. On one piece of cardboard, the students are going to make an interesting arrangement of the things in the biodegradable category and on the other piece of cardboard a collage of the nonbiodegradable stuff. They will then securely glue everything to the cardboards. (It is important that the arrangement of items be attractive before being glued down.) The biodegradable collage will then be painted green, and the non-biodegradable collage painted black. Discuss why the biodegradable collage is being painted green and why the other is being painted black.
ASSESSMENT Have the students become more environmentally aware? Have they made any changes in their own behavior? Do they understand the difference biodegradable and non-biodegradable items have on the environment? Have they become aware of how art is sometimes used to express feelings or ideas? Did they want to share their artwork with others and explain its meaning? VARIATION Secondary: Explore the works of artists such as Rosalie Gascoinge, HA Schult, Robbie Rowlands
Have the students decide what name or title they will give each of the collages, and make a label for each. Display the art. EVALUATION Discuss the origin of the trash on each collage, (Who made it?) and how the students obtained it. Ask the students if they have a clear or better understanding of their (peoples) impact on the environment? Discuss how they feel about making something undesirable into a work of art. How do feel about the statement the artwork makes, and do they think it will make other people more aware of their influence on the environment?
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Environment Mural
Elementary Visual Arts Lesson by Vicki Gehring OBJECTIVE Students will work collectively to create a class mural that portrays an environment or habitat they have been studying. UTAH STATE CORE STANDARDS Science 1st Standard 2, Objective 1 2nd grade Standard 4- objective 1 3rd grade - Standard 2- objective 1 4th grade- Standard 3 Objective 3 5th grade Standard 5- objective 2 Visual Arts 6th Grade Standard 3objective 2a
Carel Brest van Kempen, Lizard Relay: Jaguarundi with Green Iguanas and Banded Basilisks (1991) SMA of the Gate, Lizard Relay, or any other work of art that reflects the environment or habitat the students will be creating in their mural. Name all the things in the picture. Discuss all the things the artist has done to create this environment, including the use of color and the arrangement of the items in the picture. Tell the class they are going to create a mural that portrays the environment they have been studying (make sure they know what a mural is), and have them list the things that will need to be in the mural to reflect this environment or habitat. (Make sure they include the sky and everything that is important to the animals or people in the environment such as food, shelter/ houses, power poles, roads, climate, etc.) 39 Divide the class into committees or groups to create the following components of the mural:
MATERIALS A long table, butcher paper, drawing paper, pencils, scissors, glue, markers and/or paint
THE LESSON Have a discussion about the environment or habitat that the class has been studying by asking the following questions: What are the physical components of this environment? (Mountains, water, trees, rocks, sand, grass, etc.) How do these things affect the climate or are affected by the climate? What is the connection between the environment and the kinds of people and/or animals who live there? Show whichever picture from the Springville Art Museum Collection is the most appropriate for your project: Integration, Fantasies of the Sea, Mountain Stream, Riders of the Range, Keeper
Background committee to create the sky, mountains, foreground, or ocean and sand, or whatever is needed for the foundation of the environment. Vegetation committee to create the trees, grass, seaweed, etc. Shelter or house committee Animal or people committee Whatever misc. committees that are needed The members of each committee will work together to draw or create their parts of the mural using whichever media is the most appropriate. The Project Cut a piece of butcher paper to fit the size of the table. (Use white or choose a color that will fit the background.) If the environment has mountains, cut a second piece of paper the length of the table for the background committee to use to cut out the mountains. Have the other committees use whatever colors of butcher paper will work for their assignments. The students should cut out the shapes of the items theyre making, and use the markers to draw the details. The animal and people and the house/shelter committees will use drawing paper for their assignments and cut out their drawings after they are colored. The misc. committee can use whichever paper is appropriate.
Before the students start their projects, discuss the size of the mural and the proportions of the objects each group will be putting on it. If necessary, have this discussion again before the students glue anything on the mural.
Two options for finishing the mural: 1. Hang the mural up and, as a class, decide where to place the other objects. 2. Have each committee take turns placing their objects on the mural, starting with the background committee, then the vegetation committee, and ending with the animal or people committee. Then hang up the mural. ASSESSMENT Evaluate how the mural reflects the environment or habitat the students have been studying. See if the class members can explain how each component of the environment works together, and why each is necessary.
Discuss the experience of working in committees and how that influenced the appearance or outcome of the mural. Discuss the advantages and/or disadvantages of doing a class mural as opposed to each person doing his or her own drawing.
Display the mural in the hall and ask the students to take the opportunity to explain or discuss the mural with other students not in their class.
http://www.deq.state.va.us/info/esound/2008.01.html 40

Fourth Graders Make Primitive Instruments
Elementary Level by Korin Ross OBJECTIVES Students use measurement to create tube drums Grades 4-6
CORE Standard 4 objective 1a (Grade 1 Standard 2 2b) (Grade 2 standard 2 3a) Extension lessons include Social Studies 4th grade Native American culture. (We included music from other primitive cultures as they are similar e.g. I am from Africa and I had to include African Drumming and music of course.) We included some Latin music with Guiros and drums. We also made maracas out of paper mache gourds and dowel sticks. Using poetry and cultural songs in literature. Younger grades could do word wall rhythms, patterns, and tap and drum vowels and consonants respectively. (Grade 2 standard 2 objective 1. Patterns) Writing lessons include sequencing and poetry rhythms, raps and other chants for all grade levels. We had a concert and children wrote invitations to the event and a newspaper article after the event. Music rhythms could be used to learn about fractions, ie. demonstrating the number of beats in a bar using various notes and separating out note values to equal a bar, or a whole note. (Grades 4-6 standard 1 objective 2) (I am not musical. I am sure people who know how to read and or play music will be able to really extend and have fun with these ideas.)
Joseph DeSantis, Head of a Negro Dancer (1930) SMA MATERIALS Drums: Concrete tube forms available at Home Depot or Lowes each makes 2-3 drums. ($12) These are available in 8inch, 10inch, and 12 inch diameters. I used 12- and 10-inch forms. Some drums we made taller, until we realized that we could save money and get 3 out of 1 tube. Smaller children manage these shorter drums better, although the different sizes do give a lovely variation of sound. Dowel sticks: The dowels at Home Depot are longer than those at Wal-Mart; I think between 8 and 12 inches long, and about inch in diameter or slightly smaller. (Use whatever you can get.) I had a
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parent donate some he had laying around the garage.) ($1) Wooden embroidery hoops 2 per drum (available at craft stores, 2 hoops $3). Fret saw to cut embroidery hoops and dowel sticks. Gorilla glue. Clamps, about 12 needed. Pencil Tape measure Pack cloth, available online at Beacon Fabrics (google pack cloth for other sources, $10 per yard). Duct tape($3) (Compressor and stapler if available) Fabric or large sheets of paper for skin Paint / brushes Decorations (feathers, etc. Be creativeI even used woven basket strips). Hot glue gun Model magic for drumstick head Sharp Stanley Knife to cut tubes (Strong adult person needed to cut the tubes)
A teacher on a budget (arent we all?) could make a few each year. This works because of the group effort and children could take turns playing the drums. This is also effective if you have other instruments available like the maracas or rhythm sticks. I wrote a grant and purchased the materials for the drums and purchased other primitive instruments with the money. (Music in Motion catalog.)
Making the Drums Divide students into groups of 3. Depending on age and ability divide the tube length 36 inches into 3 sections of 12 inches. (For taller drums divide into 2 eighteen inch sections). Children measure from the end of the tube and draw a small line every about four inches. Connect the small lines to create a ring around the drum. Repeat on other end for 3 drums. (Have an adult cut on the line.) The adult should check the measurements to ensure for accuracy or the drum will be crooked. I had my fourth graders use the saw to cut the embroidery hoop open. Clamp it inside the open rim of the tube. Measure and cut off excess. Place
a small amount of gorilla glue inside the rim and clamp the hoop to fit snugly. We often had to add a tiny piece of wood so the edges fit tightly or the rim will bend when you pull the fabric tight. A second hoop may be glued over the first for added sturdiness after the first hoop is dry. (Gorilla glue expands, so do not use too much). I allow 24 hours for the glue to dry before removing clamps.
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While the drum is drying, I had the students begin on the drum skin. I used black butcher paper. I had the students draw even distanced lines along the width of the paper; teach parallel lines. You can require certain distances for patterns. Example; from the edge draw a line eight inches wide. From this first line draw a line two inches away running parallel, then eight, then two, and so on. I had students use Native American symbols to create patterns in the lines. (Social Studies 4th grade)
Management: I give each child one color of paint and a paintbrush. Children collaborate to create these designs. (Will you please put some yellow dots between this pattern?) No one is allowed to touch another persons color. This prevents mess and keeps the colors pure. At the same time it builds community. I laminate the skins when they are dry.
Measure and cut the pack cloth. I cut it 12 inches longer than the diameter. A ten-inch drum will use a 22- inch square of pack cloth. Once again, children measure, and the adult checks the measurement. You can use permanent marker to draw the lines. Children cut the pack cloth. Each child measures and cuts for their own drum. I have four children help to stretch the pack cloth on the drum. Each child pulls 2 opposite ends, to prevent the cloth from being pulled off on one side. Adult uses duct tape to secure the cloth. The adult secures one side and glues and or staples the pack cloth stretching it as much as possible all the way round. Allow glue to dry and use clear tape to add the skin.
Drumsticks Children measure and divide the dowel stick, (usually about 3 sticks per dowel.) Older children saw the sections off. It is interesting to teach the children how to use a small saw. A small amount of Model Magic, a little smaller than a ping-pong ball, is formed into a ball on the tip of the dowel. These may be glued on later. When this is dry children paint or wrap on a small piece of soft leather or fabric with a rubber band or string in case the clay cracks. Children can tap on drums with their handsa different sound is created. Children can use the sticks to tap on the edge of the drum for a wonderful variation of sound. We glued feathers around the drumstick heads to make them look primitive. Some of the children made headbands with feathers to add to the ambiance.
Once the drums are made they may be used for several years. Average cost per drum less than $20 once you have clamps, glue etc. The pack cloth is the most expensive part, so shop around for a good price.
ASSESSMENT The assessment has to be ongoing for a good product. Because these drums need so much adult supervision, the assessment is easy. (I assemble only one or two drums a day.) This takes a long time overall but only actually takes a few minutes each day. I like to make a drum for each student and one extra for the teacher.
The girls in the back row have shorter drums; the taller ones are in the front played by the boys.
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Measurement is graded according to independent accuracy. Overall accuracy A Needs prompting B Needs intervention C. A separate art/music grade could be assigned. I usually dont assign the art or music grades and if I do, it is just a participation grade.
One of the boys demonstrates the Talking Drum, an African drum that has strings that are depressed and released to create many variations of sound. Notice the quaint curved drum-stick. The tube drums you can see here have been covered with a leopard skin patterned fabric and string is glued on for the decorative primitive look.
Notice the leaders in the front, facing the children. They are asking questions and the rest of the students reply. (Our version of talking drums.) This will be demonstrated for teachers. Notice the children tilt the drums forward. This is for easy access and allows the sound to escape.
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The girls in the back row are playing the maracas that they made. The boys are playing the tube drums. They are playing the Utah Indian song, (Fourth Grade curriculum).
This is a close-up of one of the drums for the patterns that were created. Notice the bear footprint in the top left of the boys shoulder.
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The girls sing an African Litany about a Thunderstorm (Weather-fourth grade science curriculum.)
Notice some of the other primitive instruments in the background
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From Cheap to Chic
Inexpensive Costume Ideas for School Productions, grades K-12 By Lisa Bean Focus: Inexpensive Costuming Ideas (particularly for low budget grade school productions)
Intro One of the first questions a student actor asks when told of an upcoming school production is What will my costume be like? This enthusiasm for wearing a costume is universal, and is seen across all ages. Costumes help the performer get into his or her part, and make the performance more exciting for actor and spectator alike. Costumes are just plain fun, and for many, the more elaborate, the better! However, most schools have severely limited or even no budget for costuming. Thats when directors and teachers must find creative alternatives. The following are some tried and true solutions which have worked for me as Ive directed numerous low and no budget student productions.
Basic Black Have your performers wear all black: black shirts, black pants. Almost everyone has a black shirt or tee, and most have black jeans, dress slacks or skirts. When you have students provide their own basic black, you create a quick and inexpensive look which makes a strong, unified Jeans and statement. Since most students have logos on A variation on the basic black idea is to have their tee shirts, have them turn the tees inside performers wear jeans and either a white shirt out. Its not perfect, but it works. When a student or colored tees. This look is more casual, but can tells me he doesnt have black pants, I invite him still help unify the production visually. to wear the darkest pants he owns. Its usually Simple accessories, such as a tie, a hat, a pair of dark enough to create the unified look. It is also glasses, an umbrella can complete the look, and easy to pick up super-inexpensive black tees and give emphasis where needed. 47
pants at yard sales or thrift shop; that way you have a few items on hand to supplement those who have nothing black in their home closets. When you add a simple prop or accessory to basic black it really stands out, and helps communicate the essence of the character to the performers and the audience.
No-Sew Tunics and Shoulder Drapes This is one of my favorite inexpensive costuming solutions, perhaps because it provides so much color, or perhaps because it is so quick and easy. The idea is simple: drape fabric over and around the actor. Fabric can be draped over the shoulder like a wide sash, or cut to be placed over the head and worn like a poncho or tunic. To make a short tunic, purchase one to one and a half yards of fabric (using standard 45 wide material). Fold the fabric into quarters (folding in half once lengthwise, then the other direction once widthwise). Cut a three inch semi-circle on the double-folded corner. For a larger head, you may need to make a small slit down the back. Use pinking shearers or apply Fray Check (a fabric glue) to prevent fraying. To make a longer tunic, use two to three yards of fabric. Long tunics can be secured with scarves, old belts, rope, ties or cut lengths of fabric (strips of tricot are easy). Large and small safety pins can hold folds and tucks into place. Have plenty on hand. Hats and Headbands Commercially produced hats can cost quite a bit, but when added slowly and judiciously to a directors wardrobe collection can be utilized for a great costuming effect. Keep an eye out for the unexpected hat to be found at yard sales and thrift shops. More likely, however, is the headwear that is made for the production. These can come from several sources, such as inexpensive baseball caps, paper bags and lightweight cardboard. Baseball cap bills can serve as animal snouts or bird beaks. When turned backwards, caps may serve as a base for rounder-headed animals, to which is attached eyes, ears, antennae, whiskers, etc. Paper bag hats can be made by rolling the edge down about the length of the bag, then crushing the bag into the desired shape, taping and spray painting it. Headbands made from tagboard (cut into 2-3 wide strips, then stapled specifically the actors head circumference) can have feathers, flowers and designs attached or drawn. Even paper plate character faces can be placed above the actors own faceindicating character,
but still allowing the actors facial expressions to be seen.
