CREATE At Home
Drawing Videos on Youtube
Recycled Art
Gather odds and ends. Raid the recycle bin. Then glue your items together to make a sculptor or a collage. If you have paint or markers you can add color. There is no right or wrong. Just have fun.
Miniature Art Museums
I saw this great article on "My Modern Met," about a bored couple in quarantine who built a tiny art museum for their pet gerbils. What a fun idea. You do not need a pet gerbil to make this project.
The picture above was created by a brother and sister from PVE. They used the art pet museum idea but instead, created a city for their hamster named, Humphrey. How clever and imaginative. Look at the detail! There is even a swing and a rooftop deck.
Fingerprint Art
When I was a child, one of my favorite books was called, "Great Thumbprint Drawing Book," by Ed Emberley. It had wonderful, step by step, demonstrations on how to create animals, objects, and scenes using your fingerprints. Maybe you have an ink pad or you can color your fingertips with washable markers to create great art. Please ask your parents first to see if this idea is ok and don't touch the walls until after you have washed your hands.
Tracing Objects
Here is a great idea for making beautiful abstract art. It's simple. Go through your kitchen drawers and trace some interesting cooking utensils onto a piece of paper. Ask your parents if you could go through the tool box and trace some interesting tools. How about tracing some of your school supplies? Make sure to overlap the different objects and trace with a pencil. You can leave the drawing black and white or you can color it. Maybe even add different patterns to the shapes. Have fun.
Nature Art
Sometimes you may find that you are running low on certain art supplies. A great way to get creative is to use found objects. The next time you go for a walk bring a little bag with you. If you see interesting nature objects, collect them. There are all sorts of ways to turn these objects into art. Use your imagination.
Found Object Color Wheel
Use objects from around the house and arrange them by color. Group them into a circle to make a color wheel! Make sure to put all items back where they belong to help your parents. Don’t forget to take a photo!
Food Art
6th grader from Cheyenne Mountain Elementary
One of my sixth grade students at Cheyenne Mountain Elementary sent me this picture. He created art out of his food. This reminded me of the Italian artist, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, who was best known for creating imaginative portraits entirely of food and other objects.
This would be a great way to create at home. Please ask your parents first and once you are finished, make sure you eat your creation! Take a picture before your art disappears.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Shading:
The lines or other marks used to fill in outlines of a sketch, engraving or painting to represent gradations of color or darkness.
There are so many ways that one can shade in an object. Most people think of using the side of their pencil tip and then blending or smudging the graphite. Personally, one of my favorite techniques is to use a technique called "stippling." This is a shading technique where you use dots to create different values in art. The closer the dots, the darker the value. There are so many ways to shade. Experiment. Fruit and vegetables make for great subject matter.
Zentangles
The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. We call these patterns, tangles.
"Finish the Other Half"
A 6th grade boy from PVE sent me this amazing drawing of a buck. I decided to feature his project so that you can give it a try. This is such a neat way to learn how to draw. Simply find an image that you would like to draw. It is easier if it is a symmetrical (meaning the same on both sides) image but it doesn't have to be. Cut the image in half and adhere it to a blank piece of paper. Try to draw the other side. Have fun and send me pictures of your completed drawing.
Jar Art
One of my CME 2nd graders sent me a picture of her with her homemade ball jar lantern. I wanted to share this idea with you because I think it would be a neat project for summer. All you need is a clean jar, some glue, water, a paintbrush and colored tissue paper. Cut your tissue paper into your desired shapes. Water down some glue and use your paintbrush to apply the glue to the jar. Place the tissue paper on top of the glue and then re-apply a second coat of glue on top of the tissue shape. Once dry, you can even place a battery operated tea candle in the jar to create a fun lantern.
Mother's Day is May 10th
Here is a simple and cute idea for a Mother's Day card. You can draw your own jar or you can go to the Printables tab to print one off.
The first card says "Happy Mother's Day from your Love Bug." You can use your fingerprints to create the cute bug.
Art and Music go hand in Hand
I have been visiting Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. Alpeter's websites and I have realized how many of you are singers and musicians. I thought it would be fun to incorporate your love of music with art. There is an artist who comes to mind. His name is Romare Bearden. He is famous for expressing his love of music through his colorful collages. Can you think of an artistic way to express your fondness of music through art? I have included some samples of art projects to spark some ideas. You are all so clever and I can't wait to see what you create. Make sure to send me pictures.
