This is one of my favorite projects to do with Middle School students Materials Needed: 18 Gauge Wire (cut 3 pieces total--2 pieces=18 inches, 1 piece=22 inches) Tape Newspaper Plaster Gauze Black, Green, and Teal acrylic paint Silver, Gold, and Bronze metallic acrylic paint Base- can be wooden, or I have used plastic lids before as well To do this project I first have the students re-visit a lesson on proportion. We use the wooden mannequins to help the students draw out their design. We talk a lot about human proportion and the accurate measurements. The Giacometti sculptures end up being "exaggerated" proportion, but it is helpful when they are building for them to understand proper proportion. We started by building an armature using the 18 gauge wire. We use the two 18inch pieces to create the ribcage and the legs. The 22inch piece is used to create the head, neck, and arms. We tape the three pieces together to help add support. It is nice to build up the wire with newspaper to add form. I often tell the students the wire is like the "skeleton" of the figure, the newspaper is like the muscles, and the plaster is like the skin. We tear newspaper into long strips and wrap it around the wire form like a mummy. We add thicker newspaper into the head, torso, and hips, taping to make it stay. Once through the newspaper we can plaster. It is important that the students apply the plaster and smooth it out around the newspaper form. I like to give these sculptures a metallic finish. I tell the students to pick an under-color to paint the whole sculpture first. These combinations seem to work really well-- Teal-Copper Green-Gold Black-Silver However, any of the combinations work GREAT with Black--black looks good with copper, silver, or gold. They will paint the undercoat first, and then apply the metallic finish when the paint is DRY! Using a small sponge you want to sponge paint the metallic over the paint to allow that color to show through. This is a great project that parents love too! I have one at home on my mantel that I just love. Hope you enjoy!
After a decade of teaching high school art, I've recently moved to teaching middle school art. It's a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I've learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded
My students totally rocked this project! I love how it turned out. We studied perspective, shading, surrealism... so much. I think my fav...
This year my school adopted a new schedule. Now, instead of seeing my classes daily for 47 minutes, each day we drop one period. In addition, each class has one weekly “long block” that is 68 minut…
After a decade of teaching high school art, I've recently moved to teaching middle school art. It's a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I've learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded
Can you believe we only have 8 days of school left? Where did this year go? Looking back on all of the projects that we completed, I am very pleased with the quality and quantity of work that my students produced. I truly believe that I have the most talented, wonderfully amazing students in the world! While looking back over all of the projects, I was shocked and a little upset with myself that we didn't do printmaking this year. While in college, I LOVED printmaking. I even did an independent study in it and my entire senior art exhibition was printmaking. We did printmaking in 7th grade last year but I wanted to kick it up a notch this year and make it a bit more challenging. I decided to try reduction printmaking! For this project, I took a picture of the students and used paint.net to posterize the photos into 3 colors (black, grey and white). Students shaded on the back and transferred all of their white areas onto the linoleum. We use easy carve linoleum at school and it's so easy for the kids. We haven't had any slips (or bad cuts) this year! Students used the gauge to carve away all of the areas of their print that would be left white. Since we were printing on white paper, we didn't need to print this part. All that would be left would be the grey and black areas. They chose a color and mixed it with some white to make a tint. Then students pulled a proof. A proof is a practice print so they can see what it would look like. If they were happy with their proof, they could pull 10 or more quality prints. The students discussed what made a quality print and here is their list... enough ink, no white spots linoleum carved away where it was meant to be carved away (no stray marks) Ink has an orange peel texture No finger prints No smudges (where the paper slipped on the plate) After they printed 10 or more quality prints, they had to carve away all of the grey area, leaving only the black areas to print. They then mixed a shade of ink and printed on top of their first prints. Here is the final result
7th graders have been working on a low relief sculptural project using tin foil, yarn and cardboard. We stressed the idea of varied line and...
Dive into 50 engaging 6th-grade art projects to inspire creativity and teach vital art skills in middle school students.
7th grade 3-D students finished up their clay cupcakes and were eager to begin their next project. We looked at the artwork of pop artist, ...
Seriously spooky Halloween Art Activities for Kids! Have fun in the classroom with these fun and creative Halloween printable coloring pages.
