Hidden Safari Animal

5^th assignment in Arts Methods class at NSU.

In this art class period, we learned about cool and warm colors and practiced upside-down contour drawing.  We drew a safari animal with a cool color and camouflaged it with warm colors. After it is successfully camouflaged, the animal cannot be seen except with a pair of special glasses that are used to see through the camouflage.

Here is my camouflaged safari animal, see if you can guess what it is. You might need a pair of special glasses to see it. Good luck on guessing. Here are some clues:

·         It is in the cat family.

·         It has stripes.

I followed the following steps to create my hidden safari animal:

Step 1: I made myself a pair of ruby red glasses with construction paper and red cellophane. I cut out a rectangular piece of construction paper, made some holes for the eyes,  cut out a triangle for the nose, and then taped a piece of red cellophane over the eye holes.

Step 2: I then proceeded to draw my safari animal using the technique of upside-down contour drawing with a sky-blue (cool color) colored pencil.

Step 3: After I was finished drawing my animal, I camouflaged it with warm colors, specifically, red, orange and yellow colors until the animal was not visible anymore. I tried to use the same patterns throughout the paper so it is harder to see it with naked eyes. It is helpful to use the type of shapes as patterns that you see on the hidden animal, such as the shape of its eyes, ears, fur, etc.

Step 4: I then framed my camouflaged safari animal by pasting my drawing to a piece of construction paper.

Step 5: I wrote three clues on a note card to help others guess what animal is hidden behind the camouflage.

Step 6: It is now ready for display.

In the following picture you can see part of the animal's face with my ruby red glasses.

Extension activity

This art activity could be used in a language arts unit (1^st – 3^rd grade) when students learn nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. The students would all be given a list of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that they would hide behind a warm color camouflage. The teacher would then ask the students to use their ruby red glasses to find 10 verbs, 10 nouns, 10 adjectives, and 10 adverbs that are hidden in their classmates camouflage art as a means to assess the students.

Eric Carle Inspired Collage

Eric Carle Inspired Story Book

My 4^th assignment in Art methods class was an Eric Carle Inspired Collage. Eric Carle uses tissue paper to create his story book pictures. Follow this link to see how he does this: http://www.eric-carle.com/slideshow_collage.html. The teacher asked the class to create a two page storybook layout based on the artwork of Eric Carle. I choose to use a bee and a bear near a beehive as the main characters of my story. The main idea is: “the bee works all day long to make life sweet for others.” Here is the two page storybook layout  I created.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

I did not use tissue paper for this project but construction paper instead.  Here are the steps I took to create the storybook layout.

1: First I took a sheet 12” x 18” construction paper, moistened the sheet with water, and then sprinkled 2-3 different colors of paint on the sheet. I then spread the paint all over the paper with a brush to create a nice colored page. I created designs by using several different techniques:  using either end of a brush to create wavy lines or strokes; creating a texture by pressing something with texture on the page; applying different colored brush strokes over the initial coating of paint; or by sprinkling blotches of paint on the colored page after the initial coating of paint was applied. See the picture for these effects. Paint several pages of construction paper or as much as one needs for such a project (use colors that you will need for your project). Since we did this in class, we could borrow paper that others did not need.

2. Let the paper dry.

3. Next, I created a scene for my storybook on a piece of scratch paper. Then I cut out the characters and used them for patterns to create my final product.

4. I then traced the patterns on the colored sheets that I choose to use for the scene/characters that I needed for my storybook layout. (If you do this project as a class let the students borrow paper from each other; this way it is possible to create great art).

5. I then arranged my layout and pasted the characters and the scene onto a 12” x18” sheet of construction paper.  Paste the pieces onto the page in a layered manner: First the background, then the middle ground and finally the foreground, etc. Or first the grass, then the bear, and finally the honey as I did on my storybook page.

