S is for Starfish

This is a recent project I did with 2 kindergarten classes to go with their Ocean unit.

They even made it into the display case.

Sorry for the quality of these photos but the lighting in the display case is challenging.




















MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- substrate (base), we used 9"x12" primed canvas from Michaels
- acrylic paint in turquoise, white, red, orange, yellow, and brown.  You could use liquid tempera but we sealed ours with Mod Podge and we needed it to be permanent.
- paper 
- sand
- a few shells
- glue
- printed text from computer "S is for Starfish".  You could also use stamps.
- unsharpened pencil
- little cup, cork, cut up pool noodle
- sponge
- painter's tape

PROCEDURE:

I taped off each canvas where I wanted the shoreline to be.  The tape gives the kinder a visual stopping point.

Using turquoise acrylic paint we painted the top portion blue to be our ocean.  We took care to paint the top edge and sides of the canvas down to the tape.

Set aside to dry.

I gave each student a piece of paper (8"x8").

They had a choice of red, orange or yellow paint.  They painted the entire paper one colour.

I then gave them little cups, a cut piece of pool noodle and a cork.  Using the 2 colours they did not choose they stamped on some patterns.  Set aside to dry.

 Back to the canvas.  When the paint had dried I pulled the tape off and then re positioned it to sit on the blue, right on the line.

I added some white paint to the brown paint to make a tan colour.  The students then painted in the sand taking care to paint the bottom edge and sides.

When the sand paint was dry we removed the tape.

I gave each student a small piece of damp sponge and we sponged on some white paint along the line to be our foam.

We glues some real sand onto our painted sand as well as a few shells.

I made up some templates of starfish for the kids to trace.  Normally I don't use templates but with kinders you need to give them that guideline.

We traced on the back of our painted papers and cut our starfish out.

I printed off "s is for starfish" and painted some red, some orange, and some yellow.

I used disk tempera.

We glued the starfish on our canvas. Using some white acrylic paint and an unsharpened pencil we made a dot outline on the starfish.

We then cut out the words and glued them to our canvas.

When the paint is dry you can add a coat of Mod Podge to seal.

That's it.  They look great in the display case and I suspect a lot of them will get hung up in bathrooms when they go home with the kids.

Gail

'Moose in the Wild' Art Project

This is 'Moose in the Wild' a new project that uses a variety of painting techniques.  As one of our iconic wild animals, most Canadians have seen a moose in the wild at some point.
 For those of you in Newfoundland it's probably a daily occurrence!


This one is on an 8"x10" canvas, can also be done on hardboard.

This is a page from my art journal.

Here is a Fall version on a piece of 18 x 12" heavy white paper.














MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- substrate, whether canvas, hardboard, paper or art journal
- paint, for paper based projects you can use disk and liquid tempera, for canvas or hardboard you need acrylic
- moose template, optional
- brown kraft paper or cardstock
- scraps of cereal box weight cardboard and a scrap of corrugated cardboard
- white tissue paper or drywall filler (there are 2 options for antlers)
- glue
- extra white paper
- sponge
- pencils for stamping
- sharpies and pencil crayons
- Mod Podge for sealing canvas or hardboard option

PROCEDURE:

We start off painting our background.  For the art journal/paper version I used disk tempera.

I like to grade my wash.  Basically this means I want darker, more saturated colour at the top and then lighter, more diluted colour near the bottom.
Why? because this what you see in the sky outside.

For the canvas version I used acrylic and my sky is all one colour but I could have added some white to my blue acrylic and graded my background as well.  We want to add in our horizon line.  Stay low on the background and add some ground colour.

For the paper versions I added some trees while my sky wash was still damp.

I'm using watery disk tempera again.  I like to use flat brushes.
Use the flat edge of the brush to make vertical tree lines and to dab on the branches.

Because the paper is still damp you get a nice diffused look.

Set your background aside to dry. Now we'll work on the aspen trees.



I use 3 types of sponges in my work and they produce different results.

The foam sponge has a fine grain but soaks up the paint so you get a mix of fine texture and areas of concentrated colour.

The grocery store sponge gives you a uniform texture.

The natural sponge gives you a mix.

For our aspen trees we are going to use the grocery store sponge.

Take a piece of paper (12x18" or so) and cut in half.

Cut your sponge into pieces or for more unusual texture you can tear the sponge.

Sponge on some black paint leaving lots of white space.

When dry cut your paper in strips the long way.  You don't want wavy lines but you also don't want perfectly straight lines.

Make some wide and some thin.

Place a few (art loves odd #'s) on your background to see how they look. One hint mix up your strips a bit so you don't see the echo of your cutlines.  Glue into place.

Take your corrugated cardboard and cut a little square.

Dip the corrugated end into the paint (yellow, brown, green) and stamp on some grass.