Ready, set, POSE! I use my iPhone to take photos of my students. I usually do this on a day during which they are intently engaged with another lesson, and pull one or two students at a time into t…
Seriously spooky Halloween Art Activities for Kids! Have fun in the classroom with these fun and creative Halloween printable coloring pages.
After a decade of teaching high school art, I've recently moved to teaching middle school art. It's a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I've learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded
It's been suuuuch a long while since I've updated! Waiting for a baby will do that you, I imagine. I'm currently on leave already...
Sculpt Georgia O'Keeffe-inspired flowers, draw Warhol pop art, and color graffiti breakdancers with these awesome fifth grade art projects.
Every quarter in 7th grade art, we attempt an architecture drawing project. Last quarter, it was castle design. This quarter we went back to the old favorite of ornate, Victorian style homes. Using Deep Space Sparkle's Architecture Made Easy template drawing directions, we cruised through the beginning part of this work (I was gone the day the students started this and I came back to amazing results!). Color was added with a pastel chalk graded background, and a water-based marker bleeding technique was used for inside the house. Colored Sharpies added a punch in areas too small for the bleeding technique.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Hiding Amidst the Reeds Maria B. Davis 2006 Was searching through Pinterest, of course, and came upon this delightful piece of art by Maria B. Davis. I loved it so much, and thought it was a wonderful segue into our value study with color. So, I used it as our inspiration... After great examination of the Elements of Art: line, color theory, value, and form, students created a unique abstract artwork consisting of loopy, curvy, organic lines that extend off the page, repeat, overlap and interact with each other in the composition. Students incorporated value gradations, tints and shades while utilizing specific, correct color families. Students focused on extreme craftsmanship (neatness) so as not to “muddy up” any of the colors in the composition. Project was completed using tints and shades, and compliments in oil pastel with bold, black outlining. Ohio Academic Content Standards for 7th Grade ART: PRODUCING/PERFORMING (2PR): Manipulate art materials and tools in conventional and unconventional ways to create a work of art. PRODUCING/PERFORMING (3PR): Represent depth and volume in a two-dimensional work of art.
After a decade of teaching high school art, I've recently moved to teaching middle school art. It's a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I've learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded
These landscape watercolor paintings inspired by Claude Monet and the Impressionists are sure to bring calm to your classroom ! When goin...
This is a perfect lesson to get you through the end-of-the-year or even a mid-year slump. 5th graders love the graffiti nature of Keith Haring.
Jen Stark, Construction Paper, Art Education, Art Education Blog, Kim and Karen 2 Soul Sisters Art Education Blog, 8th grade, middle school art,
7th grade students just finished an art assignment involving paper cutting and layering colors. This lesson was originally from School Arts Magazine and written by Helaine Schechtman. We started by…
Seriously spooky Halloween Art Activities for Kids! Have fun in the classroom with these fun and creative Halloween printable coloring pages.
We had a lot fun studying real candy prices as our inspiration for our Pop Art Candy Paintings. Tempra paint and black Sharpie outlines adde...
7th grade art students are creating Pop Art drawings focusing on the style of artist, Roy Lichtenstein. We started by taking digital images of each student and making a graphite transfer. Since my …
After a decade of teaching high school art, I've recently moved to teaching middle school art. It's a blast and there is truly NEVER a dull moment. Through some trial and error, I've learned that some projects are more engaging than others. Below are some of my favorite middle school art projects that have yielded
We found the best middle school art projects online! Whether you are an art teacher teaching middle school students or have kids in middle school that you
6th Graders did a really nice job on this project. We started off by learning a lot about the artist Roy Lichtenstein. We watched this video and read through this handout. Using iPads and computers students worked on editing their photo to make it in a comic book style. They drew from the image they created. I had to stress to them to draw what they were seeing and not what they thought it should look like. After seeing Lichtenstein's work, students set to work using only primary color markers (and black). They were to fill in some areas solid, and use Lichtenstein's dots in other areas. I had two very different types of students with this project; one group were the students who totally embraced the idea of using interesting colors on their face, and the other who were so self conscious about it they would work with their drawing on their lap so no one could see it. Even in this day in age, you know of the "selfie," many students were just so embarrassed to do this project. It was not because of the colors, but the idea of the self portrait. Do any of you struggle with your older students at the idea of a self portrait? How do you go about problem solving it?