Thrift Store Treasures Sometimes a teacher/director will happen upon unusual items at a thrift store or yard sale. I once came upon a dozen or so vests at a thrift shop. They were each different, one made out of burlap, another with a design of jewels on it, oriental flowers, solids, fancy embroidery, ruffles, etc. At only $3 a vest, I couldnt pass them up. I bought them all. They have more than made up for my initial outlay of cash. Ive used them over and over again. Be on the lookout for the unexpected. Your directors sense will tell you when to make the purchase for future use. I have found vests, aprons, shawls and capes to be highly useful under many costuming situations. I store them in clear plastic bins.
Dollar and Party Stores, after-holiday sales Dollar stores sometimes carry party hats or other accessories that nicely fit a low-budget production. Many party supply stores carry costume hats that are far less expensive than their real counterparts. Going to department stores the day after Halloween is a great time to pick up costumes for as much as 75% off.
Accessories Sometimes a simple accessory is all the costuming needed. What is the essence of the character, and could a single prop or accessory define that essence? It might be a bowtie, a flashy bracelet, a whistle, golf club, briefcase, book, ladle, handbag, hairbrush, iPod, broom, watch, or a wallet. Whatever it is, the well-chosen accessory or prop can communicate character and purpose to the actor and his/her audience. Specific Costumes For Elizabethan looks: shortened trousers (cut off just below the knee and cinched with a safety pin or button) and an adult-size white collared shirt, belted and/or vested can effectively communicate another time period. Roll the sleeves to the right length and secure with a safety pin. Put a belt on over the shirt and let the tail hang out below. Long skirts paired with ladies blouses can
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substitute for period dresses. Pirate dresses/ blouses work.
For Colonial looks: use the same as above, but tuck the white shirt in and add a vest. Mid 1800s: wear long pants, and flip the white shirts collar up. Use a long fabric piece (2 wide, a yard long) to make a large bowtie. Pioneer: Cut off the collar, and pair with suspenders. For the girls: add a bonnet and shawl. Remember to Ask for HELP Some parents love to help with play production, and you may even find a willing costumer among them. Most parents care what kind of costume their child has, so dont be afraid to ask for what you envision. Send notes home, and ask for what you need. Be willing to accept what is offered. Enough is as good as a feastand when treated with enthusiasm, will be good enough for your low or no budget productions.
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Drawing TreesSimple Techniques
Elementary Secondary Level by Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVE Students will demonstrate improved draftsmanship by using line, general shapes, blocking in, gesture, and shading to draw trees. UTAH STATE CORE: ElementsLine, Contour Line
MATERIALS Images of artworks from the CD or other appropriate artworks. On the CD: St. George, Logan Baseball, Big Cottonwood Stream, and Wasatch Mountains in Early Spring Other artworks such as Road to the River, Mt. Carmel, Maynard Dixon, and Wash Day in Brigham City, Calvin Fletcher; both SMA Elementary Poster Set Drawing paper Pencils (optional: a variety of drawing pencils, such as 4b, 2b, & 2h) For older students, add charcoal or neutral pastels Background Information One of the most important drawing skills is actually seeing. We tend to see what we know rather than what is visually there. Although we think of realistic art as looking like the real thing, actually, what artists do is create two-dimensional representations we identify as real. They do this by using line, texture, color, etc., in ways that produce visual simulations we can recognize as representations of real objects or parts of a scene. For example, trees have thousands or tens of thousands of leaves, yet artists represent trees with blocks of color and value and shapenot
Calvin Fletcher, Logan Baseball (1936) SMA
by painting individual leaves. Or, although we know that things farther away from us do not get smaller, or grayer, or have fewer details, our eyes perceive scenes that way, so artists use those facts to recreate the sense of looking at a three-dimensional scene. The following lessons take students through exercises designed to get students to look more carefully at trees and make drawings based on what they see. The numbered lessons start with the simplest approach for K-1st and increase in
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difficulty. Although designed with different age levels in mind, the lessons can also be used at any age level as a step-by-step approach to improving the quality of the students seeing and drawing. These lessons include using line, general shapes, blocking in, shading, adding detail, and experimenting with media to explore the myriad ways of representing trees, in a more-or-less realistic manner. 1. Using a variety of shapes for trees. State Core: KMaking, 1000-0101 Create basic shapes as a starting point for more complex shapes
Young children often draw trees as if they were lollipop shaped, sometimes with the trunk as wide as the top. Many children also learn how to make a triangular tree something like a Christmas tree. To broaden their tree-drawing repertoire, start by showing them some photographs of different kinds of trees such as can be found in a tree book. Point out some specific trees that grow in your area. Show them a couple pages you have photocopied, with the general shape of the tree outlined in marker (see example, below). Next, show the students the tree shapes worksheet (at end of lesson) and tell them they are going to look for trees with the shapes on the worksheet. Every time they see a tree shaped like one on the
worksheet, they can make an X by that tree (see above). Take the children on a preplanned walk to look at various trees in the area. Acknowledge their identifications as you walk.
Then show the class the slides of St. George, Logan Baseball, Wasatch Mountains, and Big Cottonwood Stream and ask them to find how many different kinds of trees the artists have drawn or painted. Then, have students make a crayon drawing of your school or their house or apartment building with one of the new shaped trees they can now draw. Display the finished drawings and let the children have a few minutes to look at all the different kinds of trees the class members drew. 52
Allow a little more time for the children to tell you about the different trees shapes they found when you return to the class. Pass out pieces of paper and have the students try drawing some of the new tree shapes they identified on their walk. [If you cannot take the students to see trees, have photographs for them to look at.] Encourage students to draw the shape of the ground where it meets the tree.
shape drawn in marker. You may want to let students try making the general shapes from some photographs, but be sure to take them outside, if at all possible. Choose a simple-shaped tree to begin with, and demonstrate to the students what the overall shape is, Figure 1. Students should make several lines, if they need to, to get the shape right, drawing over the first lines rather than erasing the first ones. Figure 1
A 6-year-olds trees after using the tree shapes worksheet. Although a big improvement over trees that have tops the same size as the trunk, these are still probably tree symbols. Next, you have to get the students to look at real trees as they draw, so they really see trees. Have students put the sheet of tree shapes they drew in their folders for future reference.
After students have had a chance to draw the general shape of two or three trees, demonstrate how to draw over the first shape with contour lines, to make the outline of the tree more realistic. Again, dont erase any lines, Figure 2. Figure 2
ASSESSMENT Assess tree drawings for completion and effort.
Related curriculum: Have students name the tree shapes: oval, oblong, circle, triangle. 2. Using general shapes and contour drawings to represent trees. State Core: 1stMaking, 10100101 Block-in basic shapes and general shapes prior to adding detail while drawing.
Show the class the slides of St. George, Logan Baseball, and Big Cottonwood Stream, and have the students identify all the different kinds and shapes of trees the artists have drawn or painted. Show the class some actual photographs of trees with different shapes. Then show them some photocopied photos of trees with the general
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Have students draw different-shaped trees using contour lines on top of the general shapes. Take these drawings back to the classroom and have the students use them as a reference for drawing a simple landscape that contains at least one of the tree shapes they drew.
Related curriculum: Science, Standard 3010-04. After the students have completed the tree drawing, bring some plants to school and have students use the skills they have developed to draw the plant as part of their science curriculum. You may choose to have them label the parts of the plant as the students learn those parts. 3. Using general shapes, blocking-in, and gesture, to draw trees. State Core: 2ndMaking, 10200101 Use and develop skills for beginning a drawing; e.g., blocking-in, gesture. For older students, take the previous activity further by having the students make shapes, then draw the contour, then indicate the general gesture and position of the branches, Figure 3.
This step will be easier if you choose a tree with foliage that isnt too dense. Students will need at least glimpses of the branches. You may need to help the students look carefully at the branches by asking questions about the trees. For example: Are the branches straight, or curved? Do they curve up or down? Do the branches come from near the bottom of the tree? Are the sets of branches spaced evenly on the trunk? How big around are the branches? How many branches can you see? After indicating the gesture of the branches, students can block in the biggest masses of the leaves, Figure 4. Figure 4
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Then simple shading can make the masses suggest the tree is three-dimensional. Some trees are very simple shapes and students can skip the step of blocking in masses and just use shading to create the feel of the form, Figure 5, next page.
Figure 5
Critique the student drawings using the rubric provided or something similar. Rubrics naturally have limitations, but they can be adapted as needed using criteria specific to the assignment and then adapted and refined during use.
4. Finding ways to represent different leaf conformation. State Core: 4thMaking, 1040-0101 Use blocking-in, gesture drawing as start-up skills for drawing. Use value and texture to create interest. Render details with a high degree of accuracy.
For older or more advanced students, complete the previous activity and then have them choose a particular tree and make a close-up sketch of some leaves. Next, they can experiment with ways to create the feel of those leaves in ways that can be used on the whole tree, Figure 6, below. To make trees that are a small part of a landscape, keep the shapes simple. Divide the class into groups and pass out postcards of the artworks with trees. Have the students look at the ways the artists have indicated different kinds of trees. Have students try drawing some of these with charcoal or neutral pastels. Have students use at least two different trees in a landscape. Spray the drawings with fixativemake sure you are in a well-ventilated placeoutside is good if weather permits. Display the landscapes and have students identify and sketch two kinds of trees another student made, which the student likes. Put these and the previous sketches in a folder for future reference. [Although we tend to think of artists as coming up with brand new ideas all the time, in actuality, artists use all kinds of things for inspiration: sketches, other artists work, previous work, and so forth.] ASSESSMENT Have students self-critique their drawings using a simplified version of the teachers rubric, on the next page. You may want to have the students make a closeup sketch of a section of bark before completing their drawing. Have the students make a completed drawing of the tree. Display the completed drawings and have students discuss the different ways they were able to make particular kinds of foliage. Have students make a small sketch of a tree branch using another students drawing. ASSESSMENT Use the rubric for lesson 3, adding appropriate criteria.
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Possible Rubric for Drawings Rubric Excellent Satisfactory Needs Improvement Contour Lines Contour lines suggest the actual shape of the tree, carefully drawn Contour line somewhat realistic No real attempt to reproduce shape Gesture Drawing has captured the gesture of the main branches Drawing suggests a few branches with some gesture Branches added without gesture, no reference to actual tree Blocking in Main leaf masses appropriately blocked in
Leaf masses blocked in, some reference to tree No real care taken, leaf masses put in without reference to tree
5. After completing activity 3, give students a variety of media such as charcoal, neutral-toned pastels, or Conte crayons, and let students experiment with the ways they can draw trees with those media. Show students the artworks again, to give them more ideas to try. After a little more time to experiment, have students draw a real or imaginary landscape using several of the trees theyve drawn.
6. For advanced students: 1. Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes, and 5. Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
6. Show the class the two images, Autumn Stream and Big Cottonwood Stream. Have the students talk about the differences in the two paintings. If they dont figure it out themselves, point out that Autumn Stream was done en plein air, and then Big Cottonwood Stream was painted in the studio. Ask students to consider what the strengths of each painting are. Ask them to think about and discuss the reasons a plein air painting might be better than a photograph as a reminder of a scene they want to paint in a studio. What else might help the artist capture a particular scene well. Next, take students on a walking tour and have them make quick sketches of many different kinds of trees, using general shapes, blocking in, gesture, contour line, and simple shading. These sketches should be kept for future reference. Next, Have students choose one of the trees they sketched and return to that tree and make drawings using three different kinds of media: pencils, 56
charcoal, colored pencils, or pastels. Have students display the finished drawings and discuss what qualities the different kinds of media convey for the different trees. Do some media particularly suit specific varieties of trees? How do the expressive qualities of the trees differ according to tree type and to media? When would each drawing be effective? Have students take notes about the comments made about their trees. Students should choose one kind of tree in one particular medium to explore further by including the tree in a landscape painting or drawing.
Autumn Stream, above, and Big Cottonwood Stream, below, by Lee Greene Richards. Which do you like best, the plein air piece or the studio work?
7. Aesthetics Puzzle: Show the students the two paintings by Lee Greene Richards and ask them to debate which piece is the most realisticthe one completed on site, while looking at the actual scene, or the piece that uses the oil sketch for reference, but is a more detailed, possibly less accurate representation. Ask students what the term realism means, to them, to the art world. Ask them to discuss how they, personally, feel about Realism in art. ASSESSMENT as part of their portfolio both for the quality of the original drawings and also for whether the students show evidence of having used the skills they learned in future landscape assignments. VARIATION If you have a warmish day after the leaves have fallen, take students outside to draw trees when the branch structure is obvious. Have students keep their drawings. In the spring, make photocopies of the drawings and have students look at the same trees and add leaves, or use tracing or thin paper and add the leaves on that layer. This approach is similar to learning to draw the skeleton and muscles before drawing a clothed person. EXTENSION See http://www.squidoo.com/draw-a-tree for ideas for advanced students.
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Name
Put an X by all the shapes of trees you see
Tree Worksheet
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Elementary Secondary Viosual Arts Lesson by Carrie Wilson OBJECTIVES The students will create a life-size self-portrait using simple mixed media and personal visual imagery. (Standard 1and 3, VSA) Student Friendly Language: I can create an art piece that represents who I am. Rainbow Chart: 4th Grade Distinguish between a positive shape and the negative shape/space surrounding it.
Life-Size Self-Portrait
MATERIALS Paper for Brainstorming (Scrap paper is great.) Pencil Large roll of any type of craft paper or billboard paper (The stuff in the teachers lounge.) Magazines Markers, Chalk, or Crayons (Anything youve got to add color) Scissors Glue Stapler Newspaper
Thomas Hoffman, Mini-me (2001) SMA (Interesting use of an expressive monochromatic portrait.) Artist: Thomas Hoffman Artwork: Mini-me (2001) Oil on Canvas (Good use of interesting perspective and realism in a portrait.) Artist: Frida Kahlo Movement: Surrealism Artwork: Self- Portrait (1940) Oil on Canvas http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ FIsvz7JI4ZzX7yuqgmX4qw or use an image search
Artworks: (all but Kahlo image on the CD) Artist: H. Lee Deffebach Movement: Contemporary Artwork: George II (1967) Mixed Media (Use of Portraiture in a creative way and use of different materials.) Artist: John Owen Erickson Movement: Expressionism Artwork: Gethsemane: Self- Portrait (1986) Oil on Canvas
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(Kahlo is great to show how symbols can be used to represent ideas about yourself.) Artist: Albrecht Durer Artwork: Self-Portraits 1-4 (Great example of realism.) Web Resources for information about the artists: http://springvilleartmuseum.org/collections/ index.html Vocabulary Positive Shape, Negative Shape, Outline, Shape, and Emphasis
ACTIVITY Introduce: Show the work of any artist whose work you enjoy who does self-portraits. Talk about how artists have always done one form of self-portrait or another. All artwork is a reflection of that certain artist, whether it is indeed a selfportrait, a symbolic self-portrait, or art on any subject. 1. Have the students brainstorm in small groups about themselves. You can use the All about Me worksheet, at the end of this lesson). Have the students really work out different aspects of themselves. It will help with the imagery later. If the class seems a little stumped, ask them questions like how many brothers and sisters they have, or where they traveled in the summer, or if they have a pet. 2. Have the students get in pairs, so they can switch off on tracing the outline of the body (Suggestion: have girls with girls and boys with boys). There are two ways of doing the outlines. One way is to project light with a projector or a strong light source, but sometimes there can be distortion in the figure (which could be cool). The way I would recommend, especially for younger students, is to simply have one student lie down and another one trace around the figure. 3. The students can pick a dynamic body stance or a static position. Talk about the positive and negative space, or about the important inside space and the area around that.
