Castle and Sun

 

A few years back I did a collage project with year 1 students based on Paul Klee's 1928 painting 'The Castle and the Sun'. You can see my post on that project HERE.

'Castle and Sun'. Paul Klee. 1928.

I recently revisited this iconic panting with year 2 students. Students were asked to "build" their own castle using a pencil and ruler to draw stacked geometric shapes to create walls, towers, doors, windows etc. We began with orange paper and students then used oil pastel to colour the shapes individually before outlining their drawing with black pastel.

 

Cat and Bird

'Cat and Bird' by Paul Klee. Image via wikimedia.

This is a simple lesson based on Paul Klee's 1928 painting 'Cat and Bird'. I used this lesson for my grade ones to reinforce using basic shapes to build up a drawing and had students use a step-by-step approach. I've seen this lesson on a few websites over the years. Rumriver Art Center also has a great resource for the step-by-step approach. I let my students paint their Cat and Bird in colours of their choice.

Lava Lamps

I loved this project I did a while back with my grade 2s. This idea came from Pinterest but unfortunately the link is broken, so if this is originally your brilliant idea, please let me know so I can credit you!

Found on Pinterest

It's a really clever idea because it teaches many different concepts, uses a variety of media and looks effective.

As with the original poster, I used this project to reinforce the difference between geometric and organic shape. The lamp is created by drawing a large triangle, then cutting two smaller triangles and a tiny rectangle from black paper and gluing to form the rest of the lamp. Several small organic shapes were drawn and painted inside the lamp for the lava and again in the background to create the psychedelic light effects. 

The shapes in the background were repeatedly traced in coloured textas (markers) until the shapes filled the entire background. A piece of black string or yarn was also added as a cord for the lamp. You could also use this project to teach complementary colours and quality of line.

Don't Let The Pigeon...

This week is National Book Week in Australia and to celebrate, my grade ones did some drawings based on one of my favourite children's books, 'Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!' by Mo Willems.

If you haven't come across this book, check it out. It's hilarious and one of those books that allows the kids to take part in the story, constantly saying 'NO!' to the cheeky pigeon. I also enjoy the illustrations enormously, so was inspired when I saw this lesson from Art Dish With MJ and this lesson from Mrs Knight's Smartest Artists, which use the book to introduce using shape to construct drawings. Thank you!

 

If you are looking for Mo Willems own step-by-step on How To Draw The Pigeon, you can find it HERE.

My sign accompanying the student's work for our Book Week display.