Vary the lengths to look more natural and clump some together.

Time to add the leaves.

Using a new or unsharpened pencil stamp on some circular leaves. Use a few different colours of green or fall colours if it is autumn.

I keep a class set of these pencils and I use them in lots of my projects.

Cut your antlers out of cereal box weight cardboard.  I'm using cardboard because I'm going to add extra texture to these antlers.


Now you could use templates or have the kids draw their own.

I prefer the kids to design their own but I know how it goes and sometimes you need a template as a back- up.

Now I have 2 different techniques to add texture to these antlers.

The first is to spread white glue on the cardboard, add some white tissue paper, scrunching as you go into the glue to add wrinkles.

Let dry and then you can trim the excess tissue.

The second option is to spread a little drywall filler on the antlers.

Let dry, about 2-3 hours for this small area.

Once the antlers are dry (either technique) add a coat of white paint.

After the paint is dry you want to add just a touch of colour to bring out that texture you spent all that time on.

To do this use watery (just a hint of colour) paint and brush on the antlers.  Leave some parts unpainted.

Now that the antlers are done we can make the moose.

Take some brown paper or cardstock. (I used brown kraft paper)

Cut it about the size you want.

Draw your moose trying to use the full size of the paper.

I use this strategy to get the kids to draw the right size.  Inevitably I will get a few teeny tiny moose but we erase and start again.  Give them a few reference photos to help.

If you get really stuck feel free to use the template.

 I know the paper is already brown but we want to add a little variation to that colour so we add some paint.

Add a little sharpie and pencil crayon to define the features.

Cut out and glue into place.  Add the antlers.

Finally if you are working on canvas or hardboard you might want to add a coat of sealer to protect everything.

If you did the drywall on the antlers but the paper version you still might want to add a touch of podge on those antlers just to protect that drywall.

That's it.

Hope a 'Moose in the Wild' graces some of those school hallways in next few months and I'll see you
soon.

Gail

Calgary Tower and Fort Calgary Art Projects

This is a project I have been doing with Grades 1/2. It relates to Calgary's history but can be adapted to whatever historical landmarks are in your area.



It's an 8"x10" canvas.  This one is for the opening of the Calgary tower in 1967.

This one is for the establishment of Fort Calgary in 1875.





I give the students a choice for which one they want to complete.

Here is some student work.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- 8"x10" substrate, we use canvas, you could use cardboard or hardboard
- drywall filler
- recycled cardboard
- acrylic paint in sky blue, black, green, white, orange, red and purple
- scrap coloured paper, glitter paper
- black and red ribbon
- for Fort Calgary you need some twigs
- blue and red sharpies for Union Jack flag for Fort Calgary
- tacky glue
- printed text labels from the computer
- Mod Podge, optional

PROCEDURE:

Cut pieces for your project out of recycled cardboard.

For the Calgary Tower we cut out the tower and some additional skyscrapers to represent downtown.

For Fort Calgary we cut out a Tipi, the main fort building, and the 2 towers.

The kids wrote their names on every single piece on the coloured side with a sharpie. We turned them to the brown side and gave each piece a coat of drywall filler.  The kids just use 2 or 3 fingers to spread on the drywall.  We don't put it on the coloured side because it has a shiny finish that the drywall doesn't stick to after it has setup.
I also had them add some drywall filler to the canvas to texture the sky a bit.  Set aside to dry overnight.

After the drywall has dried it's time to start painting.  I tape off the horizon line for the kids.  This gives the kids a visual on where to stop painting. Calgary Tower is portrait style, Fort Calgary is landscape.

We paint the sky blue for both the Calgary Tower and Fort Calgary.

Let dry.

While the canvas is drying paint the parts and pieces.

Don't worry about the details just the background colours.




Let dry.

When the canvas is dry I lift the tape and move it up so the edge is right at the end of the blue sky.

For the Calgary Tower we paint the bottom black.  For Fort Calgary we paint it green.

Remove the tape when the ground area is dry.

Using a sponge we sponged on some clouds.  I find that if you moisten the sponge first you get a better result.  You just want it damp.

When your parts and pieces are dry start adding details.


I used black ribbon for the tower and red ribbon for the trim on Fort Calgary.

We also used coloured paper and some glitter paper for our skyscraper windows.

Glue the pieces onto the canvas.

For Fort Calgary we add designs to the Tipi with coloured paper and ribbon, glue on windows and trim, and add a flagpole with a Union Jack we make out of paper and sharpies.

We also add some cut twigs to form the outer wall of the fort.

Finally add the titles.  I printed these off the computer, added a little colour with some disk tempera paint like a wash, and had the kids cut them out.

Glue into place.

You can add a coat of Mod Podge to seal everything into place and give the piece a nice shiny finish.

That's it.


See you next time.

Gail