4. Have the students trace the outline. 5. Now there are two ways to finish the selfportrait. One is to have the students keep the negative space; and in the negative space, draw or collage things about their outside selves. Then the positive space would be about how they see themselves or their personality. This way, the pieces are easier to hang up. They are like personality scrolls. The second way is to cut off the negative shapes, which may make the artwork more exciting, and then use the positive space to draw or collage about themselves. 6. Option two: Cut two layers of the figures, and after they are drawn on, sandwich the two parts together and staple around the outside edge leaving places to stuff the form. Stuff with newspaper and staple the open parts. Hang up with fishing line. Super Cool! 3-D forms.
http://artedmethods.blogspot.com/2009/10/lesson-plan-1-life-sized-self-portraits.html 60
7. Once the figure is complete, hang the work up for all to see.
Disclaimer: Please remind the students that the information they are putting on their work will be for public display.
VARIATION If you do not have access to craft paper, no worries, just use newspaper and tape the pieces together! If your students are older, you can have them use old sheets of cardboard and trace themselves onto that by lying on it or by using a projector or strong light to project a shadow and have a partner trace the shadow. This version of the selfportrait is a little stronger and if the cardboard is thick enough, the portraits can even be free standing. Using cardboard is a great way to bring in the idea of recycling. If your school is getting any type of computers, see if you can get the boxes because they are nice and thick.
ASSESSMENT Name: Questions Did you work well with your partner? Did you understand positive and negative shapes? Did you create a figure? Did you finish? Student Checklist: Student Answer Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Teacher Check off
What was your favorite part of the project? What did you like the best? Teachers Comments:
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Brainstorming Sheet: All about ME

Name Inside the Circle: list or draw thing about your outside self (Sports, thing you do with your friends, etc.)
Inside the Plus: List or draw things you do with your family, things that are special to you. Inside the Triangle: List or draw things About your personality.
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Making Encaustic Pizza
ElementarySecondary Visual Arts Lesson by Amanda Toler OBJECTIVES Students will be able to: define what encaustic painting is and the materials used; create an encaustic inspired artwork using crayons; compare and contrast ancient encaustic paintings with contemporary uses of the medium; analyze various uses of wax in visual culture today.
UTAH VISUAL ARTS STATE CORE (based on fifth grade core curriculum, but lesson can be used and adapted for all grades) Standard 1 (Making): The student will explore and refine the application of media, techniques, and artistic processes. Objective 1: Explore a variety of art materials while learning new techniques and processes. Objective 2: Predict the processes and techniques needed to make a work of art. Standard 2 (Perceiving): The student will analyze, reflect on, and apply the structures of art. Objective 2: Create works of art using the elements and principles. a. Use contour lines to indicate the form of objects. b. Create a work of art with symmetry. Standard 4 (Contextualizing): The student will interpret and apply visual arts in relation to cultures, history, and all learning. Objective 1: Compare the arts of different cultures to explore their similarities and diversities. 63
Fayum Funeral Portrait http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fayum-34.jpg public domain
MATERIALS Multiple images of encaustic paintings Crayons Watercolors Paper, regular drawing and newsprint Iron Cheese grater
ACTIVITY Start out by showing an encaustic painting and have students try and guess what the medium is that was used. After students have guessed the medium discuss how the students think an artist can paint using wax. What method or process might be used? Have a short discussion about the history of Encaustic painting.
Art History: Encaustic means: to burn in This is a process of applying molten wax colors to a surface for the creation of images, decoration and so forth. It started over 2 millennia ago. The Hot Wax Method - is how we might think of encaustic in its truest sense - that is in using heat as the solvent for beeswax based pigmented wax paints. It is generally agreed that there were three tools used in this type of working. Cautarium - probably a type of metal palette knife that could be used heated to blend the wax colors Cestrum - a small needle-like pointed item that may have been used to draw into the wax cold or perhaps it was heated. It may also have been used more directly in the molten wax. Pencillium - brushes used to apply most of the wax color and backgrounds in the portraits. There is also a cold wax process that can be used, but this lesson will not focus that process. (http://www.encaustic.com/features/history/ history.html)
Wax is an excellent preservative of materials. It was from this use that the art of encaustic painting developed. The Greeks applied coatings of wax and resin to weatherproof their ships. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to the decorating of warships. Mention is even made by Homer of the painted ships of the Greek warriors who fought at Troy. The use of a rudimentary encaustic was therefore an ancient practice by the 5th century B. C. It is possible that at about that time the crude paint applied with tar brushes to the ships was refined for the art of painting on panels. Fayum Funeral Portraits
The History of Encaustic Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B. C practiced encaustic painting. Most of our knowledge of this early use comes from the Roman historian Pliny, who wrote in the 1st century A. D. Pliny seems to have had very little direct knowledge about studio methods, so his account of techniques and materials is sketchy. According to Pliny, encaustic was used in a variety of applications: the painting of portraits and scenes of mythology on panels, the coloring of marble and terra cotta, and work on ivory (probably the tinting of incised lines).
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Perhaps the best known of all encaustic work are the Fayum funeral portraits painted in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. by Greek painters in Egypt. A significant Greek population had settled in Egypt following its conquest by Alexander, eventually adopting the customs of the Egyptians. This included mummifying their dead. A portrait of the deceased painted either in the prime of life or after death, was placed over the persons
mummy as a memorial. Many of these pieces have survived to our own time, and their color has remained as fresh as any recently completed work. In the 20th Century Encaustic Painting began to become popular as an art form again because of new technology and tools that make it easy and more efficient to do.
have students discuss why it may be important to some cultures throughout history to decorate or beautify functional objects, when they are meant to be used rather than just looked at. Studio project:
(See Ralph Mayer, The Artists Handbook) (http:// www.cpittmanart.com/EN/EncausticPainting. html) Criticism: Have students compare and contrast an encaustic image from the Fayum funeral portraits with an image from a contemporary encaustic artist. How have things changed? What was most important to the artist thousands of years ago as compared to today? Do the styles differ significantly? (search encaustic art, or use some of the urls under SOURCES.) Visual Culture: After a brief discussion on the history of using colored wax in painting discuss how wax is used today in visual culture. Some discussion of contemporary encaustic could happen here. So much of current encaustic painting is abstract because of the difficultly with getting detail. What ideas do the students have about why most encaustic paintings of the past were detailed and now abstract images may be more prevalent. Many of todays encaustic artists use multi media in their work. Some other ideas of how wax is used in todays visual culture would include food preservation such as canning for commercial purposes. Wax is used on snowboards and skiis, on cars and kitchen floors, and in some types of theatrical make-up. Students may mention the use of colored wax in candles and crayons in their own classroom. Aesthetics: With respects to the philosophical question of What is Beauty? Or ideas of artistic creation,
Once students have mentioned that crayons are a type of colored wax, then introduce the class project. Students will be exploring encaustic painting through using modern inexpensive tools found in the classroom, crayons. Specifically, talk about how encaustic painting started after wax was seen as a preservation technique and then people began to find that adding colored pigment created great decoration for the items they were preserving. Tell students that they will be designing and preserving a pizza using colored wax (crayons) and heat (iron). Ask students if they have ever made a homemade pizza. What steps do they follow? How do they apply the toppings? While most people have their own techniques, usually some type of symmetry is used when applying toppings to the whole surface. Discuss the vocabulary terms Symmetrical and Asymmetrical. Students will be creating a symmetrical or asymmetrical circular design for their pizza. Each student will start with a piece of drawing paper and draw a large circle on the paper using a compass or a stencil. After this is done, the student should use a crayon to draw a design onto the pizza. At least five different types of toppings should be used. Pizza toppings should be simple shapes created by the student. Once the design is finished, then the student can add the sauce by painting a layer of watercolor paint on the surface of the paper. Next, the students will add the cheese. The crayons will be the cheese. The students must choose the different colors of cheese they will be using and then take the cheese graters (cheapest to pick these up at a thrift store) and grate the different colors of crayons they want to use. The shavings created should be arranged on the pizza wherever there are toppings or around the outline of toppings which would be the negative space of the design. Once the shavings are carefully put into place
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then the student should cover the pizza design with a piece of paper and then again with a piece of newsprint. This will protect the iron. The iron should be plugged in and already heated at this point. Have the student iron over the top of the paper while putting a bit of pressure. Once the student has ironed over the design a few different times, then the student can lift the paper and see the melted finished pizza design. The crayons will also melt to the paper that was on top and its fun to use this piece as another artwork that can be manipulated in different ways.
manipulated with toothpicks or other similar tools. Paraffin wax can be melted on a hotplate and painted on paper with color painted underneath with watercolor or tempera, or the crayons can be melted and used the same way. You can also melt crayons in between two pieces of wax paper; the wax paper will melt together and create a pocket of melted crayon on the inside.
EXTENSION If students finish early or need something more challenging, they can try and manipulate the crayons to make a more realistic image. Students can also brainstorm other ways they could use crayons to create artworks that are less traditional, and then they can experiment with one of their ideas and actually create an artwork with one of the methods. SOURCES FOR IMAGES Jasper Johns http://upload.wikimedia.org/ wikipedia/en/d/d5/Jasper_Johns%2C_ Contemporary Encaustic Artists: Tony Scherman http://www.tonyscherman. com/?KEYWORDS=GOOGLE Molly Cliff Hilts http://www.mollycliffhilts.com/
http://www.artbysylvia.org/art/About_Me.html SOURCES (http://www.cpittmanart.com/EN/ EncausticPainting.html) (http://www.rfpaints.com/index. php?option=com_content&view=article&id=228& Itemid=119) (http://www.encaustic.com/features/history/ history.html) VARIATIONS Designs can also be done on sandpaper and then melted to another paper by ironing on the back of the paper. This is more expensive because the sandpaper can be pricey. Also, crayons can be melted using candles and dripped on paper and
Fritz Faiss http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage. aspx?lot_id=26467B582D8DCDE8314BBD22D24 E1373 http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6815259 Shawna Moore http://www.gallerymar.com/artists/shawnamoore/
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Will Pope http://www.meyergallery.com/artist.php?last_ name=Pope
ASSESSMENT Assess the discussions formatively with participation points and the studio project with the following rubric: Criteria: 1 2 Craftsmanship No use of Little use of craftsmanship, craftsmanship very messy 3 Average neatness 4 Strong use of craftsmanship, neatly cut circle and welldesigned shapes Finishes all aspects of the assignment 5 Very well crafted with a neat circle and shapes and wax is arranged with exactness Follows the assignment and goes beyond expectations
Follows Assignment
Shows no understanding of the assignment Very little creativty in design is shown
Creativity
Little understanding of assignment skips or misses steps
Shows understanding of assignment, doesnt completely follow through Little creativity Average creativity Works but talks and is often off track Average use of class time
Strong creativity Very strong creativity shown in Good use of class time
Use of Class Time
Does not use class time wisely
design of pizza Very good use of class time. Finishes assignment in good time while keeping good quality and showing understanding
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One Minute Sculpture/ Two Minute Drawing
Elementary Secondary Visual Arts Lesson By Jared Steffensen OBJECTIVE Using the work of Austrian artist Erwin Wurm as a point of reference, students will mix performance, sculpture, and drawing to gain an understanding of and an introduction to contemporary art practices and multi-disciplinary artists. VISUAL ARTS STATE CORE Elementary Rainbow Chart, Elements & Principlesline, organic line, contour line, shape, form, texture, proportion Secondary Standards: Standard 1 MAKING Students will assemble and create visual art by manipulating art media and by organizing images with the elements and principles. Objective A: Explore, understand, and refine techniques and processes in a variety of media. Objective B: Create visual art using art elements and principles. Objective A: Critique visual art. Standard 3 EXPRESSINGStudents will create meaning in visual art. Objective B: Perceive content in works of art. MATERIALS Student 2-minute drawing
pencils, pens and a stopwatch.
Images of Wurms work, such as those at http:// www.xavierhufkens.com/artist/?works_ overview=Erwin_Wurm Be sure to include the image of the person in the sweater. A brief bio of Wurm, see (http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Erwin_Wurm)
Standard 2 PERCEIVINGStudents will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating visual art.
An oversized sweater (large enough for a student to stretch over their body), paper for drawing,
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Note to the teacher: When students work on figure drawing skills, some of them are very nervous about their lack of skills. Others may be inclined to jump into the drawing and focus on the face, wanting to make the drawing look like the model, and forget to concentrate on the major forms, shapes, and lines. This assignment is a fun way to not only learn about a contemporary artist and mix performance, sculpture, and drawing, but also a great way to avoid those typical problems.
ASSIGNMENT Introduce the artist Erwin Wurm, and show the students images of his work. Explain to the students that Wurm has made sculptures of a person creating a shape inside an over-large sweater, but also has displayed drawings that show . . . people in sluglike postures struggling into and out of sweaters. On a pedestal near the drawings were a pile of purposely stetched out large sweaters that people were to pull on in odd ways, and then pose for one minute. Thus, the visitors were creating an interactive, temporary sculpture, or performance artwork. http://blogs.walkerart.org/visualarts/author/ paul/page/2/
students or have the volunteer create a new form to see how many different shapes they can come up with. DEFINITIONS Performance art refers largely to a performance which is presented to an audience but which does not seek to present a conventional theatrical play or a formal linear narrative, or which alternately does not seek to depict a set of fictitious characters in formal scripted interactions.
Have the students arrange their chairs in a circle with a good amount of space in the center. Ask for a student volunteer, or select a student, to be the performer. The performer has one minute to cover his or her body with the sweater and create a sculpture using arms, legs, head, hands, etc. to stretch the sweater into an interesting shape. The rest of the class has two minutes to sketch the form created by the performer. Repeat with other
Interactive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer walk in, on, and around them. Works of art frequently feature computers and sensors to respond to motion, heat, meteorological changes or other types of input their makers programmed them to respond to. Most examples of virtual Internet art and electronic art are highly interactive. Sometimes, visitors are able to navigate through a hypertext environment; some works accept textual or visual input from outside; sometimes an audience can influence the course of a performance or can even participate in it. 70 Time Based Art is art that is sequenced through time that changes as we view it, and that may
be ephemeral (e.g. video, kinetic sculpture, performance works).
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials, typically stone such as marble, metal, glass, or wood, or plastic materials such as clay, textiles, polymers and softer metals. The term has been extended to works including sound, text, and light. Elements of Design (see page at end of lesson) A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on) in an artificial setting. With origins in ancient times and most popular in Western art since the 17th century, stilllife paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Stilllife paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. Some modern still life breaks the two-dimensional barrier and employs three-dimensional mixed media, and uses found objects, photography, computer graphics, as well as video and sound. A Gesture drawing is work of art defined by rapid execution. Typical situations involve an artist drawing a series of poses taken by a model in a short amount of time DISCUSSION After or during the drawing experience, you may want to include the topics below in a class discussion.
