Leaf Paintings in Tints and Shades

 

This lesson was inspired by the leaf paintings featured here at Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School.

My grade 4 students created our version of these paintings by drawing a large outline of a leaf on their page using pencil. They then divided the shape using one central line and then used lines to create smaller areas of shape. 

Students were then asked to choose one colour paint of their choice as well as black and white and then painted the divided areas using as many tints and shades of their chosen colour as they could mix. Once painted they used a thick black marker to retrace all their lines before cutting out their leaf and gluing to black card. I love the way these turned out, they remind me of stained glass windows.

Clay Bird Vessels

These clay bird vessels were made by my grade 4 students recently, inspired by these bird vases from 'Be Creative Mary'. Students rolled a slab of clay and cut a basic bird shape. They then rolled a second slab and traced the first bird shape so they had two identical pieces. The pieces were joined at the head and the tail, leaving the middle section open and unjoined. 

The vessels were stuffed with newspaper for stability whilst texture and decoration were added to the bird using clay tools.

After firing, students added colour by rubbing oil pastels into the surface of the clay to pick up the texture and then painting with coloured inks and dyes. I later added a coat of spray varnish to each piece to seal it. 

 

Clay Cactus Sculptures

A while back my grade fours completed these cactus sculptures, inspired by this post from Hope at 'Mrs Knight's Smartest Artists'. 

I began by having my students make a simple pinch pot for their plant pot. It was interesting to review the pinch pot process, which students had learned in grade one and two. 

I fired the pots and after studying various actual potted succulents from my house as well as different images, I asked students to sculpt their plant using Model Magic. I felt that the texture of Model Magic was perfect for succulent plants and allowed students to directly add other elements such as cut up toothpicks and matchsticks. 

Students were encouraged to paint their pots using bright colours and to attempt tonal variation with different greens when painting the plant.

Ice Cream Cones in Tints and Shades

Here's my version of a project that has been doing the rounds on Pinterest for quite some time. You can see another great example of this here project at 'Splats, Scraps and Glue Blobs'.

I had my grade four students fold a sheet of A3 paper into eighths, and after demonstrating how to create both tints and shades of a colour, students painted one section of their page in their chosen colour and filled the other boxes with graduating tints and shades.

Once the painting was complete, students drew a shape to represent a dripping scoop of icecream onto one of their boxes of colour. They then cut out this shape and used it as a template to draw and cut the same shape from each coloured box.

What I really liked about this project, other than the fun topic is that it incorporates painting and collage. I gave each student a long strip of white paper and asked them to layer all their scoops on the page from lightest tint to darkest shade. They were then able to glue the pieces down I gave them the option of drawing or collaging details such as the icecream cone and any decorations such as cherries and sprinkles etc.