The Art Cart

Lesson 30: Muniz "Scrap" Collage

This was the final lesson from my Art Through History unit. I explained how since the invention of the internet and the advancement of technology, artists have needed to become more creative with materials. This lesson focused on using unexpected materials to make art. I talked about Damien Hirst, Andy Goldsworthy, and one of my favorite contemporary artists Vik Muniz (the chocolate syrup guy). I showed the students Muniz's impressive negative space trash pictures and we created collages using old scraps from previous projects. One of the great things about researching for my project ideas is that I stumble across new  fantastic things that artists are doing and it makes me really excited to see that originality still exists. Unfortunately my model for this particular project was lost in my cart-life shuffle so the image I included is the actual work part of the "Wasteland" series by Vik Muniz

Lesson 29: Haring Dancing Figures

This lesson was one of my favorites because we talked about the history of Hip Hop and its relation to Graffiti art in the 1980's. We talked about the many different forms of street art and we made colorful dancing figures based on the work of artist Kieth Haring. We played some Sugarhill Gang (Rapper's Delight is clean and 15 minutes long!) and the students really enjoyed listening to the music as they worked.

Lesson 28: Ringgold Story Quilt

For Black History Month I talked about the Black Arts movement in the 1970's and the importance of diversity in art. I played a read-aloud video of Faith Ringgold's "Tar Beach" and each student made a section of a "Story Quilt" using squares of canvas paper  glued to squares of colored craft foam. Students used markers and stamps to create their design. I threaded them all together to make a quilt using yarn. 

Lesson 27: Marbled Paper

For this lesson, I talked about performance and political art in the 1960’s and 70’s and we listened to The Beatles (who doesn’t love the Beatles?) For the project the students made psychedelic marbled paper that I eventually used for the covers of their sketchbooks. I have always wanted to try a marbled paper project, but I have experimented with many different "recipes" and most of them were completely unsuccessful or the color wasn't bright enough. I found the simple shaving cream with dots of food coloring to be the best! (but VERY messy). I bought cheap foaming shaving cream, food coloring, and a tin foil baking tray. After spraying a layer of shaving cream in the tray, I let the students pick out colors and swirl the drops with a stick. They gently pressed cardstock paper onto the shaving cream surface and I used a squeegee to wipe the excess shaving cream off the paper, after waiting a few minutes for the color to set. This lesson was a little tricky as a travelling teacher with no sink, but I managed, even if my hands ended up multicolored!

Lesson 26: Warhol Pop Art Pictures

Pop Art is a very fun subject, especially because students love seeing recognizable things in a different way. This project was more focused on using bright unexpected colors to make "commercial" images based on the work of Andy Warhol. I printed out some Warhol coloring pages and students were able to arrange the designs on bright colored cardstock and color them in using markers. 

Lesson 25: Pollock Splatter Paintings

This project actually turned out better (and surprisingly less messy!) than I originally thought it would. I'm all for getting messy with art, but I was a little nervous when I reached the Abstract Expressionist movement. We learned about Jackson Pollock's splatter paintings and I had each student add their own splatter to a class painting. We used a cardboard box (about 8 inches deep) and we placed a small canvas at the bottom. Each student took turns spattering with a brush and dripping with small cups. I was very happy with the end result!

Lesson 24: Sugar Skulls

For this lesson I was excited to teach my students about one of my favorite artists, Frida Kahlo. Most of the things that happened in her life were not "age-appropriate" subjects for my art class, but I was still able to explain that she began painting after being bedridden by an accident and how sometimes unfortunate things can lead to unexpected results. We talked about art in Mexico and the importance of mural painting, then we each decorated a paper "sugar skull" using bright neon cardstock cut into different shapes. Each student started with a skull head shape on thick paper. 

Lesson 23: O'Keefe Flowers and Bones

At this point in history, most of the focus had been on European art (mainly in Paris- where the center of art was), but during the 20th century, there were many notable artists in America as well, so I created a lesson based on the work of Georgia O'Keefe. (If you look in my Portfolio you can see I was inspired by her for my own work as well). We talked a little about the influence of The Great Depression and how artists used art to show the hardships of life and the beauty of the country. I gave each student a choice to color in an outline of a bull skull or a flower (the skulls were very popular). We used chalk pastels on toned cardstock.

Lesson 22: Masking Mondrian

For this lesson we talked about the influence of The Bauhaus School in Germany and about how certain styles of art carried into architecture and interior design. I showed a virtual tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water" and we talked about the painter Piet Mondrian. I was able to use the painter's tape again for this project (yay!) We used pure tempera paint color in each section of the paintings and we peeled the tape off at the end. (I feel the same way people feel when they pull that plastic film off a new cell phone whenever I peel painter's tape away!) 

Lesson 21: Art Deco Stained Glass

Students learned about the Art Deco movement and the emergence of Jazz music. I used a vellum paper that I searched everywhere for, but could only find it at Staples, which was not ideal because I think their prices are outrageous! I taped the paper to a thin cardboard frame and had the students trace designs based on Art Deco stained glass with markers. We listened to Jazz music as we worked and the students enjoyed putting their stained glass in the windows to see how the light shined through.