ZINES
A Zine is an origami book that is very easy to make. It takes several folds and one cut. Zines can come in handy if you don't have a sketchbook or notebook. Depending on the paper you have, you can create all different sizes. Zines would be great for the weekly drawing challenges at the top of this page. You can also make comic books or write stories in them. You can use them for journaling or for making lists. Or you can just draw pictures in them. When I go on vacations or hiking, I stick one in my backpack just in case I am inspired to sketch something.
Printmaking
There are many types of printmaking including, woodcut, linocut, etching, monotype, and screen printing. When learning how to print, sometimes it is fun to print with found objects such a plants, pinecones, sticks and rocks. You can also print with things found in your kitchen drawer, such as a potato masher. Explore your junk drawer or your toy box. Ink pads, tempera paint and craft paint can be used for making the prints. Before you start this fun art projects, make sure you ask your parents if you can print with household objects and make sure you clean up after yourself.
Coffee Filter Monsters
This is a super fun and easy project. All you need is some coffee filters, markers, water, glue and construction paper. If you don't have googly eyes you can just draw the eyes on after the monster dries. Maybe you can make a family of monsters. Have fun.
Mosaic Art
A mosaic is a style of art where a larger image is created by arranging bits of clay, glass, or other materials, such as paper, in a pattern.
For this project you will need any type of paper. You can use construction paper, news paper, scrapbook paper, magazine paper etc. It may help to draw out your design on the paper that you are going to adhere your small pieces of paper too. Once you have your design in mind, start cutting up small bits of colored paper. Some people simply rip the paper into small pieces. I prefer to use a glue stick for this project but regular Elmer's glue will work just as well. Next, you will fill in your design with the bits of paper. I like to leave a small space in between each small piece. When you are finished, you will have a beautiful, colorful mosaic.
GIant flowers
Inspired by the artist Georgia O'keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been recognized as the "Mother of American modernism".
Georgia O'keeffe is one of my art heros. At a very young age, I fell in love with her close up paintings of flowers. Oftentimes, she would paint the flowers so large that the petals would actually go off of the painting. Several years ago, I was able to visit the Georgia O'keeffe museum in Santa Fe, NM. What a thrill! There was a display of her paints and paintbrushes. It gave me goosebumps.
Here are a few pictures of her amazing flower paintings.
I would love for these paintings to inspire you. You can use paint, crayons, chalk (maybe draw a giant flower in your driveway), oil pastels or markers. Whatever you have will work just fine. Here are some examples.
"Fairy, Lego, Dinosaur" Mini Gardens
Talk about using your imagination! Check out these fun little gardens. I hope you find inspiration from these photos and can build your own little gardens.
Magazine Art
Using pictures from a magazine or a catalog is a great way to make creative art. Here are some samples to get your imagination going.
Rock Painting
What a fun way to get creative this summer. Craft paint along with paint pens work great for this project. I like to spray my painted rocks with a clear spray paint when I am finished. It makes the rocks look cool and it protects the paint. If you created a "fairy garden" a couple of weeks ago, you can add your painted rocks to it.
Pet Art
I have been noticing that many of my students art getting new pets this summer. I am so excited for you all. You know me! I love my pups and I always share my stories with you. So, I have been inspired to do a pet project. Maybe you can all find inspiration from these great art examples and create a portrait of your pets. If you don't have a pet, maybe you can make some art about a pet that you will have one day.
Bitmoji You
I have been having so much fun! I have learned how to create a bitmoji art room. So for this week's project, I thought it would be fun for you to try and draw yourself as a Bitmoji. Think about your personality, your favorite outfit, your favorite pair of shoes or a hat, and things that you like to be doing. Have fun!
Shadow Drawing
This is a really fun art project that involves some of your toys. You will need a sunny day, a piece of paper and a pencil. Once you set up your toys in a way that casts a shadow, then you simply trace the shadows.
Tinfoil sculptures
Last year at PVE, the strangest thing started happening. I kept finding little tinfoil sculptures all over the art room. I found one hanging from my clock, one in the corner of my window, one hanging off my lamp and so on. These quirky little tin people made me so happy. Turns out, it was one of my sneaky sixth grade boys. What a great idea for an art project. All you need is some tinfoil and a scissor. Below are some pictures to inspire you. Once you try making a person, you may want to stretch and explore and make other things like, animals, plants, or strange creatures.