- That sculpture and 3-D abstract forms, created by the hand using clay, can also be made by using the body as the material - Still life drawing as a more traditional approach to creation of the work
- The Elements of Design mass, volume, form, shape, time, etc. (see definitions at end of lesson) - How gesture drawings allow the student to focus on shape and form rather than exact detail ASSESSMENT Student work can be assessed as participation and completion, or for older students, included in a portfolio. EXTENSION After the drawing experience, students can make gesture sculptures in clay. You may to experiment to determine an appropriate amount of time for each sculpturejust make sure the time is short enough to encourage gestural work rather than focus on details.
- Performance Art and how the body becomes the material, similar to sculpting with clay
- The viewer becoming an active participant and the subject of the artwork - The idea of play and movement being an integral part of art making 71
VISUAL ELEMENTS Lines
The connection between 2 points; a series of adjacent points Actual Lines Implied Lines Straight, curved, horizontal, vertical, diagonal Area with measurable width and height Enclosed area of 3D space Lines physically present
Shapes Planes Mass Space Light Time Color
Volume Texture
Flat enclosed area, both positive and negative Enclosed area of 3D substance The physical bulk of a three-dimensional form. The visual or tactile quality of a form
The interrelationship between presence and absence
Produces graduated values of light and dark, and is a primary means of perceiving form and space Specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness Actual time: the location and duration of an actual temporal event Implied time: suggested location or duration of an event Symmetrical Balance Radial Balance
PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Balance
Equilibrium or equality among interacting and sometimes opposing forces in the composition; this can be created through an absence or a presence Asymmetrical Balance Balance that is created when shapes are mirrored on either side of an axis All visual elements connect at a central point Equilibrium among visual elements that differ in size, number, weight, color, texture
Scale
Proportion Contrast Rhythm
A size relationship between two separate objects
Critical Distance or Proximity Repetition
Relative height, width and length of elements within a composition; comparative relationship between the parts of a whole Distance between the parts of a form or between an object and the viewer Difference; creates variety in a composition, for example movement and constraint, organic and geometric, and dark and light Repeated use of the same visual elements or visual effect; can be used to create unity, produce rhythm, or emphasis of a design Repetition with variation, sequential organization of multiple forms in space. The variation of the basic pattern and rate of change combine with the use of visual accents Looking for the right balance of the harmonious with the dynamic UNITY - compositional similarity, ones, togetherness, or cohesion VARIETY - the differences which give a design visual and conceptual interest and contrast, for example emphasis, differences in size, etc. Primary point of interest; used to emphasize an area of particular importance or to provide a strong sense of compositional direction The process of changing from one state to another state or form; when multiple surfaces of an object vary transitions can be used to synthesis the area.
Unity and Variety Emphasis or Focal point Transition
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
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van Gogh Impasto Paintings
Upper Elementary & Secondary Art Lesson by Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES Students will examine the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, Hermann Murphy, Lou Jene Carter, and John Hafen. Students will practice drawing gestures of various flowers and trees of their choosing. Students will design, draw, and produce impasto paintings after the manner of Van Goghs sunflowers. Students will define and recognize the qualities of impasto paintings. Students will compare and contrast the painterly qualities of Vincent Van Gogh, Hermann Murphy, Lou Jene Carter, and John Hafen. STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 4 (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. Hermann Dudley Murphy, Marigolds and Cosmos (1937) SMA
ACTIVITY 1. Introduce the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, Hermann Murphy, Lou Jene Carter, and John Hafen. Discuss the subject matter and painterly qualities. Have students compare and contrast the different paintings, focusing on texture and technique as well as composition. 2. Define Impasto What is impasto? Impasto is an art term used to describe thickly textured paint that is almost three-dimensional in appearance. Using an impasto technique often leaves visible
MATERIALS Images of the following artworks: Marigolds and Cosmos (1937), Hermann Dudley Murphy; Mostly Flowers (1993), Lou Jene M. Carter; Hollyhocks (1909), John Hafen (Springville Museum Collection) Sunflowers (1888), Vincent Van Gogh Flour, tempera or acrylic paint, wax paper, Q-tips, large paper
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Detail, showing brushstrokes, from Vincent van Goghs Irises

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_Irises_in_ NYC_partial.JPG public domain
ASSESSMENT Peer/Class critique, Student self-assessment checklist (on page 76)
with different values and textures as they complete their paintings. 7. Allow the paintings to dry for several days on a flat surface, and handle carefully when dry, as paint has a tendency to crack and peel. 8. Pin up student paintings and have a class critique. Discuss things that went well for students and things that need work. Compare and contrast student paintings with those of Vincent Van Gogh, Hermann Murphy, Lou Jene Carter, and John Hafen. What are the similarities? What are the differences? 9. Invite students to re-visit their paintings to make changes or improvements.
3. 4.
5.
6.
brush strokes in the finished painting. Many times those brush strokes are actually more important than the subject matter itself. Invite students to practice drawing gestures (quick, loose, sketches) of simple landscapes or flowers. When students have decided on a design, have them transfer that design to a large piece of drawing paper. Make sure that students have a variety of interesting shapes and sizes in their composition. Demonstrate Impasto technique by mixing a little bit of flour with a blob of paint on a piece of wax paper. Be sure to use q-tips instead of paintbrushes, as the flour may damage the paintbrushes. Show students how to lay down thick paint by grabbing blobs of paint from the wax paper and layering them in a chunky manner on the surface of the paper. Encourage students to use different analogous colors as they layer the paint. Be sure to encourage students to play
Student examples, below and on next page
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VARIATION If money is not an issue, students may try impasto painting on canvas boards with oil paint. EXTENSION Students may choose to try mixing other materials with their paint to achieve different textures. Students may want to try sand, shaving cream, cornmeal, or dirt.
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Impasto Painting Student Checklist

Name_____________________________________________________________________________________ Please Place a checkmark in the blank for all that apply to you.
Title of Painting__________________________________________________________________________ __________ Student compared and contrasted the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, Hermann Murphey, Lou Jene Carter, and John Hafen. __________ Student can define the term Impasto. Impasto is _______________________________________________________________ __________ Student practiced drawing gestures (quick, loose, sketches) of simple landscapes or flowers.
__________ Student decided on a design with interesting shapes and a variety of sizes, and then transferred it to large drawing paper. __________ Student used the Impasto technique by laying down thick paint and using analogous colors to layer the paint. __________ Student to played with different values and textures as he/she completed the painting. __________ Allowed several days to dry on a flat surface, and handled carefully when dry, as paint has a tendency to crack and peel. __________ Student participated in a class critique. __________ Student re-visited their painting to make changes or improvements. Please write a small paragraph below describing your experience with Impasto painting. What was successful? What was frustrating? How do you feel about your finished product?
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Upper Elementary or Secondary Art Lesson by Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES Students will examine the three-dimensional works of Cyrus Dallin and Mahonri Young. Students will investigate the different aesthetic issues that pertain to sculptural or multidimensional artworks. Students will design, draw, and produce a paper mch puppet based on a popular picture book. Students will recognize the visual culture around them that incorporates puppetry sculpture in general. Students will compare and contrast contemporary puppetry with traditional sculpture.
Paper Mch Puppets
STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning.
Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Jimbo (1928) SMA sticks) glass soda bottles, masking tape, paint, electric blender, Picture books for children, (optional supplies: styrofoam balls, cheap toilet paper, linseed oil, joint compound, Elmers glueall, small squares of fabric, short pieces of trim, glue gun)
MATERIALS Images from the CD: Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Bust of Emiline B.Wells (1928), Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Jimbo (1928), Mahonri Mackintosh Young, Agriculture: The Farm Worker (1938) (Springville Museum Collection) Newspaper, flour, water, sticks, (or paint stir
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ACTIVITY 1. Create a slide show of images that include various types of figurative sculpture and contemporary puppetry. Images may include Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Bust of Emiline B.Wells (1928), Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Jimbo (1928), Mahonri Mackintosh Young, Agriculture: The Farm
instead of many. When creating a sculpture, students must view their piece from the front, the back, and from both sides.
3. Hand out the Puppet Planning Worksheet, and encourage students to complete the worksheet as carefully as possible. Explain that they should base their puppet upon the childrens book that they brought from home. This will help them more easily imagine what each view will look like. Students must then draw and color each view of their puppet. 4. When the Puppet Planning Worksheet is complete, students may begin working on their paper mch puppets. Begin by building a ball shape out of newspaper and attaching it to the top of a stick with masking tape. Students may also add additional simple armatures with cardboard or tinfoil. Sometimes it is necessary to attach these parts with a glue gun so that they withstand the paper mch process.
Pinochio Marionette
http://www.thebespokenfor.net/ronsfashionlife/2009/12/ is-everyman-a-pinocchio-part-two-.html
Worker (1938), as well as contemporary puppets like Elmo, Kermit the Frog, Mr. Rogers King Friday, Pinocchio and the like. Invite students to make a list of commonalities and a list of differences. You may need to display the slide show more than once to emphasize the commonalities. When students have a sufficient number of items in each area, discuss their findings. Emphasize the three-dimensional qualities of the two categories. Explain the difference between two-dimensional art and three-dimensional art. What are the challenges of both areas? 2. Explain that in three-dimensional artworks, the artist must consider more than one angle. Invite students to bring their favorite childrens picture book from home. This book will act as a guideline for the puppets that the students will create. While looking at the pictures, encourage students to notice that the main characters must be depicted from a variety of angles. Help the students to understand that in sculptural representations, each of these views or angles must be represented in one sculptural artwork
5. Mix up a batch of pa paper mch paste. To make up the paste, just pour some white flour in a bowl, and add water gradually until you have a consistency that resembles a thin pancake batter. You can use your fingers or a small kitchen mixer. The thickness of the paste may vary quite a bit. Keep in mind that it is the flour, and not the water, that gives strength to your paper mch sculpture. And also remember that each layer of paste and paper that is added to your project must dry completely to keep it from developing mold. (Why use flour instead of wallpaper paste? White flour is ridiculously cheap and some wallpaper pastes contain poison.) To prevent the development of mold, just remember that molds cannot grow without water. Therefore, take every effort to dry out your projects completely. 6. Rip newspaper into strips and dip into the paste. Add at least three layers of strips to your project. Before doing so it is helpful to place your stick inside a glass soda jar. This way you have both hands free to place strips of paper on your puppet head. Try to let each layer dry before adding a second layer. This may be done by letting the project bake in a hot sun, or by
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going over it with a hair dryer. If you wish to add more small details or textures, you may wish to cover your armature with Paper Mch Clay instead of paper strips. Paper Mch Clay is also relatively inexpensive, requires only one layer, and will easily air dry. The recipe for Paper Mch Clay may be found later in the lesson.
7. When the puppets have dried completely, use acrylic paint to cover the surface and to add details. Students may also choose to create three-dimensional props out of paper mch to add to their puppets. When the paint has dried, you may choose to seal the puppets with spray varnish, but this step is optional. Acrylic paint generally leaves a beautiful glossy finish of its own.
8. If students want to have a finished look to their puppets, they may choose to cover the stick with a fabric skirt. Glue fabric around the neck of the puppet in a teepee shape. This will allow the hand to be hidden under the fabric. Fabrics can also be easily painted or decorated with acrylic paint. 9. When the puppets are complete, place the sticks back in the soda bottles and create a gallery walk for viewers. Have students imagine they are visiting an art museum full of sculptural representations of famous people. Students must design a nameplate for their puppet that will include the title/name of their puppet, and a little bit of history or background. Encourage students to be creative. Help them to imagine unique ways that their puppet may have achieved notoriety. For example, if their puppet is the wolf, from the three little pigs, the nameplate might say something like BIG BAD WOLF, was falsely accused in the attempted assassination of three pigs. He is well known for his huffing and puffing, can squeeze down small chimneys, and met his demise when falling into a vat of boiling hot water. Some people think that BIG BAD WOLF was wrongly accused, because despite his terrifying exterior, he is really tender hearted. 10. While students browse through the gallery, encourage them to make notes about aspects of the puppets that were successful, and parts that need additional attention. 79
An example of a front and two side views from the Puppet Planning Worksheet
details can be found at www.ultimatepapermache. com. One roll of cheap toilet paper (1 cup pulp) cup of white glue (Elmers Glue-All) 1 cup joint compound 2 tablespoons linseed oil (preferred, but optional) cup white flour
Paper Mache Puppet

http://belladia.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/13/themcauleyspapiermachepuppet.jpg
ASSESSMENT Use the Paper Mch Puppet Assessment included at the end of the lesson to review the project.
Makes one quart of clay. You will need an airtight container to keep clay from drying out. Remove tube from toilet paper and soak paper in a bowl full of water. Squeeze out as much water as you can, pour the water out of the bowl and put the paper pulp back in the bowl. Measure how much paper pulp is in the bowl. For this recipe you should have about 1-1/4 cups of pulp. If you have less pulp, you may need to use another roll of toilet paper. Break the paper into chunks about an inch across. Measure the rest of your ingredients and put them into the bowl with the paper. Mix it up with an electric mixer for at least three minutes. When the clay is done it will look a bit like cookie dough, but do not eat itthis clay is not edible. This pulp can be spread onto a form almost as you would frost a cake. Details and textures can be added with sculpture tools and kitchen utensils. You can also add more white flour to make firmer clay. ANOTHER EXTENSION You may choose to divide students into groups and have them write a play for their puppets. Most students will have chosen characters from diverse stories. It would be interesting to see how they might incorporate characters from diverse stories into one little puppet theatre.
VARIATIONS If time is short or supplies are unavailable, students may use styrofoam balls or paper mch pulp to create small sculptural heads. You can make paper mch pulp by placing several sheets of junk mail, toilet tissue, paper towel, or newspaper (torn into tiny pieces) into a blender or food processor with some water. Strain the pulp using a colander or sieve. Mix the pulp with one tablespoon or more of white glue. EXTENSION Instead of covering the armature with paper strips, you may choose to use Paper Mch Clay. Here is the recipe for Paper Mch Clay. More
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Fabulous work. Amazing ideas. Superb effort.
Please carefully review the following criteria and draw a face in the space provided.
Name_______________________________________________________________________________
Paper Mch Puppet Assessment
Project is complete. Mediocre ideas. Sufficient effort.
Insufficient work. Lacks creativity. No evidence of quality.
1. ___________Student watched slide show and participated in class discussion. 2. ___________Student completed the puppet planning worksheet. 3. ___________Student followed the rules of paper mch and created a proper armature. 5. ___________Student allowed proper drying time for paper mch. 6. ___________Student added details with acrylic paint. 7. ___________Overall project is quality work.
4. ___________Student added paper strips or paper mch clay according to the directions.
8. ___________Student participated in Puppet Gallery Walk and created a proper nameplate. 9. ___________Student was respectful of classmates and materials by cleaning up properly. 10. ___________Student truthfully completed Paper Mch Puppet Assessment.
