Big Bugs

I created "Big Bugs" with children of all ages at the OKCMOA recently for Drop-in Art. We focused on symmetry, line and pattern.

First we looked at examples on the board of symmetry. We also looked at bugs and parts of a bug's body which includes a head, thorax and abdomen.

To get started we fold our large drawing paper in half and use a black oil pastel to draw HALF of our bug's body. We draw the body parts and add other things like legs, wings, antennae, patterns and designs to create our own unique bugs.

We FOLD the paper closed and rub all over our design. This will transfer the oil pastel using the heat of our hands to the other side of the paper and give us perfect vertical symmetry. Now we go over those light lines with our black oil pastel to make it complete.









Now we jump into paints. For this project we used Crayola washable tempera paints. The kids really enjoyed watching their creations come to life through color! This project is very adaptable for different ages.



You will need:
-Big white drawing paper
-Black oil pastel
-Tempera paints, brushes, washout bowls
-Examples of bugs and symmetry

Farm Land

Little ones ages 3-5 years old joined me at the OKCMOA for a fun filled class about farms. We were taking a look at farms because of the current exhibition, 1934: A New Deal for Artists. We began the class by taking a look at a small slideshow I put together of real farm landscape photos. We looked at the layers of color and line.

We also talked about farms and why the land on farms is so important. We talked about crops and our favorite grown foods.

To create our beautiful farm landscapes we began by cutting a piece of paper into 4 pieces.



Now we use a paintbrush to paint the pieces yellow, green and brown.



The top section of our paper is the sky and we painted our sky blue with cotton balls and used those cotton balls to make white clouds in the sky.



We visited the gallery while our paint dries. We sat in front of farm paintings and I read the book, Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash.

We return to the classroom and use our glue sticks to put our crops together on a piece of colored construction paper. I compared it to a puzzle, getting the pieces to match up. Now we finish our farm land by adding some details with more paint and q-tips. We add lines and dots and finish them up!



You will need:
-White paper
-Tempera paints/brushes
-Q-tips
-Cotton balls
-Construction paper
-Scissors
-Glue stick

D is for Dad

Happy Father's Day to you! This is a fun project that can be done with any letter of the alphabet. Yesterday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art I created these fun painted collages with children ages 3-5.

It was all about Dad as we sat down to begin our creations. We started with a basic paint palette and used q-tips for brushes. I did this so we didn't have to worry about washing out our brushes.



I explained that we were not making pictures of things because the painting was going to be cut up and glued into something new. We worked on filling our entire 9x12 sheet of white paper with paint.
I should mention that I drew a capital letter "D" on the back of each of the papers. They painted on the blank side.





When the entire sheet was full of paint we let it dry while we took a walk to visit the gallery.





Back in the classroom we used a glue stick to glue down a solid sheet of 9x12 white paper onto a piece of 11x14 black tag board. If the paintings were not completely dry we used a hair dryer to speed it along.

Now the kids turn their papers over and see the letter D. They cut it out and glue it on the white paper. Then they cut many shapes from the remaining painting and glue them down. This was a lot of fun and will be a great present for anyone!









You will need:
-Tempera paints
-Paint brushes or q-tips
-2 pieces of heavy white 9x12 paper
-1 piece of 11x14 black tag board
-scissors
-Glue stick
-**Prep work: draw a large letter of your choice on the backside of one of the white pieces of paper. Older children can do this themselves.

Pet Portraits

Little artists joined me last weekend at the OKCMOA for Pet Portrait fun. We explored the works of George Rodrigue and got busy.

Using Rodrigue as our inspiration allowed the kids to have fun with their works instead of worrying and stressing about making it look exactly like their own pet.

To begin I had the children lightly draw their pet with pencil. We draw BIG and draw the front of our animals. I advised to keep it simple, details could be added later.



Next the students are allowed to choose one color of paint plus black and white (to shade and tint).

They begin filling in their pets and are encouraged to mix the paints to highlight one side and shade the other. Leave any white spots white.



They use a hairdryer to dry their work before outlining the pet with black paint. Now they can also add details.



The work need to be dry again before creating the background.

We broke the background into three parts. The bottom, left and right side. Here is where color comes in. They can use any color except the color of their pet. We use line and pattern to break up the three areas. So much fun.

You will need:
-Student grade watercolor paper
-Tempera paint
-Brushes
-Paint palette
-Wash bowl
-Pencils and erasers
-Hairdryer if you need to speed drying time