5th Grade Musical Cubism

This lesson was the second of the Picasso unit for my Fifth Grade Students!  These kids are so open minded when it comes to art!  I presented a little power point showing them some of Picasso's more musically themed paintings.  I could not get them to stop talking about all the things they saw in the images.

On the next class day I set up musical instruments and a few other objects around the room.  I had a guitar, a mandolin, a viola, a trumpet, a flute and a trombone. I added an apple, a manikin, a styrofoam skeleton and a Puerto Rican inspired mask.  The kiddos were to divide their paper first using lines and geometric shapes.  They were then allowed to walk around the room and draw the musical instruments of their choice.  They could use just a piece of one or three.  They had to have at least three objects total and then they had to balance the space using color, cut-outs of keyboards and sheet music and/or pattern.  The cubism aspect helped the kids be a little less self-conscious about their drawing "ability".  All in all I consider it a success.  I have hundreds of these posted in the hallway!

Picasso Inspired Warm/Cool/Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde Portraits

So in my new adventures in Fifth and Sixth Grade Art came with a skeleton of lesson plans from the retiring teacher.  They are good solid lessons, but I must add a few Mrs. Williams' touches.  Ms.  B did schedule a Picasso Self-Portrait using Sharpie Marker and Crayon.  I added the variables of divide into two different views - front and side.   One side should be warm colors, one side cool colors, but by day two we morphed into the two sides to everyone's personalities!  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Ego and Alter-Ego, Happy/ Sad.  I asked everyone to show two sides of their personalities and the results were astonishing!  Oh and I used Oil Pastels which are so brilliant and wonderful!  Here are a few!  There are many more wonderful creations!

Second Grade Sunflowers!

After teaching high school art for nine years, I have been transferred to Elementary!  An elementary teacher retired and because of our governor's draconian cuts to education, retirees do not get replaced. We were forced to cut programs from the high school so that one of us could cover the elementary classes.  So five days out of the cycle I teach 5th and 6th graders.  One day I teach first through fourth. This is my hardest, craziest day!  I teach eight classes!  In the morning I teach two third grades, two fourth grades.  I have a 30 minute lunch which I use to get ready for two first grade and then two second grade classes!

The kids are adorable and beautiful!  They poke me and give me drawings!  They fall off their chairs!  The previous art teacher and the other elementary art teacher were good enough to leave me their lesson plans.  I used them the first day and then I came up with my own morphs thanks in part to the wonderful people who share lessons on Pinterest!   These sunflowers are the the stunning result of one of these morphs.  The lesson scheduled was a pointillism leaf.  I didn't have a leaf so I found a pointillism sunflower center on Pinterest.  The Pinterest Poster used paint for the entire project.  I used one class for the kiddies to trace circles and apply pointillist dots!  I used the second session for the kiddies to draw the petals and vase.  The third for color using their choice of crayon, colored pencil or marker!  The results were awesome!