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Puppet Planning Worksheet

Please carefully complete each of the following categories before you begin to create your puppet. 1. Choose your favorite childrens storybook. What is the title of your book? 2. What are the main characters in the story? 3. Choose one character that you would like to highlight. The main character you have chosen is: 4. Carefully examine the character you have chosen. Make a detailed list of his or her physical characteristics. (little nose, big teeth, braids, etc.) Name__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What props could you bring from home or sculpt to make hour puppet more interesting? (a hat, glasses, earrings, etc.) In the space provided, please draw and color at least three props.
6. On the back of this paper, please carefully draw and color three detailed sketches of your characters head. You must have a front view, side view, and back view.
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Front View
Side View
Back View
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Boogie Woogie Flow Grid
ElementarySecondary Visual Arts Lesson by Carrie Wilson OBJECTIVES Elementary Rainbow Chart: 3rd Grade: Geometric Shapes: Recognize mathematical proportions of geometric shapes in the classroom and environment. Practice making secondary shapes with or without a ruler. (Can be used with any grade level looking at how shapes, space, and color relate to each other.)
Secondary The students will create an artwork using the technique of mixed media to make a grid layout of an environment of their choosing using the ideas from Mondrians grid relationship to movement and music in this Boogie Woogie work. (Standard 1and 3, VSA) Student Friendly Language: I can create a layout of a place I like using different materials and a grid while listening to music. Vocabulary: Shape, Movement, Pattern, and Space MATERIALS Paper to draw the layout on and to use for brainstorming Pencil Colored Markers Construction Paper or Magazines with color images Rulers or Straight Edges Glue Scissors Artists: Bonnie Gile Phillips Artwork: Whole Wheat on Tuna
Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie Fair Use of copyrighted low resolution image for study and illustration
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Artist: Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke, Artwork: Entertaining: Favorite Ladies II (1992) (Great example of all-over pattern. Springville Museum of Art) Artist: Piet Mondrian Artwork: Composition with Yellow, Blue, and Red (1937- 1942) Artwork: Broadway Boogie Woogie (19421943) large image at http://www.artchive.com/ artchive/m/mondrian/broadway.jpg.html (Great example of the grid and use of color.) Musical Artist: Albert Ammons Song: Boogie Woogie Stomp (1936) Hear this piece at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=dNbc0YO5hKg
Short video of the history and examples of boogie woogie music at http://www.smithsonianmag. com/video/The-Sounds-of-Boogie-Woogie. html?utm_source=smithsonianinsider&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=20100910insider Web Resources for information: About the artists: http://springvilleartmuseum.org/collections/ index.html Movement: Contemporary
ACTIVITY Introduce: Show the artwork of Mondrian, and talk about the use of the color and the grid. Talk about how artwork is a reflection of the time that the artist lives in; therefore, Mondrian listened to Boogie Woogie music that was mostly a big band or piano style in the late 30s to early 40s. He lived in a heavy populated downtown area. Talk about how the artwork reflects the music and layout of the area. Play some Boogie Woogie music and on the brainstorming paper, have the students draw to the music to see what they come up with. Did they do a grid or something else? Then play something more modern and have the students discuss the differences in the two drawings. The Project 1. Brainstorming: Have the students think of an area that gets a lot of movement (people your school, cars freeways, animals the zoo, airplanes airports, ships the ocean) and think about the flow of that movement. 2. Have them think like a bird and imagine a birds-eye point of view, then create a simple grid of the overall layout of the area. 3. Have them draw geometric shapes that represent the objects of movement or the movement itself (the flow). You could play the Boogie Woogie Stomp to help the flow happen in the room. Have the students grid out the layout using the geometric shapes.
4. When they have a brainstormed design, have the students think about what colors could represent the movement they have identified. Ideas: Intense colors like red could be areas of dense movement, like heavy traffic, and less intense colors like light blue could be areas of less movement. 5. Once the brainstorming is done and the students have a good grasp of what they would like to do for the final project, they can use construction paper or magazines to cut out the geometric shapes to get the colors they need. For the main surface area, they can use a piece of colored construction paper or white paper as a base and glue their shapes onto the base. Tell them to keep in mind the flow of the shapes, imagining how the viewers eyes will move through their piece, and the relationships of the geometric shapes to each other. They should also look for interesting patterns that emerge as they work. Encourage them to try to use a ruler for the straight edges and maybe to fold and cut some of the shapes. 6. Lay the grid art pieces out, and have the students try to figure out what place each student was thinking about. VARIATIONS Include organic shapes with the geometric to create more of a variety in the overall composition of the piece. Listen to many pieces of music and see what patterns emerge from the related drawings.
MORE ORGANIC PROJECT Have the students just tear the construction paper to make their arrangement. It is more of a mess, but would be better for younger students. Websites: http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/ mondrian2.html Great website to change the color of Modrians artwork to see how the color and the grid relate to each other.
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http://www.rhapsody.com/albert-ammons Get the Boogie Woogie Stomp song to play in the classroom for free, and it has information about Albert Ammons.
ASSESSMENT Name
Questions Did you make a grid? Did you use geometric shapes? Did you use the movement? Did you finish?
Student Checklist:
What was your favorite part of the project? What did you like the best? Teachers comments:
Student Answer Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No Yes or No
Teacher Check off
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ElementarySecondary Visual Arts Lesson by Stephen Pratt
Deborah Butterfield and Tom Friedman
Found Object Art: Sculptures by
OBJECTIVES Students will be able to:
Create a sculpture of an animal or human figure using nontraditional materials, and achieving correct proportions. (State Standard 1, Objective 1) Compare and contrast the work of two different sculptors Deborah Butterfield and Tom Friedman. (State Standard 2, Objective 2)
Form an opinion on the aesthetic issue of using found objects in art. (State Standard 2, Objective 2) Define the term readymades MATERIALS Sticks (branches and twigs of different thicknesses) (I drive around and find a fallen tree or pile of discarded tree or bush clippings, usually in an undeveloped lot, and load up my van with sticks) Hot glue guns and enough hot glue sticks Some small extension cords or a few power strips help for spreading out the glue guns throughout the room or for having several glue guns at a gluing station(s).
Deborah Butterfield, Lucky (1996) Denver Art Museum
Students may also bring their own found material from home or purchased from the store for a sculpture in the style of Tom Friedman (e.g. straws, toothpicks, q-tips, matches, styrofoam beads) Images of Duchamp and Butterfield from CD INSTRUCTION
A few cutting tools for sticks (small handsaws or branch clippers) (most of the cutting can just be done by breaking the sticks with their hands)
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Art History: Introduce the concept of found object art. Start with showing the class an image of Marcel Duchamps Fountain (on CD). This was a urinal Duchamp had purchased and submitted to the exhibit put on by the Society of Independent Artists which claimed would accept all entries.
Duchamp was a board member of the group and submitted the urinal signed R. Mutt to conceal his involvement with it. The Society accepted the piece but displayed it in a hidden area of the gallery. It created some controversy and has been a topic for discussion on what is acceptable as art. In response to the criticism that the urinal was immoral, Duchamp wrote:
Aesthetics
Now Mr. Mutts Fountain is not immoral; that is absurd, no more than a bathtub is immoral. It is a fixture that you see every day in plumbers show windows Whether Mr. Mutt with his own hands made the fountain or not has no importance. He chose it. He took an ordinary article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view created a new thought for that object. (Puzzles About Art: An Aesthetics Casebook, by Margaret P. Battin, John Fisher, Ronald Moore, and Anita Silvers) Duchamp coined the phrase readymades to refer to the sculptures he made by finding objects already in existence and simply displaying them as they are or changed slightly. This was not widely accepted at first, but as all broken rules in art history, through time, other artists took off with found object art to explore new possibilities in human creativity.
This could be a good time for a class discussion and to see how your students feel about Duchamps rule breaking. Is this art? Is this creativity? Many students might have the opinion that anyone could do that, which is true, yes, anyone can do that, but someone has to think of it first. If this rule had not been broken (of what was acceptable art material), we wouldnt have the variety of art and styles created today. Is there something wrong with using found objects to make your art? True, the artist did not make that object, but is it any different than an artist making something out of wood or clay? Did the artist make the wood or clay? Is it any different than collage art? Or composing an image in Photoshop from other images found on the Internet? Art Criticism Since the time of Duchamp and his readymades, artists have been making all types of art that stem from found object art in some way. Two contemporary artists that use found materials are Deborah Butterfield and Tom Friedman. Show students images of Butterfields horse sculptures. Have a class discussion or have the students write in their journals about her sculptures. What is the material she is using? (branches, driftwood, sometimes scrap metal) How is she using it? (The sculptural forms arent completed. She is suggesting the horse forms and leaving the rest to the viewers imagination. The sticks are the found objects, and she is using their abstract forms and textures to represent forms of the horse.) Do you think it is necessary to have a knowledge of a horses anatomy and proportions? Have students answer these questions in their journals or as a class. Does the material a sculpture is made out of make a difference in its value? Does it matter if a sculpture looks to be made of a different material than it really is (perhaps deceiving the viewer)? Explain to them that Butterfields stick horses are really not made out of sticks they are bronze. She makes the originals out of sticks, and then has a team make molds and go through a casting process to make it into 90 Aesthetics
He will use anything from toothpicks, to straws, to tennis balls, to paper, to spider legs, to noodles. His subject matter also encompasses a large range of things. He has a series of self-portraits, but he also makes a lot of abstract forms. Oftentimes his pieces are more conceptual and more about the process of making the sculpture than the final piece.
(I like to think of his art this way: Andy Goldsworthy is to nature, as Tom Friedman is to every-dayhousehold-objects) ART PROJECT Assignment: You may adapt this to whatever will work best for you. You can make it a project inspired by Butterfields art and supply sticks youve collected, or make it a project more about Friedmans work and assign students to bring materials from home or buy them at the store. Or you can make it a mix and give them the option of using the sticks you are supplying or making something else of their choice that they bring. The grocery store is a perfect place to obtain large amounts of a cheap material of some sort. For example, fish crackers, straws, toothpicks, cotton balls, noodles, matches, q-tips, and marshmallows (Id let the marshmallows go stale first, so they are easier to build with). Or the students can find other materials at the local office store, such as paper clips, rubber bands, or packaging beads. For the purpose of grading the projects, I made the requirement that they had to create a sculpture of a living object, for example, an animal or a person. It is harder to grade a sculpture of a huge gumball, or a pile of tennis ball fuzz (like Friedmans sculptures).
Deborah Butterfield, Detail of Woodrow Walker Art Gallery bronze, then it gets a patina finish (a technique of coloring bronze) to make it look just like driftwood, or its original material. Does this make a difference to your interaction with the sculpture? Should it? What about the reverse? Ive seen sculptures before that are made to look like bronze, but in reality they are made of plaster, some other metal, or sometimes even plastic. Does this change the value of the art? Should it? What part does material play in art? Does deception make a difference in the beauty or value of the art? Are you disappointed or amazed when you learn that a material is fake in construction or interior decoration? (For example fake stone, crystal, tile, marble, gold, wood, etc.) Art Criticism Introduce your students to the art of Tom Friedman. Compare and contrast the art of Friedman and Butterfield. Friedmans range of found object material is a lot wider than Butterfields.
If your room set-up allows it, have some hot glue guns spread throughout the room. If not, set up a few stations where the students can use the hot glue guns. You will want to have some newspaper to protect the surface of your tables or counters from the glue. 91 Depending on your storage space for these sculptures, you will have to limit the size they can be. I
kept the sculptures above my cupboards and told the students they could be no larger than 2x2. My favorite ones were a large fishy cracker made up of fishy crackers, and a dragon made out of sticks.
OTHER SOURCES Books: Deborah Butterfield, by Robert Gordon ISBN-13: 9780810989474 Tom Friedman, by Bruce Hainley ISBN-13: 9780714839868 http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tguEuOAE2Ow
*Since found object sculptures have an unfinished look to them, it is harder to tell when the sculpture is done. For this reason you might want to have a minimum amount of time that students have to work on their sculpture before they can call it done. IMAGE SOURCES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_(Duchamp)
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Xl5moOqm2D4&NR=1 VARIATIONS You can make it a requirement (or extra credit) that the material and the subject must relate to each other. For example, a fish made of fishy crackers, or a beaver made of sticks, or a guitar made of CDs.
http://www.sublimethings.com/?s=Friedman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_ Butterfield http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage. aspx?artist_id=3413&page_tab=Artworks_for_sale (good source for Butterfield images) ASSESSMENT
-pieces are glued on well. -glue joints are neat/ no excessive Craftsmanship glue. -sculpture can stand on its own.
Form and Proportions
Criteria
10-8 -proportions are correct. -materials are used appropriately to suggest the forms of the subject. Everything fits.
-some of the proportions are off. -some of the materials extend (poke) beyond the intended form, or dont fit. -some of the material is falling off. -glue was used excessively and messily. -does not stand on its own.
7-0
Effort
-good use of class time. -good use of teacher asked for guidance before finishing and advice was taken into consideration. -taking time and effort to make it look nice. -took the minimum required time to make it* 92
-a lot of socializing instead of focusing on their work. -didnt ask for the teachers guidance, or ignored it. -completed the work too quickly sped through the process instead of taking the time to make it look nice. -did not take the minimum required to work on the sculpture.*

What Can You Do with Paper?
ElementarySecondary Arts Lesson Ideas by Robyn Card Basically, paper is or can be a mixture of pulp, rags, fibers of plants and cellulose. Today it comes in as many different forms, colors, and textures as you can think of. It can be cut, scored, twisted, dyed, painted on, woven, glued, and disguised. Many wonderful utilitarian objects such as bowls, boxes, and vases are being made from old magazines and newspapers. Women in Africa have started small paper bead making companies to support themselves and their children. You can do just about anything you want to do in art, starting with a piece of paper. Brief History About 3700 BC, the creative Egyptians came up with the idea of using papyrus, pounded into sheets to keep written records. In fact, the word paper is etymologically derived from papyrus, Ancient Greek for the Cyperus papyrus, while biblos, a Greek term signifying the bark of the plant, is a derivation of the various words relating to books, such as Bible and bibliography. The Greek writer Theophrastus used the work papyros to refer to plant as a foodstuff, whereas bublos signified any derived processed product, such as cordage or a writing surface. Then it was the inventive Chinese, about 202 to 210 BC, during the Han Dynasty, that came up with the actual paper making process itself. The Romans made something called parchment that resembles paper, but it was made from vellum, sheep or calfskin, so it wasnt true paper. Paper making itself is considered to be one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China, according to Wikipedia sources. It was used to write on for documents and letters, by the
Paper Beads made by members of BeadforLife, a poverty eradication program http://www.greatgreengoods.com/2006/09/19/ bag-of-beads-recycled-paper-beads/ Chinese military, and for wrapping or padding protection of delicate objects and medicines. By the 3rd century, its use for writing was widespread as were many other uses. In fact, toilet paper was used in China by at least the 6th century. It was in the Tang Dynasty (618 907 AD) that tea bags were invented. During the Song Dynasty (960 1279 AD) the worlds first printed money shows up. It is said that at this time paper money was wrapped in special paper envelopes to be given to deserving government officials.
