Positive/Negative Hands

All I can say is, "WOW!!!" This project is- hands down- one of my very favorites!  The pictures do not do the actual work justice.  We filled the 4th grade hall with these hands and it is a feast for the eyes!  We learned about positive and negative space and cool and warm color schemes.
We started by making a background for our hands using Mr. Sketch watercolor markers on a 12" x 18" piece of white sulphite drawing paper.  I separated containers of them by color schemes, and the students had to choose if they were a "cool" or "warm" color scheme person.  Most students chose cool colors.  As you can see by the last example, the students drew "bursts" of radiating colors in concentric lines all over their paper.  Then they painted over their paper with clear water making sure to go off the edges of the paper.  The effects were amazing!  Most papers lost the initial drawing of the lines as the water worked it's magic, blending and gradating the color.  The students then traced their hands on a 9" x 12" piece of black paper.  I instructed them to make a small cut from the edge of the paper to the tip of their thumb to "get into" their hand and then cut around the contour line.  This was just meant to reduce frustration for them.  When the papers were glued down to the background, the cut becomes practically invisible.  They used their same color scheme to color in their hands and frame of hand with Prismacolor pencils.  I told them they could write (appropriate) words if they would like, patterns and designs and to, most importantly, express themselves!  I am giving them a huge virtual clap of my hands for a job well done!

Fall Leaf Watercolors

After collecting leaves of various shapes and sizes from the school grounds, I discussed with my first grade art students why leaves change colors and fall off the trees in the fall.  I used the example of the tree being a mama who grows weary and tired when winter nears.  She needs to rest- she has been working hard all year to feed and nourish all her baby leaves.  So, being like most mamas who need to rest, she shakes her babies from her limbs and tells them that they need to get off her, she needs some time to rest.  I asked the students if their mamas ever said that to them, and the answer was a resounding "YES!"  The analogy just came to me when I started talking about the leaves, because like most things in my life, I relate to my parenthood.  I told the students that after the mama starts to rest and can't feed her babies anymore, making them green, that's when the colors that were always in them begin to appear.  We talked about how water, sun and chlorophyll all play their part in making the leaves green.  The art lesson began with science, and ended with coloring and painting.
Placing the leaves underneath their watercolor paper, the students used rubbing crayons to rub on top of the paper and make their leaves appear- this never fails to make them "Ooooh and Ahhhh!"  It's like magic!  Then, using a warm color palette, the students painted in their leaves with watercolors and washed their backgrounds with cool colors.  This was a one part lesson with beautiful results.