Expression through Art is PERFECTION

Easy Valentine Craft with Broken Crayons

I can't take credit for this broken crayon project, found it on Pinterest, but I tried it out and it worked GREAT!  Nice alternative to candy Valentine's.  Most classrooms have an abundance of broken crayons.  I bet they would trade you a new box for a bunch of broken ones.

TIP:  To get the crayons peeled, get a small box knife and hold one end with one hand and drag the knife blade from those fingers down the middle to slit it open. Saves a ton of time. We taught our 7 and 10 year olds how to use the box knife to do this. I was only stuck doing the really short broken pieces.

 

 

Then, you can use those silicon cupcake holders. I decided to buy a dozen separate ones instead of one tray with 8 or 12.  It was less at Michaels and I like the ridges around the cupcakes.  The silicon are better than using Whoopie pie pans or similar because you can bend them away to pop the crayon hearts out.  This is great for any season.

Small chunks, but not too small - about an inch work best.

 

 

Fill a cupcake holder half way. Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Take out and let cool completely before popping them out.  You may need to smooth the top of the heart, depending on how lumpy your crayons are. Some pigments seems to melt differently, as do washable vs. regular crayons.  Great use for those dopey restaurant crayons.  No need to wash the holders between batches, just wait unti you are done.

 

 

Frank Lloyd Wright

Hello all, this year I'm not posting the PDF scripts.  We have a strict agreement and cannot post them to people outside our school that haven't paid for the ArtLit Program. I'm so sorry.  I'll still post notes and images that I find to go with the script and help you out best I can.  Good news is, there is so much material on Frank Llloyd Wright that you should have no trouble pulling together a great lesson plan.  PBS has a way to make it work for ANY subject - poetry, architecture, math, social studies. http://www.pbs.org/flw/resources/index.html

The production involved blocks, grids and colored pencils.  We had a gridded 11x17 that was just photocopied and laminated as a mat.  Then, 9 each of two sizes of wooden blocks.  Small 1" cubes and 4 x 1 x 2 rectangular shapes.  Each child built on the mat and arranged the blocks to create a "structure."

Then, they drew the block structure on their own dot-gridded 11 x 17 paper.  From there, it's up to them - 2D, 3D, make them blocks, turn them into a house like Falling Water - it's up to the students. We used colored pencils for the subtelies seen in architectural renderings.

Here is another easy project that can be done to cover his windows:

http://www.artlit.us/2008/10/stained-glass-p.html

Bios here: http://www.cmgww.com/historic/flw/bio.html

http://www.franklloydwright.org/web/Biography.html

Wondeful book: http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Lloyd-Wright-Kids-Activites/dp/155652207X

 

We ended up getting into more of the gossipy aspect of his life.  You'd think he was our quirkly uncle that no one liked. 

RHS - here is Kim teaching us how to use the new projector:

http://youtu.be/5Vye6KTX-b4

Here is Kim showing you how to turn off the projector and laptop - helpful for you Mac folks. ;)

http://youtu.be/RnfSGrbWzHg  I love the fact that her nails were to pretty for this spontaneous video.

Here are some samples of the production for this project with the blocks and grid paper

And the fabulous, Jill Bagley!  WOW!

Aboriginal Australian Dot Paintings

Dot paintings of the Australian Aboriginal desert peoples are often called sand paintings. This reference stems from their genesis in ground paintings that are created by clans as they move from place to place in the desert. The clan gathers around a central site, which is cleared so that "paintings" can be created using seeds, flowers, sand, stones, feathers, and other natural substances. The clan elders sing their way through the painting process, imparting tribal knowledge to younger members of the clan. The various symbols are explained and interpreted as lessons in the clan's history and heritage, its creation story, and the location of sacred sites, food sources, and water holes.

Today, these designs are painted on art board and canvas for sale to the outside world. While the precise meanngs of the designs are usually unclear to outsiders, they have deep cultural significance to clan members. Details usually are not revealed to anyone outside the clan. Even then, only males who 'graduate' to high rank in the clan learn the full menaing of the designs.

Stuart Davis 1894-1965

"My picture looks like the Place des Vosges, but it looks only like certain color-shape relations which are in herently there.  These color-shape relations are beautiful, independent of the objects they are associated with, therefore they are abstract - but since they are always associated with some sort of objects, they are concrete and unique in each case."  "A picture is an independent object with a reality of its own."

I have found some great resources that go beyond the lesson plan for Stuart Davis.  I'm not sure why they felt it necessary to include the part of how his wife died when we are presenting this to 3rd - 5th graders.

K-2
Download stuart-davis-k-2.pdf (1399.7K)

3-5
Download stuart-davis-3-5.pdf (2676.8K)

I've also included a great article on him from the Smithsonian written in 1991.
Download Stuart Davis-Smithsonian-12-91.pdf (552.6K)

Here are some of the images used in these PDF lessons.

Slide 25: Jazz Musicians

Slide 26: Brooklyn Bridge - photo by Walker Evans

Slide #27: Untitled - Urban Poor Shnatytown - photy by Roy DeCarava. Mr DeCarava's work could be another lesson on its own. Explore this photographer and his history. I couldn not find the exact photo, but this is another of his during the same period.

Slide #24: Advertising Billboard - this was taken in Atlanta, GA

Slide #21 - Stuart Davis at the Piano. Found nothing. ended up searching and finding only Bette Davis on pianos, Miles Davis next to pianos. No luck.  Sorry.

Slide #1: Stuart Davis Lucky Strike 1924 Oil on Posterboard, 18 x 24"

Slide #2: Stuart Davis Blue Cafe 1928 oil on Canvas, 18.5 x 21.5"

Slide #3: Stuart Davis Garage Lights 1931 Oil on Canvas

Slide #23: Door to the River 1960, Willem de Kooning, Oil on Canvas, 90.5 x 70"

Slide #10: Stuart Davis Salt Shaker 1931, Oil on canvas, 49 7/8" x 32"

Slide #8 Stuart Davis New york/Paris No2 1931 Oil on canvas, 30 x 40"  Note this is not the same image.  It is part of the same series with teh same techniques.

Slide #20: Stuart Davis Self Portrait 1919, Oil on canvas, 12.25 x 19.25".  This one is different, slightly than the one in the slide show.  Same hat, attire, different angle.

Slide #13: Stuart Davis Visa 1951 Oil, 40 x 52"

Slide #28: Stuart Davis Commemorative Stamp issued in 1964

Slide #14: Stuart Davis Rapt at Rappaport's 1952 Oil on canvas 52" x 40"

Here is another site with some great pieces by Stuart Davis.