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The Chinese were reluctant to share their paper making secrets with the outside world. But, as always, someone has to let the secret out, and paper making was imported to Japan around 610AD by Buddhist priest. It was after the defeat of the Chinese at the Battle of Talas in 751 AD that the invention spread to the Middle East.
In the Americas, there is evidence that the Mayans had a similar parchment type writing material no later than the 5th century. It was made by boiling and pounding the inner bark of certain trees, so its more like the papyrus of the Egyptians and not true paper though. The oldest paper document in Europe came from the 11th century, probably written in the Islamic part of Spain. 1 Ive heard a story that the Europeans, when they first started using paper, didnt trust it because it burned easily. The still-used phrase, not worth the paper its written on, comes from these early days. Like anything else, the manufacture of paper became big business and someone was always inventing a new, better, and faster way to make paper.
Ive worked for a long time with papers in my classrooms, and I am an avid collector of paper of any kind and am a certifiable paper nut. All the following are some of my own ideas that you can use to make art out of paper in your classroom. At the end of these suggestions, Ive added a book list and websites you can go to for more ideas. When youre doing an art project, you want to get the most impact you can from the materials you have. Paper is very versatile, easily available, and comes in a variety of sizes, textures and colors. Of course the first thing you do is decide what you want to teach: color, lines, painting, art history, the life of a certain artist, a state core concept, or how to create a sculpture. Next you decide how, your lesson plan, what materials are needed, how long the project should take, and how to assess what has been done. If youve never done a certain project before, it is important to do a mock-up so you can work out any problems before you try to teach it. Students love to see your artwork and get a better perception of what theyre going to be required to do. Origami Lets start with origami, the ancient art of paper folding. I knew very little about origami when I first started and have learned several forms of the art from my own students. Ive purchased several books on Origami and continue to pick up ideas all the time. Do you need expensive paper? Of course not. You can cut your own squares and have students decorate their own paper with crayons, markers, watercolors, stamps, colored pencils, etc. Do a lesson about color schemes or color harmonies (what looks good together) and pattern, and let your students decorate their own papers. The next lesson then would be folding the paper. The main thing to remember about creating Origami is to fold accurately with good crisp creases. Depending on your students ages, this could be part of your lesson objective how to make good crisp folds in a piece of paper. Good folds will make a huge difference in how your project turns out. It does not have to be a separate lesson objective, however. It could just be part of your assessment.
Jen Stark, Transfixed, close up (2008) Used by permission of the artist
Many printmakers and calligraphers, who do their art directly on paper, or artists who use paper as their medium, make the paper themselves or go out of the way to get the best papers possible. Many papers used by these artists are still made by hand. What do I do with the paper I have? Or What direction do I go from here? 1
History of Paper, Wikipedia 7/4/2010
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Directions for an origami lidded box are included in this lesson as are directions and patterns for several other 3D forms.
With Origami or 3D paper forms, try to think beyond just one form. Think, How could I put these together to create a sculpture or a 3D composition? That way youre teaching multiple art principles such as balance, form, and unity. Look at the 16-point star pattern (included at the end of the lesson), each of its points is a component that makes up a whole. Ok, its fun, but what more can be done with it? Do you have to use the 16 points? Do they have to be the same size? Can you put them together in a different way? What happens when you do this to it? I call it Playing with the Possibilities!! Dont be afraid to play with the forms to see what theyll do. You can do the same thing with the paper star pattern. Glue origami forms together and you may be surprised with what you can do. Paper as a Sculptural Art Form Papers can be woven together using different thicknesses and textures. You may even pull some of the papers out to create bumps or stairs Thicker papers can be crimped, accordion folded, curled, layered, torn, cut out into geometric shapes and glued into all sorts of configurations. What can you teach with this? Basically all the principles of art including size for contrast & emphasis, repetition in colors, shapes and forms, as well as balance and pattern.
Books Make books!! Bookmaking is really easy and you can use fun pieces of paper for anything you want to teach with the book, from science to math. The art comes in the decorating and illustrating. See ideas in the back of this lesson. Ive also suggested two very good books by Paul Johnson in the resource section. Paper Decoration You can decorate paper with any medium by choosing color harmonies, such as monochromatic, primary or secondary color schemes. Its a great way to teach color. Use watercolors on drawing paper. Paint patterns. Paint around stencils or geometric shapes. Overlap the shapes and watch the play of positive and negative space. Use crayons to do pattern work. Then use watercolors over them. With these papers, you may not like the whole piece, but you can find some sweet spots to cut out and use for origami and collage works. Use an old iron and towels to iron the papers flat if needed. Using Mr. Sketch watercolor markers to do designs or patterns is always fun. Take it a step further and spritz the paper with watercolor. For color weavings, you can cut these papers into strips of different widths.
Make your own stamps with craft foam, cardboard, glue, and masking tape. Use the watercolor markers for color. Its not so much what the stamp looks like as what you do with it Before your project is done, check to see if it has when you stamp out a design. See the illustration unity. Are the visual elements working together sheet at the end of the lesson. to create a whole unified piece of work? Is this Keep a box of student papers for times when something that could be a freestanding work, someone needs an extra piece. What one student glued to a box pedestal (see origami box pattern) doesnt like, another may. There arent really any or a piece of paper or even a relief sculpture hung bad pieces of paper that cant be used in some on the wall? Again it all depends on what you way. Whats most important is having fun with want to teach your students. your students and encouraging creativity, all the while teaching color, contrast, value, emphasis, Remember ~ the process of creation is also pattern, balance and unity. Show them how something to be learned and enjoyed. colors express emotions and ideas. Do Eric Carltype collages with decorator paper. You can See http://www.petercallesen.com/index/index2. also use magazine paper just for its color to do html for some wonderful paper sculptures. landscapes or portraits of people and animals. The trick is to turn magazines upside down so 95
you see mainly color, textures, or patterns and not subject matter. Glues Glue sticks really are a must when working with paper. Just teach your students from the onset how to use them with respect and thoughtfulness. Always screw down the stick fully and replace the cap. The glue I like best is called School Smart Art Paste. It comes in a dry form and you mix it with water. One package cost only $1.99 and makes 4 quarts. I buy two or three cheap pitchers with lids, a whisk, and some cheap containers with lids (usually from the dollar store). I then mix the paste and separate it into individual containers that the students can keep at their workstations. It is really cool stuff that wont ferment or go sour. It is also non-toxic. You can use it to collage onto glass, plastic, or wood with any paper or colored tissue. When done, simply cover the containers tightly and store in a cool, dry place. It will keep indefinitely if stored correctly. I always have at least two packages on hand. Purchase it form Classroom Direct www. schoolspecialty.com or call for a catalogue @ 1-888-388-3442. Theyre a good company to work with and they deliver promptly. Conclusion With all the budget cuts, it seems that Art is usually the first thing to be taken out of our school curriculums. Students need this creative outlet so they can express themselves. There are so many things you can do with glue and paper. Like everything else we already do as teachers, you just have to be willing to invest some time and effort into preparation. You dont have to invest in expensive scrapbook store paper. Make your own. Always be on the lookout for ways to add paper art into your curriculum. Most school districts have white drawing paper, construction paper, and tissue paper that they can order through the district office warehouse. However you can still keep an eye out for sales on scrapbook paper, cardstock, and other fun stuff at your local retailers. Check your district office printing services for odd-sized papers that they
cant use. Its a great way to recycle what would otherwise be thrown out.
ASSESSMENT SUGGESTIONS Keep it simple Has the student followed all the directions? Has the student demonstrated skill and/or understanding of the concept? Has the student handled and the mediums given with good craftsmanship etc? Does the overall presentation of the finished work show good craftsmanship? REFERENCES Websites Google search the following Incredible Art Department Jen Stark Peter Callesen Artworks made of paper Richard Sweeney, UK, especially for high school 3D design sculpture Books The Encyclopedia of Origami and Paper Craft Techniques by Paul Jackson 1991 Running Press Book Publishers, Philadelphia, PA The Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas by Fiona Watt ISBN 07945 14391
The Usborne Book of Art Skills by Fiona Watt ISBN 978079450351-2 Paper Craft School by Clive Stevens 1996 A Readers Digest Book - ISBN 0-89577-873-4
Creative Collage for Crafters by Katherine Duncan Aimore 2001Lark Books - ISBN 1-57990-306-1 Playing With Books The Art of Upcycling, Decorating and Reimagining the Book by Jason Thompson 2010 - Quarrybooks.com A Book of Ones Own by Paul Johnson Any book about making books with children by British author Paul Johnson would be a wonderful addition to your reference library. 96
Origami Lidded Box

Origami boxes can be used for all kinds of projects. Paint or color the paper before folding, or make small items to put inside. Figure 1 1. Cut 2 squares of paper, one 1/41/2 smaller than the other. Start by drawing a light pencil line from corner to corner, on each square, Figure 1.
2. Fold one corner to the center and crease the fold firmly, Figure 2. Fold the other three corners the same way.
Figure 2
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3. After creasing each fold, unfold the corners, Figure 3. 4. The paper now has 4 crease lines, Figure 4.
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5 5. Take a corner and fold it to the point where the penciled line meets the crease line, Figure 5. Do the same step with each corner.
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6. Your paper should have fold marks like Figure 6.
Figure 6
7. Now fold the corners to meet where the penciled line crosses one of the last series of folds you made, Figure 7. Fold each corner in the same way. Figure 7
Figure 8
8. Unfold the corners. Now your paper should look like Figure 8. 99
9. Make cuts along the red lines from each A to each B, as indicated in Figure 9.
Figure 9
10. Now fold in a corner on the uncut side along the crease line, Figure 10. Figure 10
Figure 11
11. Then fold the same corner in a second time, on the previous crease line. Fold the opposite side the same way, Figure 11.
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12. Fold the sides up, Figure 12. The sides wont actually lie this flat because of the creases, but you get the idea.
13. Fold the ends of the sides in, where they are cut, overlapping the pointed edges, Figure 13. Fold the opposite side the same way, Figure 14. Figure 13
Figure 14
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Figure 15
14. Fold one long end up over the overlapped side pieces, flattening the bottom point on the inside of the box, Figures 15 & 16. Figure 16 15. Fold in the second point, Figure 16. Then lift the tips and place a very small bit of glue on the underside. Fold the tips back down and hold firmly for a few seconds, Figure 17. One part of the box is finished. Make the second part the same way. Place the larger box piece over the smaller, Figure 18. Figure 17 Figure 18
Older students may want to make the box so that it does not need glue. Instead of folding the points onto the bottom, tuck them under both layers of the overlapped sides. Its not easy, but some of the students may want to try. 102
The following 3D forms can all be made by elementary students. Try using them as hanging decorationscut out patterns, decorate, fold and glue, gluing a piece of string into one corner.
Students can also create group sculptures using a whole bunch of shapes. Students may want to choose a color scheme or theme before decorating the shapes. Students should try a variety of arrangements before they settle on the one they build, gluing the forms carefully together.
Before you begin, study the Schematics and Assembly diagrams of the forms to get the big picture of how it all works and the final product. Students should cut accurately. Close in art is called missed.
Some Construction Hints: The recommended tools for construction of the geometric solids are as follows: 1. An X-ACTO knife; for young students, use scissors 2. Water-soluble white glue, such as Elmers or Sobo 3. A scoring tool 4. A straight edge for scoring 5. A burnishing tool for applying pressure to glued joints Assemble before gluing. Glue should be put only on the tabs, not on the receiving surface. For neater and more accurate results, score along all fold lines before folding. Start with the simplest form, the TETRAHEDRON, pattern and directions on the next page. Also included are patterns and directions for the OCTAHEDRON and the CUBE.
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Schema Template for a Tetrahedron. Using a photocopier, you can make this any size you need. For ornaments, I suggest about 2-1/2 to 3 inches per side of small triangle shapes. Use whatever size fits your project, but remember that if the form with be significantly larger, it will need stiffer paper. Steps for assembling the TETRAHEDRON: 1) Apply glue to tab A and attach the opposing plane. 2) Apply glue to tabs B and C and press down the closing plane.
STEP 1 closing plane (no tabs)
STEP 2 closing plane
COMPLETED
opposing plane 104
Schematic Template for OCTAHEDRON and Assembling Instructions:
1. Apply glue to tab A and attach the opposing plane. 2. Repeat Step 1 with tabs B and C. 3. Apply glue to tabs D and E. Insert hanging string, and press down the closing plane.
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Schematic Template for CUBE and Assembling Instructions:
opposing plane to A & B
opposing plane to C & D
1. Apply glue to tabs A and B and attach the opposing plane.
2. Repeat Step 1 with tabs C and D. closing plane 3. Apply glue to tabs E, F and G and bring down the closing plane.
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Books: There are all kinds of book forms you can make everything from a simple accordian pleated book to a bound sketchbook. Weve included a lot of book designs in past packets, particularly Art & Literacy and Unbound: Book Art & Illustration. Weve put some of them here, but you can find directions for many others in past packets, in books, and on the Internet. Any simple shape can make a book. Make a butterfly book and let the students decorate the book. They can put facts they learn in science, they can write poems, they can explore color schemesthey can have fun!
An accordian book used for experiments in color schemes. Try an alphabet or number book with each student in the class providing a drawing. If you turn up a fold along the bottom edge before folding the acoordian book, youll have pockets for sliding drawings, prints, and/or writing in. Make a wrapper to close the book by folding a long, skinny piece of paper around the book and gluing the ends together. The piece of paper needs to be tight enough to stay on the book, but not so tight you cant get it off.
Students can make simple pop-ups by drawing and cutting out objects or people to glue against the supports. Have them write a short story to go with the pop-up scene and glue the story in front of the pop-ups.
A few patterns are included on the next few pages for an origami box and several 3-D paper forms.
Books can be made in shapes from nature, inwhimsical shapes, or geometric shapes. They can be purely art projects, but they naturally lend themselves to being a combination of art, literacy, and any other subject such as language arts, science, history, etc. 107
Make the cross book the size of whatever paper or cardstock you have on hand. The pattern for the cover is slightly larger than the folded book. Just make sure you increase each pattern by the same percentage and the cover will still fit the book. To make the book, simply cut out the indicated sections and fold in on the dotted lines.
cut out
cut out
cut out
cut out
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To make the cover, fold on the dotted lines and tuck the flap in the slits of the sides. A drop of glue under the top part, A, will hold the cover together. Use a toothpick to put tiny dotson the underneath flaps, so the book doesnt get caught on the edges when you slide it in the cover.
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Make long books in the shape of natural objects or landscapes:
Use the books to write simple poems or choose descriptive words:
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The book below is made by folding a sheet of paper, cutting down the center section, and then creasing and folding along each line. You can use any size sheet of paper.
fold fold fold fold cut
pull center out
crease
fold 111
fold
fold
The original 16-pointed star is made with 16 equal sized squares of paper. Use a small amount of glue on the section of each point that is tucked inside the next point. Experiment with different sizes of squares.
