Gesture Drawing and Foil Figures

This year I have one 60 minutes class per week with a class. This is just the perfect amount of time to do my gesture/movement lesson. I have taught gesture drawing lessons for a while. You can find an older post here.

However last year I started foil figures. I got the lesson from a wonderful site, one my favorites. Check it out here. 

In 60 minutes this is what we do:
A short discussion of gesture drawing, examples.
I place one mannequin on each table. Students this year have been using charcoal, which they love, and news print.
I give them 1.5 minutes to loosely sketch one mannequin at a time. When time is up, they move clock wise to the next table. There are a total of 7 tables.
I encourage the students to draw loosely, over lap run off the paper, change sizes, but fit them all on.
The last gesture is of me, in a 2 minute pose or another student. This photo is old, taken years ago! But you get the point.

So total of 8 gestures. Then they are to chose one from their sketch to make a foil figure. The above website will show you how to cut your foil. I would suggest playing around with it, before you teach. Foil can be very tricky. I just use the heavy duty from the grocery store. 

I have a stock of thin cardboard. They are to trace the figure in sharpie on board and color in with sharpie to give look at shadow. This part totally makes the project. I heat my glue gun up and I glue the figures down. This takes all of 60 minutes, any less it will not work unless you limit the gestures to less than 8. I usually keep in a few in the art room and display case for display purposes, if not they go home that day with the gesture drawing as well. Awesome! Make and take!!

Polenta Staff Monuments

This lesson I borrowed from http://elementaryartfun.blogspot.com/search/label/Monuments, but I tweaked it a tad to fit my art supplies.

We began the lesson talking about monuments. What they are and some examples around the world. Then we focused on monuments of people, and what kind of characteristics a person would have to have to be inspiring. We brainstormed these on the board.

We discussed how all of these characteristics really show in our teachers/staff at Polenta.

Each student was to pick one staff member at school and to create a three dimensional monument of them. In each class no more that two students doing the same person.

The above site really has a great overview of this lesson. However I used wheat paste instead of glue. We did use toilet paper (thanks to our custodians hooking us up). paper towels too hard to shape and mold. Instead of poster board..I had already ordered these from school specialty

Roylco Stand-Up Self Portrait Art Project Kit - 6 1/4 x 9 inch - Pack of 40 I did however rip the backs off and create my own with tag board and hot glue.

Students painted over their paper mache (i did however prime them with gesso myself first) and they added yarn for the hair and other embellishments for fun. They put a clear sealer/varnish on top of the paint too. The very last day they added a name plate and wrote why their staff member is inspiring. Several are focused in the display case outside of my room (see pics).

I plan on having a monument exhibit the week after next in the media center to display all of them. Staff is getting a hoot out at them and think they are great.
I think it makes the staff members feel special to be thought of.

Next nine weeks when I do it all again, maybe I won't do the paper mache?

Why. time. It took two class periods just for that. Several for the rest. A long project. But fun.
I think however the mache that was on the best parts of the projects for the students.

Great pic of what I added on the backs of all

Mr. P, movement teacher with his whistle!

What this student wrote about their second grade teacher was adorable.

Our custodian, Mr. James. Several were done of him.

Roy G Biv, Roller Coasters and Shapes

These are a few art lessons we have done this nine weeks in Kindergarten. All have been successful.

Lesson: Roy G Biv
Objectives:

• Student's will learn about the spectrum colors (rainbow) and their order.
• student's will each create their own ROY G BIV.
• Student's will understand and Follow a step by step presentation of the activity using the document camera.
• They will use art tools safely and appropriately. Scissors and glue (just a dot not a lot)
• Learn how to carry their art work to drying rack.

Supplies

• 12x18 white paper
• tan paper with circle traced on it
• Strips of spectrum colors
• glue
• scissors
• ROY G BIV name tags
• CD by Greg percy "ROY G BIV"
• Markers

This is a one day lesson. My class time is 40 minutes. I am booking it to get finished. I thought about taking the song out, but it is so cute. A great way to teach a concept!

1. Introduce colors in the rainbow and ROY G BIV. Explain the he lives in a rainbow and sometimes we see him in our and other works of art.
2. Sing song by Greg Percy "ROY G BIV"
3. Demonstrate how cut circle from tan paper and where to glue it on white paper. Also demonstrate where to glue his ears.
4. Discuss the order of the spectrum colors and demonstrate how to glue to rainbow colors as his hair.
5. name tag goes at bottom or somewhere
6. Demonstrate how to draw his face with a great big smile!

Closure: review names of spectrum colors.

The Roy G Biv lesson above I borrowed from a kindergarten teachers blog. I did this lesson after the roller coaster and shape lesson. Super cute.

This roller coaster lesson is an all time must for kindergarten. I've been doing this for years. This is usually my third lesson with kindergarten, after an introduction to line. It is a great lesson to teach how to open, use and close a glue bottle. The total lesson can be found in last years post.

"Castle and Sun' This lesson came after the roller coaster lesson. I wanted to continue with using the glue bottle and introduce cutting in art. I showed the students Paul Klee's "Castle and Sun" and we discussed the shapes he used in his castle.

I had rectangles, squares, triangles pre cut for them to sort through and build their own castle. Building from the bottom up was a hard concept for most. They orignally wanted to slap shapes on their paper just anywhere. I had to really encourage them to build.

The last thing they did was cut a circle drawn for them on an orange sheet of paper. I walked around the room and really just watched who could cut.

I really need to post more of these. I was really inpressed with alot.

I am going to do this lesson next nine weeks again with my other set of Kindergarteners and may chose a different color background and incorporate some different kinds of paper. ie scrap book, painted paper, etc.