Water Color Emotions

This is such a fun project for kids to do. The purpose of the project is to either have your students pick six emotions and use colors and different materials (salt, alcohol, plastic wrap) to help visualize them with water colors.You can also bring different foods and have the students paint how they felt or experienced while they ate them.

This was a really fun project to do, but the first time that I did this project, my paint bled through the tape that I used to make the blocks. It did  this because I failed to run my fingers along the edges of the tape. The second time that I did this project this was my final result. Nice clean lines and six perfect squares that represent my emotions.

The emotions that I chose for this project was calm, love, sad, angry, compassion, and surprised. I used different materials such as salt, acetone, and plastic wrap to create the many textures that are present. I really liked this project and to see what I could create and to see the how the different materials reacted to create such beautiful pieces of art work.

Notan

The word Notan comes from the Japanese language and means “dark, light.” This type of art is a combination of light and dark that work together to make a beautiful work of art. This is usually used with black and white and implies beauty and harmony. It gets at the essential spirit of a composition, its pattern and design, through a strict black-and-white, dark-light arrangement.

All you need is a white square sheet of paper, a black square sheet of paper half the size of the white one, a colored pencil, scissors, and glue. So intricate and beautiful!

This is the one that I made. When I first started this projects I drew my details of the Notan and I was ready to cut. I learned very quickly that scissors are not the best cutting tool for this project luckly I had a small razor blade that I could use to help me make clean cut lines for the project. If I were to do this project again I would try to make more details in my Notan because the details are what makes this kind of art so unique.

Foil Square

This is an easy and beautiful art project that would not cost a lot of money. This is a great project for students to experiment with textures. Students will pick an image and use string, glue, or any objects they can to create the basic outline of the image on a piece of card board. Then they glue aluminum foil down on the cardboard and then add the details of image on the foil. Then they will add shoe polish, tempera-paint, or markers to really make them pop. Wipe the foil clean and your master piece is ready for display.

When I was doing this project I had some issues with the shoe polish not sticking. I made my lines and textures, and wiped the shoe polish onto the foil and let it dry for a few minutes. When I wiped it off, the shoe polish did not stick in the lines that I made. I discovered that I should have made the lines deeper, and the longer you let the shoe polish dry, the better. I also found that when you are trying to do the outline of your organice object, use hot gule. It works a lot better than elmers glue and string does not hold its shape.

Mandala

The word Mandala comes from the Indian language of Sanskrit and is translated as “circle.” This is more than just a simple shape. There is no same Mandala because each one is unique and special in its own way. Each symbol that is used in the Mandala represents something significant. 

This would be a great activity to do with your students at the beginning of the school year to help everyone to get to know each other. Have the students create symbols that represent who they are or helps to represent them. Then after the students have completed their drawings, have each student get up in front of the class and present their Mandala. 

Here is mine!!! 

The symbols that I chose is a baseball diamond, snake skin pattern, infinity sign, a flower, ocean waves, music staff and “crochet loops”. Each of these represents my love for baseball, my fear of snakes, my never ended persistence in all that I do, my love for the outdoors, my love for the ocean, my love for music and my hobby of crocheting.  I chose the colors blue, green, yellow, pink, and red. These represent peace, love of nature, happiness, love and strength. 

To start out making my Mandala, I had to think of different symbols that represented me. Once I had this done, I made a few sketches that had the symbols I chose to use. Once I decided on a sketch I started on my final project. This project turned out just like I had planned and it is one of my favorite art projects I have done so far.

WELCOME!!!!!

Art is one of the most underestimated subjects in school. In today's school districts there is hardly any time for the Arts. The focus is more on Math, Science, Reading and Writing. But the truth of the matter is, students can learn just as much from Art as they can from any other subject.

Whether it be drawing, painting, sculpting, dancing, singing, etc., Art will help our students to be creative and how to analyze and critique. They will be able to evaluate their own work and make any changes they need to. It is an amazing process and students are missing out on this opportunity.

As a teacher it is your job to provide this opportunity for your students. There are so many different art projects that students can do and there is also a variety so that each student will be able to find what they are good at and improve their art skills that are just waiting to emerge.