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Pop Art with Faux Silk Screening
Secondary Visual Art Lesson by Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES Students will examine the silk screened artworks of Andy Warhol, Sharon Gray, and Marion Hyde. Students will investigate the aesthetic issues that pertain to printmaking and artworks that contain multiple originals. Students will design, draw, and produce a silk screened image after the manner of Andy Warhol Students will recognize the visual culture around them that incorporates a variety of printmaking techniques. Students will compare and contrast pop art and contemporary culture. STATE CORE LINKS
Standard 1
(Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles.
Standard 2 Standard 3 Standard 4
(Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art
ACTIVITY 1. Create a display of items from visual (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in culture that have used the silk-screen works of art through settings and other modes of technique. Items may include t-shirts, learning. bags, wall art, ceramics, shoes, movie posters, CD covers, or the like. Invite MATERIALS students to decide what all of the items Images from the CD: A Well-Red Individual (1978), have in common. When they recognize the Sharon Pearl Reed Gray, Six and Seven/Eighths similarities, have students then identify all (Self Portrait) (1983), Marion Roundy Hyde of the other silk screened items around the (Springville Museum Collection), Andy Warhol, room. Most students will be wearing at Marilyn (BYU MOA Collection) least one item that may qualify. Contact Paper or overhead transparencies, 113
embroidery hoops, cheesecloth, printing ink or any paint mixed with flour (this creates a thicker consistency for silk screening), craft knives, permanent markers, construction paper, cardboard scraps or mat board scraps.
2. Explain that printmaking invites the viewer to investigate some interesting aesthetic issues. Printmaking is one of the only mediums in which there are multiple originals. Unlike a painting or a drawing where there is only one original artwork, printmaking can reach masses of people because it inherently deals with multiples. Introduce students to the silk screened works of Warhol, Gray and Hyde. 3. Invite students to examine recurring themes in pop art. Many times images are taken from contemporary culture. Andy Warhol became famous for his repeated images of ordinary or mundane objects. Encourage students to choose an object
The three templates for a student self-portrait 6. Students will transfer their design onto contact paper and cut out negative images using a craft knife. See example, above. To check how the printed images will look, students can use markers to color a test print. See example, below.
A students design based on an ipod or image from pop culture to work with. Images should be complex and interesting enough to warrant multiple layers. 4. Students will create a line drawing of their chosen object. They should focus on basic shapes and values. 5. Students will then create a color version of their drawing by simplifying it into blocks of color and minimal shapes.
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7. Place two or three layers of cheese cloth on top of each other and secure them inside an embroidery hoop. Repeat this process until you have one embroidery hoop for each color in your sketch. 8. Peel off the backing from the contact paper shapes and adhere to the front side of the cheese cloth/embroidery hoop. Be sure to mask off all areas that you do not wish to have printed. You can mask areas off with contact paper or tape. 9. Place embroidery hoop face down on surface to be printed. Place printmaking ink or paint/flour mixture in a blob at the top of your hoop. Take a square of scrap mat board or cardboard and pull the ink across your image, making sure that ink squishes through the cheesecloth and onto your paper. Repeat if necessary. 10. Lift embroidery hoop and allow print to dry before adding other colors. (**hint: if you use clear contact paper, it is easier to align images as you add different colors to your print.) 11. When images are dry, you may want to have students cut them out and arrange them on a different sheet of paper after the manner of Andy Warhol
Finished student example
ASSESSMENT Use the Printmaking Rubric on the next page to assess the printmaking project.
12. Explain how to add a title, edition number, and signature to their work. 13. Display and critique if necessary.
VARIATION If time is short or supplies are unavailable, students may achieve a similar result by making stencils with paper and using markers to achieve the desired result. A student example of a print of shoes
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EXTENSION Students may choose to supply their own t-shirt to screen print. They may use acrylic paint or printmaking ink to print directly on a shirt, but advise students to use care when laundering their item.
Name Period Date

CATEGORY Understanding of Media 4
The student can define the term printmaking and tell how it differs from two other media. S(he) can also name at least 5 things that make a print more powerful or attractive. Several of the graphics or objects used in the print reflect an exceptional degree of student creativity in their creation and/or display The print shows considerable attention to construction. The items are neatly trimmed. There are no stray marks, smudges. Print is carefully aligned and labeled. Class time was used wisely. Much time and effort went into the planning and design of the print. It is clear the student worked at home as well as at school.
Printmaking Rubric
3
The student can define the term printmaking and tell how it differs from two other media. S(he) can also name at 3-4 things that make a print more powerful or attractive. One or two of the graphics or objects used in the print reflect student creativity in their creation and/or display. The print shows attention to construction. The items are neatly trimmed. A few barely noticeable stray marks, smudges or stains are present. Print is mostly aligned. Class time was used wisely. Student could have put in more time and effort at home.
2
The student can define the term printmaking and tell how it differs from two other media. S(he) can also name at least 1-2 things that make a print more powerful or attractive. One or two graphics or objects were made or customized by the student, but the ideas were typical rather than creative The print shows some attention to construction. Most items are neatly trimmed. A few barely noticeable stray marks, smudges or stains are present. Some of the print is aligned. Class time was not always used wisely, but student did do some additional work at home.
1
The student has trouble defining the term printmaking and describing how it differs from other media AND/ OR the student cannot describe how to make a print more powerful or attractive. The student did not make or customize any of the items on the print.
Creativity
Quality of Construction
The print was put together sloppily. Items appear to be just slapped on. Smudges, stains, rips, uneven edges, and/or stray marks are evident. Print colors are not aligned properly. Class time was not used wisely and the student put in no additional effort.
Time and Effort
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Visual Culture Vinyl
Secondary Visual Arts Lesson by Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES Students will be introduced to Swiss Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting. Students will review various images of contemporary vinyl found in pop culture today. Students will address the aesthetic question of when can an image or object be considered art. Students will design, draw, and produce a faux vinyl image for a wall using contact paper. Students will complete exercises that practice integrating positive and negative space. Students will demonstrate knowledge of contour lines and silhouette shapes. Students will compare and contrast the artworks of Donald Penrod Olsen, Fred J. Hunger, Von Allen, Carla Louise Shurtliff Jimison and Michael Mogus. UTAH VISUAL ARTS STATE CORE Standard 1(Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2(Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3(Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4(Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. MATERIALS Images from the CD of Chelsea VI (1980), Donald Penrod Olsen; Morning-White, Shadows and Monoliths (1974), Fred J. Hunger; Coast (1989),
Fred J. Hunger, Morning-White, Shadows and Monoliths (1974) SMA
Von Allen; A House of Glory (1997), Carla Louise Shurtliff Jimison; Centurys End (1997), Michael Mogus (All Springville Museum Collection); Google Images: Scherenschnitte. Others, Chinese Paper Cutting Paper, pencils, Contact Paper, sandpaper, scissors, acrylic paint, (xacto or craft knives optional).
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ACTIVITY Create a slide show that contains the following images: Chelsea VI (1980), Donald Penrod Olsen; Morning-White, Shadows and Monoliths (1974), Fred J. Hunger; Coast (1989), Von Allen; A House of Glory (1997), Carla Louise Shurtliff Jimison; Centurys End (1997), Michael Mogus. Explain the term contour linea line that describes the edge of an object. Encourage students to choose one of the artworks and create a contour drawing of the basic shapes shown. Explain that in some of the artworks, the contour lines may overlap.
wallpaper and wall art? When does an item make the transition from being an object to being an artwork? Encourage students to develop a list of criteria that makes something an artwork. When does something become art? Is meaning important? Would vinyl be more artsy if it had more meaning?
Example of Traditional Scherenschnitte

http://www.swissfest.org/images/alpfest.jpg
Explain that students will be creating their own contemporary faux vinyl image. Students must decide on an object or image that has meaning to them in some way. Discuss the vinyl images that are on car windows. What do they represent? Why are certain images chosen? Customarily images are chosen because they symbolize the owner in some way. They show members of a family, ownership of a business, family ethnicity, or even just personal interests. As student choose their topic, encourage them to think creatively about these aspects of their lives or personalities. Students must also consider where the vinyl will reside. Will it be in a locker? In a bedroom? On a window? What messages will they portray? Invite students to create a design on paper of their vinyl image. Images must have interesting
Once the students have understood the concept of contour line, show a few images of Swiss Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting. Invite students to make connections between the Scherenschnitte, the Chinese Paper Cuts, and the previous artworks. Point out that in each case, contour lines are very important. Also emphasize the playful use of positive and negative space. The Scherenschnitte and the Chinese Paper Cuts use an intricate balance of positive and negative space to create their art forms.
Create a slide show of images that depict contemporary vinyl images. These images can be found on walls, on car windows, in restaurants, and many other places. Sometimes they are images, and sometimes they are phrases. Invite students to discuss the aesthetic questions that pertain to contemporary vinyl. Is it art? If so, what makes it art? What is the difference between
Chinese Paper Cut Photo by Alan Craig
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Once the contact paper has dried, transfer the image to the back of the contact paper. Keep in mind that if the design is directional, it must be transferred backwards in order for it to cut out correctly.
Begin cutting. Students can use scissors for large areas and craft knives to achieve details.
When the cutting is complete, student must show the project to the teacher, and then explain where it will hang. In order the hang the artwork, peel off the backing and place on a wall. Contact paper is safe for painted walls and can be removed easily. If possible, have students take a photo of their vinyl once it has been hung, and add that photo to a class slide show. Encourage students to obtain feedback from friends and family members about their artwork. ASSESSMENT Use the Faux Vinyl Assessment Tool to assess the project. VARIATIONS Have students create their own Swiss Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting.
Contemporary 3-D Paper Cut

http://www.random-charm.com/?p=711, created by http://www.snippetygibbet.blogspot.com/
silhouettes with plenty of play between positive and negative space. You may want to show more images of Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting in order to emphasize the intricate possibilities.
When students have finished designing their image, they must prepare the contact paper. Contact paper may be purchased in large rollsone or two rolls should be plenty for a whole class, unless students choose to make extremely large images. Students must decide if they would like to paint their contact paper, or use the roll as is. If they decide to paint the paper, they may want to apply a layer of gesso or rub the contact paper with a little bit of sandpaper to make sure the paint will adhere properly. When the gesso is dry, paint the entire piece of contact paper. It is best to use one color for each design. Details tend to get lost if there are multiple colors.
Vinyl Tree on Livingroom Wall
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EXTENSION If time allows, encourage students to work together on a group mural for the school. Students can choose an image that can cover a whole wall, and with one roll of contact paper, they can make a very bold statement.
Left, A forest of aspen tree trunks
Right, Same vinyl tree, from previous page, with small white lights
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Faux Vinyl Assessment Tool

Name_________________________________________________________________________________ 1. In the box provided, please draw an example of contour line.
2. Please describe Swiss Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting. What are some of their common characteristics?
3. Explain what contemporary vinyl images are and where they can be found. What are some common themes portrayed? 4. Describe your faux vinyl image. Why did you choose this image?
5. Was your faux vinyl a success? What were some of the challenges? What were some of the victories? How do you feel about your project?
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Postcards from the Other Side
Secondary Visual Arts Lesson by Michael Bingham OBJECTIVES Students will explore the use of the elements of line, shape, color and texture as well as the art principles of emphasis, balance, variety and rhythm. Their finished project will demonstrate and increased understanding of how these elements and principles can be thoughtfully used to create high-quality artworks. texture, such as pastels, crayons, paint, or color pencils.
Students can draw shapes on the wood scraps. (Note: shapes that are overly complicated or to thin are hard to cut out and break easily.) Keep the shapes simple. Encourage the students to create a variety of shapes. (see: photo 1, below)
UTAH STATE VISUAL ARTS CORE Standard 1: Making. Objective A: Refine techniques and processes in a variety of media. Objective B: Create works of art using art elements and principles. Standard 2: Perceiving Objective A: Critique works of art
Standard 3: Expressing Objective A: Create content in works of art.
School wood shops, cabinet makers, lumber yards, home improvement stores, construction sites and garages often have scraps of wood that are free for the asking. This lesson turns those scraps into valuable art making materials. MATERIALS Possible artworks: Donald P. Olsen, Chelsea VI (1980), and Michael J. Mogus, Centurys End (1997), on CD
Cut out the shapes on a bandsaw; get help if you are unfamiliar with this tool. Have the students sand the rough edges. (see: photo 2)
Students will need a good-sized piece of paper, a pencil or pen, shapes cut out of wood, and a medium that will allow them to add color and
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Use the shapes to trace overlapping shapes that will create interesting designs.
Creativity, Imagination and Problem Solving. Did the student find a creative way to use the shapes? Can we see evidence of imagination? Did the student use originality in solving the problem or was the solution cookie cutter, predictable and unsurprising? Elements of Design. Did the student use line, shape, color, and texture effectively?
Principles of Design. Can you see evidence that the work has an emphasis, good balance, and variety in the design? Fill in the shapes with color and texture.
Communication. Does the work convey the feeling of the location that it represents? Quality and Effort. Did the student put significant effort into the work? Is the quality good?
The quiz on page (*) can be used at the beginning of a critique session to get the students thinking and talking about how successfully the designs communicated feelings and ideas about places. I find that the students are more willing to share their thoughts if the work wasnt done by another student in their class. I would not show it to the students before they do their own piece, because I wouldnt want the examples to influence their own designs. ASSIGNMENT Postcards from the Other Side (examples included) The students were asked to use the shapes they had cut out to create an image that reminded them of someplace they visited or spent time during their summer vacation. They were challenged to convey the mood of the place, using line, shape, color and texture. They needed to be prepared to show how they used emphasis, balance, variety and rhythm in their work. ASSESSMENT Criteria for this assignment are based on the following areas:
VARIATIONS Use the shapes to create a portrait of a best friend Use the shapes to create an art piece that conveys a specific emotion or memory Use the shapes to create a version of the school mascot You can also incorporate recognizable shapes like scissors, combs, cooking utensils etc. There are many assignment variations possible with this project, Use your imagination. EXTENSIONS Keep the odds and ends that are left over when you cut out the shapes (see photos 5, 6 and 7, on the next page). Let the students glue them together with wood glue or hot glue to make
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Extra pieces left over from cutting shapes for Postcards From the Other Side
Students cut notches and used wood glue to create sculptures from the scraps.
Students sand and paint the sculptures. EXTENSIONS, continued small sculptures. The students can sand and paint the sculptures to create a nice finished piece.
Use the sculptures as objects to draw and paint.
Have the students imagine that the sculptures are huge. Students can create drawings that show what the sculptures would look like if they were in the city and people were standing around looking at them. This project is good for teaching emphasis, balance, form, rhythm, light, shadow, and use of imagination.
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See if you can match the student art with the summer vacation location.
A ___ B ___ C ___ D ___ E ___ F ___ G ___ H ___ I ___ J ___ K ___ L ___ 1. Band camp, fun and very busy 2. Bear Lake 3. Stayed home and did the same thing every day 4. Flaming Gorge 5. Apple orchard at sunset 6. Las Vegas 7. Desert in the morning 8. Swam in the ocean 9. Florida 10. Camping in the mountains at night 11. Junkyard 12. Working in the garden
See if you can match the student art with the summer vacation location.
