Non-Objective art and a simple foray into printmaking...

We've been talking about non-objective art for the past couple of lessons here in mizzsmiff's art room.  Normally, I don't usually camp out on one kind of art for very long as I like to mix things up but it just seems that my brain has been drawn to abstract colors and shapes lately.  I shared the oil pastel drawings that we did in my last post and I have to tell you that I have them on display in the hallway near where I have afternoon dismissal duty and they make me smile whenever I see them.  I love the bright cheerfulness that they bring to the gray walls in the hallway. 

I am so fortunate to have colleagues in my district that I can count on for inspiration, support and the sharing of ideas.  Being the only person in your school that teaches a subject can be rough.  No one understands you like a fellow art teacher.  There are only 4 middles schools in my county so it's not like there are that many of us to start with.  I know that I can always shoot Tammy an email over at North with a cry of desperation for inspiration. So, at the end of the last quarter, I was looking for a quick project that we could do in the few days that were left before fourth quarter started.  (Can I get a hallelujah for fourth quarter, teacher friends?) Tammy mentioned that she had recently done this project and it took all of 2-3 days.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results.  

As with many most of my projects these days, this was found on Pinterest from this link over at Artsonia. The original called for crayons but I let my students use watercolor since they had been begging me to paint.  

We talked about Wassily Kandinsky and I showed my kiddos lots and lots of his artwork.  I am generally amazed by their reactions to art and artists and I love nothing more than showing them something new that they may never have seen before.  We also discussed the many types of printmaking and how found object printmaking is the most simple of them all.  I have another printmaking project that is a little bit more difficult planned for later in the quarter. 

Here's a link to my little iMovie Gallery Crawl for this project:  Kandinsky Printmaking. 

Once again, I love the results. I love how they are all so different even though we followed the same parameters. 

We are currently working on another non-objective drawing that is being done with colored pencils.  We are just 2 days into the project and I am starting to get really excited about this one.  I think they are going to turn out beautifully.  The kids are excited about it too, and I can tell they want to do their best.

I can't wait to share the results with you!

Oil Pastels and Sacrifice

Confession.  I HATE oil pastels.  With a passion.  The only other thing that is dislike more is chalk pastels.  I hate the texture. I hate the mess.  I hate the residue that they leave on my hands.  I hate them.  But I do it anyway.  

I haven't done an oil pastel project in probably 5 or 6 years and I thought that it might be time to break them out.  I think that the kids might be getting tired of markers, colored pencils and water color paints.  I have a big sculpture project planned for when it gets warmer but we probably have a few more weeks before we will get into that. Unfortunately, the supplies are getting scarce this year for some reason, so I am having to be a little more creative than usual.  

When we start using oil pastels, I have the kids do a practice chart where they can try them out and practice different techniques, some of them for the very first time.  We fold our papers lengthwise twice and then in thirds, which is easier said than done.  I have them label the 12 boxes that result from the folds as follows: Light Pressure, Heavy Pressure, Light Blended, Heavy Blended, Highlight, Shadow, Sgraffito, Red + Yellow, Blue + Yellow, Blue + Red, Blue + Green and then a free space where they put their name.  It always tickles me when some of the more tactile kids (who are like me) ask to wash their hands every five minutes while others enjoy the mess that they are creating.

We talked about the differences between objective and non-objective art for this project.  For the most part, the kids enjoyed using this medium and I think that the projects turned out nicely.

While we were working, I heard a few comments along the lines of "I HATE oil pastels! They are so messy! Can I wash my hands?" and a few more "I LOVE these!  Can we do another project with them?".  I must admit that I felt a little bit guilty projecting my own feelings about oil pastels on the kids, but I am pretty sure that they saw it in my face when I was demonstrating how to use them anyway so I might as well be honest and upfront with them to start with.

If it were up to me, we would paint and doodle and make books and mixed media and do projects with lettering and type and words and do printmaking and learn about art history every day. Thank goodness it isn't.  So we have to stretch ourselves a little and sculpt and collage and do technical things like perspective and drawing on a grid and try charcoal and pen and ink and even the dreaded pastels.

The parameters for the project were: At least 3 geometric shapes.  They can be different.

Or all the shapes can be the same.  You can do more, but not less.

Have at least 3 lines dividing the page.

You can have more than 3 lines, but not less.

Show me blending of at least 2 colors.

Show me highlighting with white.

And/or shadows with black.

Love the intense colors on this one.

Love the balance in this one.

This student attempted a little bit of sgraffito!

This one has a soft water colory feel to it, I think.

I love the color choices that this student made.

So, tell the truth.  What materials do you hate using personally that you let your students use so that they  can experience the medium and make the love/hate decision for themselves?  Are there things that you gravitate toward that you seem to fall back on, with your art lessons, time and time again?  Do you have to push yourself to let your students create outside of your comfort zone?