6. Finally writer words that are relevant to the pictures on you storybook page.

Extension Activity

This activity could be used in other subject areas as well. For instance, when 1^st – 4^th graders studied “family and community” in Social Studies, they could create a book with 2-6 pages with a theme relevant to the family and community unit they are studying.  The story could be related to something that is important to the students whether in their family or community. Or the theme of the storybook could be centered on an issue that needs to be addressed in their community. Creating a book and then displaying it in the local community hall, would surely bring this issue to the attention of the community members. This activity could be done as a class or individually, depending on how much time is available.

Van Gogh Inspired Cityscape Collage

     In NSU Art Methods class I had an assignment to create a cityscape collage that would have features similar to Vincent van Gogh’s starry night. In this project I used tissue and construction paper to that effect. I first cut out different colored shapes and swirls from tissue paper to create a night sky similar to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Next, I haphazardly pasted the shapes and swirls onto 12" X 18" construction paper (choose any dark color) with acrylic to create a collage of colors and swirls. After I pasted as much shapes onto the paper as I wanted to, I covered ever part of the paper with the acrylic to seal the paper. Then I drew a cityscape on another sheet of construction paper, cut it out, and pasted it to the piece of construction paper with the tissue paper collage. After this, I made bold swirls and lines all over the collage with oil pastels to create a night sky similar to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Lastly, I framed my cityscape collage by gluing it on to a piece of construction paper that was slightly larger than my collage and thus created a nice border.

     As I examine my artwork I realize that I did not create swirls similar to Van Gogh’s strokes in "Starry Night". I intended to include some swirls but I now realize I cut out only half circles. Other than that, it is a beautiful piece of art that is worth the time I spent creating it. The colored-tissue-paper-night-sky and dark cityscape give the collage a realistic look.

 Extention Activity:
This type of art project could be integrated into a Social Studies unit that is related to city life and its different scenes. In this project, students would be asked to create a night sky or create one that is similar to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” over a cityscape. Students can be asked to create the cityscape based on how they see a city through their own eyes; this could range from a bunch of lighted sky scrapers or a quiet neighborhood, to a mall bustling with activity. After each student has created their own cityscape collage they could discuss the varying forms of scenes that one might see in America’s cities.

Fingerpainting: Imitation of Vincent van Gogh elements

In this project I set out to imitate some form of Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” but I believe I fell short. I did not try to recreate Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” but rather a sunset in the evening that included some of the elements that Van Gogh used in his painting: like strokes, paint color, and space. When one looks at my picture without a critical eye, they will see that I actually managed to create a sunset at evening that includes some of the styles and elements that Van Gogh used.

My attempt to use Van Gogh elements

     Creating a painting like this was a new experience to me. I never had the opportunity to do some finger painting and I must admit I enjoyed it. My requirements for this project was to try to imitate Van Gogh “Starry Night” as closely as possible or create a scene of my own but by using the elements that Van Gogh included in his painting. In this painting I was only allowed to use the three primary colors and black and white.  I was required to use bright colors, create texture, mix primary and secondary colors to create new colors, use varying shades and tints, and include a foreground, middle ground, and background in our picture.

     I tried to imitate Van Gogh and incorporate his strokes into my painting but I believe I fell short of creating ideal strokes; although, upon analysis one will notice some Van Gogh type of strokes throughout the picture. I managed to include a foreground (tree stump), middle ground (house), and background (sunset) in my picture but once again it is not as realistic as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. As I began my painting, I planned on using bright colors in my painting like Van Gogh but it became dark on me sooner than I anticipated. As for texture, new colors, shades and tints, the tree stump has texture, I created new colors from the primary colors we were allowed to use, and I also used shades and tints in various areas such as the grass and light blue sky. The strokes in the painting were created with the movement of the fingers and the paint was also applied with the fingers. When it was finished and dry, I glued it on to a piece of construction paper that was slightly larger to create a border for my painting. All in all, it turned out pretty good for a finger painting and for doing this the first time.

 Extension Activity:
This type of art project could be integrated into some type of science lesson, particularly when studying the solar system. When doing an astronomy lesson or perhaps a unit on the solar system, students could be asked to do a finger painting and imitate Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” This would not only reinforce their current astronomy lesson but it would also give them time to recreate a beautiful night sky and in the process increase their appreciation of our magnificent solar system.