A ___ B ___ C ___ D ___ E ___ F ___ G ___ H ___ I ___ J ___ K ___ L ___ 1. Band camp, fun and very busy 2. Bear Lake 3. Stayed home and did the same thing every day 4. Flaming Gorge 5. Apple orchard at sunset 6. Las Vegas 7. Desert in the morning 8. Swam in the ocean 9. Florida 10. Camping in the mountains at night 11. Junkyard 12. Working in the garden
Key: A 7, B 5, C 11, D 9, E 4, F 6, G 2, H 8, I 1, J 12, K 3, L 10 126
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How to Shake the Tree
For 25 years I have been teaching visual art at the elementary level, and never once in that time did I have an adequate budget to fulfill my educational responsibilities. Originally I thought that the solution was to pour my own money into my classroom. My wife had a different idea. She suggested that I share the blessings of generosity with the rest of the community. As usual, she was brilliantly correct. So here are a few ideas of how to get some financial help in your classroom without too much effort or extra time. We started an annual Student Art Sale at my childrens school in Provo. Each student in the school exhibited several works of art, and during the Parent Teacher Conference night and other occasions when parents were at school we sold the artwork for $1 each to the parents. This may sound silly but we collected several thousand dollars each time we did it. I started doing that at my school and it really works. Parents are not offended. If the parents dont want to buy the work then the students take it home anyway. There is no blackmail involved. We were able to buy equipment and supplies that we otherwise would never have been able to.
Student Artwork for Sale refreshments and a nice write up in the local paper. It was all good. The bank contributed a digital cam-coder, camera and software for editing to our arts program. This year we are going to fill the bank with photographs made possible by their generosity last year.
Another successful way to generate funds and community support is to decorate Christmas Trees for local businesses. This is great PR for the business, and their generosity becomes well known in the community and the parents of our students are inclined to patronize these businesses. Last year we decorated a local banks Christmas tree and walls with student-made ornaments and artwork. It was a big success. They had a big opening with the local high school choir and all the elementary students who made ornaments for the tree. We had music and
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In the past we have also decorated store windows at Christmas and other holidays with student work and designs. The stores have been equally generous and supportive, not to mention the good community feeling it has generated.
With just a little imagination and very little legwork, we have received a lot of art supplies from local businesses. We have a plethora of very expensive matte board inserts and ends from several local framing shops and art galleries, and all they expect in return is a chance to exhibit our students artwork occasionally. They also donate old prints that have been in their stores for a long time and they need to roll it over. Always give the donors a receipt if appropriate so they can get tax credit. The same is true of several Utah Valley printing companies with copious quantities of very expensive paper that our budget would never provide. They can only store the extras for so long and them need to discard the paper for storage room. Printing companies also have end rolls of quality paper that they discard regularly. Dont be afraid to dumpster dive.
are not the fancy supplies that most parents are nervous about donating because they dont really know where to buy ceramic clay or high-quality watercolors and they cant tell good stuff from the cheap and crummy. This way the students can contribute and get it right back to use in their classroom. This seems to impress the children.
Of course you should never overlook your patrons. The PTA donated our desktop publishing computer and printer. They spent a year raising money to get us what we needed. Be specific and have a working list of needs so that when the occasion arises you will be ready and know what to as for. A large and accurate wish list is an important tool. I have found that asking for money is tacky and not effective, but if I have a list of inexpensive art supplies ready, most parents are eager to help. For example, I used to spend a lot of money on Kleenex tissues, paper towels, sponges, soap and cleaners, disinfectant and band-aids. These are not art supplies, but they came out of the same budget. On the first day of school I was inundated with boxes of these supplies without asking. It has become a school tradition on back-to-school night, and no one is hurt by this minimal expense. It also generates a feeling of participation and ownership on the part of our patrons. For years my students would bring me all kinds of candy and trinkets for Christmas and Valentines. I started asking them to bring me art supplies that I could give right back to them. I built a little tree with simple paper ornaments hanging on it and on the back of each ornament was a simple art supply like masking tape, staples, pencils, pens, push pins, copy paper and so on. These
We use a lot of visual aids in the art room. Books, posters, and videos can be expensive. Try looking at Amazon.com for used books, especially the large photographic folios that can easily run $80 to $100 a piece. Often, these wonderful teaching aids can be found on line used for a small fraction of the original cost. The same is true with videos and CDs. For art prints from local Utah artists, you must check out the incredible prints for all ages available from the Springville Museum of Art. Every school should be supplied with a free set. Also check out the postcard sized prints. These are very valuable teaching materials.
One of the prints available from the Springville Museum of Art
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GRANTS I just got a $500 matching grant through our PTA as part of a school wide Art History Project. The grant is to be used for videos, prints and posters and books. There is a lot out there if you just shake the tree. There will be Professional Grant Development Workshop on October 6 at the University of Utah. This workshop is sponsored by The Grant Training Center. Contact at www. GrantTrainingCenter.com Some really great resources for visual aids and media are you School and District Media Centers. In Alpine District we have a truly wonderful Media Center and I have found that there are actually a couple of people who decide what new materials will be purchased. I made it a point to get to know those folks and politely insinuate myself into the decision making process for the visual arts media. They were grateful for my help and amazingly they seemed to always have the exact posters, video and kits that I need for my projects and lessons and I didnt spend any of my budget.
An accessible way to get help and supplies is through the State Wide Art Partnership. That is here at Evening For Educators. We are here to help you and to share ideas. Art supplies and teaching aids and equipment are expensive. They are also necessary for an enriched and aggressive art program.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES Sharing: By sharing expensive equipment and media with other teachers in my school I found that I could save a lot of money and still have some wonderful supplies. I have not purchased crayons for my class for over 20 years even though we do a lot of work with crayon. The lower grade teachers use large quantities of crayon but only like them if they are new, not broken, and still have the paper on them. I get all of their discards and even without a new point on them they make color just fine. A 50 cent pencil sharpener will return the point to pristine accuracy, and you have a lot of colored encaustic to melt and use or add to your paper making project or not. Lately I have expanded the sharing to other schools and teachers. I help them with their kilns and they share their visual aids with me. Occasionally one of the teachers I know will catch a windfall of donated supplies that they are willing to share. It goes both ways. 133
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Some Possible Resources on a Shoestring Budget
First a story about an unbelievable budget. The best resource for saving money on materials and equipment for my art lessons was not a store, organization, or web site. It was an instructional strategy.
Many years ago (when the dinosaurs grazed near the Lake Bonneville) the Davis School District Art Director (Ivan Cornia) told me about an art teacher who found himself teaching in a room that was lit with bare light bulbs, and his art budget was limited to about a couple of reams of drawing paper and a gross of #2 yellow testing pencils. Rather than becoming discouraged and disillusioned, he tried to imagine what it would be like to be a student sitting in his class with these conditions. How could the student feel inspired and look forward to his time in this room? The teacher remembered a little sound bite from one of his Art Education professors: It is the creativity and challenge of the lesson plan that determines everything in the art room. It determines behavior, involvement, and progress. The teacher thought that it might not be a problem of money or room dcor that faced him, but one of lesson planning.
As he was considering the quality of the lesson plans he had slated for the first few weeks, another professors voice broke through the mists. Youve got to capture the interest of the students in the first three minutes of any lesson or youve lost a good portion of your students. It doesnt matter whats in your lesson, many of the students wont get there if they are not hooked in during the first moments of your presentation. Hooks, hooks, hooks.
The teacher started making connections. He figured that a student piqued by a serious challenge to his/her imagination would enjoy time in his classroom. The teacher spent hours going over his lesson plans, finding ways to restate the objective into a challenge or voyage of discovery or a quest for a personal best or an application of imagination. The teacher began to feel as creative dreaming up hooks as he did when he was dreaming up drawings. He found that this approach took the pressure off shiny, new materials and equipment and put the pressure right where it should be the students brains and their ability to conceive possibility. Soon the empty walls of the room became galleries and the room itself became a favored destination of many students largely because it was decorated by their imaginations. When the Davis School District Art Director came to an end of his story, I let a few seconds of silence
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pass, after which I said Have you got any old silkscreens I can have? He asked me to leave and on my way out he gave me a symbolic #2 yellow testing pencil. I thought it was important because he threw the pencil so hard it stuck in the wall by my head. Over the years I saw how you can do a lot with a little if you take some time to consider the needs of your students and phrase your lessons with an interesting hook. And, after much thought, I finally figured out what that Director had meant: he really didnt have any old silkscreens.
list of web sites that carry lots of very good images of art throughout history.
http://www.crayolastore.com/product_list.asp? SKW=CRASALE&NAV=SALE&AID=10304247&PI D=2108462 Another site from the above list. This one is Crayolas official listing of sale items. After checking the ones above I clicked on a few of the other sites listed on the Princeton on Line web site just to see if they were viable and it appears that they are good.
Okay, enough soap boxing. Here are a few web sites that address free or discounted things for the art teacher. You know how to search the net as well as I do, so Im only listing a few. In fifteen minutes you could probably find twice as many as I have here. http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/ lesson/lesson104.shtml This site is directed towards the elementary level and it includes lots of crafts. In fact, it is probably mostly crafts.
http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_ promotion.cfm Heres yet another listing from the Princeton on Line site. I found that most of the sites listed for materials took me to the on sale or discounted items page of a manufacturers catalogue. Not many of them represent huge savings, but they are worth a look especially if you do much ordering through the net.
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/ toolbox/free.html I dont know how old this site is, but it appears to be a one-stop shopping center for all things free and cheap that relate to art education and education in general. Although she doesnt sell anything through this site, she does list a plethora of sites with specific annotations. Clicking on this site is a bit like bumping into Santa Claus and he asks you, What would you like for Christmas, little one? http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~manderso/main/ htm/0028.htm This is one of the sites listed on the site above and takes you to several articles on art in downloadable PDF format.
I used to buy 95% of my materials from Reuels Art and Frame (http://www.reuels.com/reuels/ index.html ) and every once and a while theyd have a sale that saved me a fortune. It pays to watch and follow out their sales notices. Russ Gardner (Reuels Educational Sales Rep) also puts out a sheet of the most often ordered and on sale items each year, and he can be reached by the Reuels phone number, which is 801.355.1713. I could probably fill a couple of pages with web sites that offer discounts on art materials or information and I wouldnt be doing anything that you couldnt do in a couple of minutes on your own. Therefore Im going to stop wasting ink on that and go another direction. What Im going to suggest are things that you have probably done, but just in the rare case that you may have missed one, Im going to list them anyway. Barnes and Noble and other big bookstores will from time to time have unbelievable sales on art books and art reference books. Often for ten bucks (give or take a few bucks) you can get art books with wonderful illustrations and reproductions. Id buy a couple and take them to the teachers prep room at my school and chop
http://www.arlisna.org/resources/onlinepubs/ freeart.html This site is listed on the site above and is a dandy
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Some framing shops are happy to give away their mat board scraps. Sometime they have some very nice mats cut out and beveled but they made a mistake on the size or color or some such thing and some of those find their way into the scrap heap. Its always worth taking a few minutes to ask the manager about their scraps. Also whenever you are asking for this stuff, identify yourself as an art teacher from your school. That seems to help.
An Altered Book sketchbookfill with drawing paper or keep some pages and turn them into found poems or incorporate them as part of a new artwork. off their bindings with the guillotine type paper cutter. Id end up with a fantastic set of flash cards, or mini individual study materials. Id keep them on hand in my room and Id end up finding all sorts of uses for them. You can find another kind of book deal by watching your local public library. A problem is that the books are generally in really bad condition. However, if you can get enough hard bound books that are around 6x9, you can get rid of the pages (save for the end papers) and fill the shell of the book with drawing paper for a personalized sketchbook. Another possibility is to go to a paint store and ask if they have any old, worn, or dated books of wallpaper samples. These are great resources for paper sculptures, collages, and the like. The paint stores are sometimes slow to let these things go, so you can make the deal sweeter by telling them youll give them a note saying these are donations on the school letterhead. This way theyll get a tax deduction out of the deal and might feel a bit better about letting them go. While you are there, stock up on the free paint chips. They are great for lessons involving color and color relationships.
The shop classes at your school can generate some neat scraps. Generally, these are for sculptural projects. You know the old saying, One persons garbage is another persons art project material.
Sometimes you can snag some small plastic containers from restaurants or fast food stops. Some of these make great water or paint holders. You can also buy these inexpensively at Costco or Sams but you have to buy them in bulk and that creates a storage problem. Probably the strangest place Ive received donated materials from is the ER at a hospital. They have lots of prepackaged materials such as wraps, gauze, tapes, gloves and the like put in combinations in plastic containers for different injuries that come up. The docs just grab one, tear off the paper top, scoop out the contents, and throw the container to the side. The trick is to find somebody who works near there to gather them and save them for you. At my old school we always had lots of these around and we never had to worry about water containers. Actually they had a lot of uses and it was nice to have a nearly endless supply of them. Once when I was at a beauty supply store I overheard the owner saying he was going to close out his airbrush supplies for fingernail painting. I mustered up a little courage and asked him what he was going to do with it. He said the all the hard equipment like the airbrushes themselves,
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he could get his money back out of them, but the acrylic paints that were used to paint the finger nails had a shelf life so he was just going to throw them out. I asked if I could have them and believe it or not, he gave me his entire stock. These are the same acrylic paints we use in art, but since they were for airbrush their pigment was ground finer and the paint was filtered to a higher degree. What a windfall. All I did was ask. Printing companies deal in large quantities of all sorts of paper. They try to end up with as little scrap as possible, but theres always some. Go to a couple of these and ask them what they do with their scraps. These guys usually send their scraps to recycling centers. Printing places use some pretty exotic papers sometimes and you can get a bit of a variety from them. Places that package or create packages end up with some scraps that are useable. Corrugated cardboard can be a great sculptural medium. Fabric stores sometimes will have some material scraps. They are pretty thrifty and they repackage a lot of their scraps and resell them, but sometimes they end up with some odd shaped scraps that they cant use and maybe you could talk them out of those.
where ever they can; its just that most of them have never thought about stuff at their work that could be a valuable asset in an art room. So you can sometimes find materials to help stretch your budget and add some novelty to your projects; however the rub comes when you are looking for equipment. Other than watching for the sales that different supply houses have, there is not much you can do. Generally you dont want to get used equipment, and thats pretty hard to find anyway. Personally I loathe doing fundraisers and sending the students out selling something or another. Principals are working under very tight budget constraints these days, but that shouldnt make you shy. As long as you are respectful of their time and the way you phrase your needs, the principal needs to know that your department needs something. Squeaky wheel you know.
Some of the best resources are right under our noses and we skip over them without thinking. You could send a note home with your disclosure statements and ask if the parents work with any materials that could be used in your art programs. List a few examples to get them thinking. For the most part, parents realize that schools are going through a very lean time and theyll help out
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Art On A Shoestring

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Art on a Shoestring Budget:

Making Affordable Art