Surrealist Landscapes

This is a project that was finished a while back during my maternity leave.  I had posted previously about the beginning of it and then the students finished it with my substitute.  I've only just now gotten around to photographing these and putting them up on Artsonia!

This project was done in alignment with the Common Core.  At the time, students were reading the fantasy novel Spiderwick, so I decided to do a surrealism project with them.  On the first day, I showed studenst examples of Salvador Dali's work, we talked about surrealism/fantasy art, and finally logged onto Switchzoo at the computer lab.  There, students played around and made three different hybrid fantasy animals.  I asked them to print off two animals: one they could keep and one that had to be handed in. At the end of class, I used the following exit slip with them:  At the bottom of your printed page, write your definition of surrealism.  Also, give your new animal an interesting name!

The next class, we looked at more examples of surrealist art.  We looked at floating landscapes, melting clocks, and many more using a Google search on the smartboard.  Then, I set them to work creating their own landscapes that had to incorporate their animal.  Students were also allowed to cut more images out of magazines to add.  The group who colored in pencil started with me, while the other class used marker with my substitute.  I don't really like to let them color with markers because it always looks so streaky, but they actually did a nice job with the markers!

Here's a Little Catch-Up... (And Some Current Projects)

Third grade finished up the fall birch trees as their first project of the year about two weeks ago.  It's been slow going getting them started on their next project because we've had 1/2 days and assemblies that fell on their already sparse art days.  So, even though it's been almost three weeks later, we've only had one art day so far for starting their next unit!  Unfortunately, I have the feeling I won't get to see it be finished either before I go on maternity leave.

For the second 3rd grade unit, I decided to do a surrealism landscape drawing with the students.  As part of their Common Core ELA strands, the first book they are reading is from the Spiderwick Chronicles.  I figured that would be the perfect way to incorporate surrealism as it falls under the same category as fantasy...heck, it is fantasy!  On the first class of the unit, I took the students to the computer lab.  While we waited for their computers to log on, I showed them a brief power point about Salvador Dali and we talked about surrealism in art.

Once everyone was done, I had students open up Google Chrome and go to Switch Zoo.  Here, students had to create two different fantasy animals and print them.  By the end of class, they had to hand in whichever animal they wanted to use in their art project.  They also had to create an interesting name for their animal and they had to define surrealism for me at the bottom of their page (as their exit slip).

Next class, we will review surrealism, share a few animals with the class, and then talk about the project assignment, which will be to draw their creature in a surrealist habitat.

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My 3rd-6th grade 12:1:1 class is going to be doing a prehistoric cave project next.  This year, the way they push in with the "normal" classes changed and they started a bit later on the Early Man unit in Social Studies.  I did this version of the cave art project my first year of teaching with 6th graders, which you can see on Artsonia.

To start this project we needed to make our rock canvas.  To do this, I gave students large Manila paper.  We tore off the straight edges and then crumpled the paper (and ironically, "crumple" was one of their spelling words that week!).  After, I had the students quickly paint their paper, two at a time, with brown, red and black tempera at the sink.  The final step was to rinse off the extra paint.  The result, depending on how much is rinsed off, is a surface that looks like animal hide or a rock!

I will probably also have these students mix their own egg yolk tempera, like my 6th graders did earlier this year.  I anticipate that we will only need one more class period to finish these.

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These are the final zentangle projects from my art elective class.  Before we completed these, we had done the zentangled alphabets, which were a big success.  These weren't as much.  They were excited to do the alphabets, and excited to start these, but they petered out, especially with the glass paint as it dripped on the round surfaces so it was slow going on the completion.

I think next year if I do this project again, no matter what class I do it with, I'll have EVERYONE do a zentangled bowling pin and then we'll turn them into lamps!  When our one tech teacher saw me bringing the bowling pin in, he mentioned that he would be able to drill the hole all the way through for me if we wanted to do that.

For our next project in the Art Elective class, I'm asking students to do some Ben Heine inspired "Pencil vs. Camera" projects.  Students will be required to turn in three photographs of their own that have hand-drawn aspects added to change the photograph.  They're really enjoying these so far!