Fly Your Flag

This week in Under the Influence, we learned about Jasper Johns. The students learned that he often painted everyday things (a flag, a bullseye, numbers). After looking at samples of his work, I guided their pieces by suggesting a flag (though it wasn't a must, as I want them to do whatever they feel like...within reason) incorporating a bullseye and/or numbers if they chose. They used pencil, Sharpies and oil pastels, learning how to blend the colors to create a painterly effect.

I was so impressed with how focused the children were, and by how great each piece ended up.

Under the Influence of Art-William Wegman

Although next week is officially the last week of class, I usually make that class more of a celebration by decorating cookies (artfully of course) with the kids. So, this week we learned about our final artist of the session. To end things on a light and fun note, I chose William Wegman. We looked at two books he created and then went on tor create our own dog pictures. Since this was somewhat of a short project, when they were all done, the children took turns standing infront of the class to explain their artwork and answer questions. It was fun to see all of the things their dogs could do, from eating at restaruants to gardening and scuba diving. 

Under the Influence of Art-Picasso

This week we learned about Picasso. The last time I taught a Picasso class, the students did a collage based on “The Three Musicians,” and I loved the results. This time, we did self-portraits. With Picasso’s Blue Period as inspiration, the children picked a color to use. We learned how to mix the color with black, white, and extra water to achieve different shades and appearances. I was amazed at how much some of these pictures resembled the artist. What do you think?

Under the Influence of Art-Oh Miro!

Let's Play!

Another great Under the Influence class! This week we learned about Joan Miro. Because he had such a playful style, these pictures focused on that. The only other requirement I gave the kids was to have 2 places in the picture where objects overlapped, creating a new shape.

The kids who turned in their slips giving me permission to show them on my blog are shown below. If you are a parent in the class and would like your child included with their picture in the future, please be sure to turn in the permission slip I sent home the first week of class.

Under the Influence-Vincent Van Gogh

Today's art class was FANTASTIC. Not only did the kids create gorgeous works of art, but they all finished and everyone helped with the cleanup. Sometimes things just go so smoothly. I want to thank all of the kids for behaving so well, trying their hardest and cooperating so well at clean-up time!

This week we learned about Vincent Van Gogh. In the past, the students painted Starry Night or Sunflowers. This session, I tried a different version of Starry Night, one that had a few different steps to it (oil pastels, painting, cutting, pasting and , of course, some glitter). This project is definitely a keeper. I love these "Starry Chicago Nights!" (wind and all).