Humans are cool. REALLY cool, actually. We’re full of complexities and eccentricities and a uniqueness that makes us one in a million! We can see ourselves in the mirror. We can see ourselves in photos. But have you ever seen yourself in a collage?! Here’s your chance to create a self portrai

A blog about art making and art education explorations in a humble art room for adults and kids of all ages.

Welcome to Birdagram Art Camp´s colorful world of mixed media art lessons! Dive into the whimsical realm of tissue paper portraits with this engaging and educational 8-page digital download lesson plan, specially crafted for elementary students! Unleash your creativity as you embark on an exciting journey into the world of mixed media collage! This meticulously designed lesson plan combines the vibrancy of tissue paper collage with the timeless art of portrait drawing. Perfect for budding artists eager to explore new techniques and concepts! Inside this comprehensive, 11 Page Lesson Plan, students will delve into the fascinating realm of facial proportions, learning the fundamental principles of drawing a face with precision and accuracy. Through step-by-step guidance and colorful illustrations, budding artists will master the art of capturing likeness while infusing their creations with individual flair. What sets this lesson plan apart is its depth and interactivity. With a focus on hands-on learning and creative expression, students will delight in the opportunity to experiment with different media and colors, breathing life into their unique tissue paper portraits. Whether it's rosy cheeks or sparkling eyes, each detail is a celebration of imagination and skill! Here's a glimpse of what this 11-page digital download includes: Detailed instructions on creating a mixed media tissue paper portrait from start to finish. Step-by-step illustrations and diagrams to guide students through the process of facial proportion and composition. Tips and tricks for selecting and layering tissue paper to achieve dynamic textures and colors. Creative prompts and exercises to encourage artistic exploration and self-expression. Printable templates and reference guides for added convenience and inspiration. Prepare to be captivated by the kaleidoscope of colors and textures as you embark on this delightful artistic adventure! Whether you're an art educator looking for innovative lesson plans or a parent seeking enriching activities for your child, this mixed media tissue paper portrait lesson is sure to inspire and delight. Let creativity soar and imaginations flourish with this vibrant and fun-filled art lesson plan! Download your copy today and unlock the boundless possibilities of mixed media expression. Happy creating! ✨

A contemporary self portrait project for all ages inspired by the whimsical illustrations of Suzy Ultman.

In this project our little kids learned about portrait proportions. They learned that, no, the head is not perfectly round, but rather an upside down egg shape. They learned that eyes are not way up high on the head, but are in the middle of the head. They learned that, no, hair does not come out from the top contour edge of the head, but instead comes downs from the top contour of the head and may sweep across our eyebrows. The nose is between eyes and mouth and the mouth is made up of two parts - upper lip and lower lip. The neck is not a skinny stick jutting down from the head, but is instead a rather thick 'stem' with curves out on both sides and is as wide as the space between our ears. Voila! Proper proportions. The first step for this project was to collage squares of paper all over our paper, in a neat and orderly fashion. This means starting at the top corner and working our way across and down. I had precut a variety of paper squares, sourced from old books of different fonts and coloration, sheet music, and painted paper. We were mindful of not putting two squares of the same paper next to each other, rather, we went for a balanced and varied look. We used acrylic gel medium (my favorite) for pasting our bits of paper. The rule is - brush gel medium on your paper (just where the single collage paper will be adhered), then glue down the collage paper, and then brush more gel medium over top of the collage paper. So, glue under, paste paper, glue on top. This ensures the collage paper is properly sealed to our paper. The kids got the hang of this routine pretty quickly. We dried with a blow dryer so we could move on to step two: drawing the face. I did face drawing demonstration on the white board while the kids followed along using thin brushes and slightly watered down black acrylic paint. Yes, they drew directly with paint brushes! As always, I 'talked out loud' as I drew, so the kids can hear my thought process and connect art vocabulary to line and shape. This was all we managed for session one. Work in progress In the next class we added a slightly see through wash of white paint (I used gesso) to our background, behind the head. We added color to the eyes and lips (the kids know that the upper lip is darker than the lower lip) and added a white ink stamp to the black hair for a decorative effect. This is one of my all time favorite projects I've done with the little class. An instant framer! Kids 5-6

I've been wanting to do this project for ages, ever since I saw it on the blog [email protected]. You can find Natalie's original post here. After many illustration and painting projects under our belt, I wanted to do a paper art project with my kids, and knew this one would be perfect for all ages. And boy, was it fun! Be aware that this project is rather time-consuming, as it requires many steps and is done on a large format. It took us three 90-minute classes, but it worked out well, since we lumped the three main steps into one class each. Day 1: Students chose to do either a cat or a dog (large or small breed). I prepared tracers of cat eyes, dog eyes, cat nose, and a small and large dog nose. I used simple cardstock for this. I don't usually use tracers, but felt they were fitting for this projects since the focus was really on pastel blending, painting for dimension and definition, and collaging, and the tracers really saved us a lot of time and effort in an already lengthy, multi-step project. Students traced their eyes and nose on good watercolor or acrylic paper. Eyes were colored using 3-4 analogous oil pastel colors. Starting at the outer edge of eye ball with the darkest color, students colored a ring of color always coloring in the direction of the pupil. The next lightest color was applied in the same way, but slightly touching the first ring of color in order to have the two colors blend. The third and fourth colors was applied in this same way. This process created slightly blended colors where one color ring transforms into the next, and it really looks like the streaks of iris color. You're best off watching Natalie's eye coloring tutorial here. Once irises were colored, black acrylic paint was used to color in pupils and the outer edge of eyes. Reflection spots were added in white acrylic paint. The dog nose was painted using black acrylic paint with white, to create grays. Cat noses were painted with red with white, to create pink. Highlight spots were added here too. Watch Natalie's nose painting tutorial here. This was all we managed for day 1. Day 2: To hugely save on time and cut down on mess and waste, I had prepared and pre-torn strips of paper is various colors, patterns and textures. I used as many different kinds of paper as possible for maximum interest - atlas paper, book paper, painted paper, printed/stamped paper, deco paper, wrapping paper, graph paper, dotted paper, colored construction paper.... and I had my (biological) kids help me create paper using different mediums (watercolor resist, printing with stamps, painting with stencils, scribbling and drawing, printing with bubble wrap and other found objects, etc). I then tore these up into long strips. You could do this step on a separate day with your students (the kids would love it) but I was pressed for time. So, day 2, students were given a large 50x35cm black paper and were told to collage strips of paper in as many different colors and patterns as possible (mindful of balance and harmony, so perhaps repeating a few colors and patterns here and there). Strips should head towards the center and go slightly beyond the edge of the paper. We used acrylic gel medium for our glue. As always with gel medium, we glued under and over, which really helps to firmly seal our strips. This process took nearly the full 90 minutes of class. Collaged strips Day 3: We glued our eyes and nose onto our collage paper. We had many visuals of dogs and cats at our desks, to helps us visualize the facial order, features, texture and fur of our animals. We noted that with animals (and people), eyes are generally placed only as wide apart as the width of our noses. We glued these down and went over them with glossy acyclic gel medium, which gives our eyes and nose that glossy shimmer. Then it was time for adding definition, dimension and texture, and to make our eyes and nose harmonize with and look like they 'belong' to our collaged background. Using only black and white paint (and creating our own grays), we defined our eyes, created a snout shape and chin, considered dimension and facial structure. Again, we looked to visuals of cats and different dog breeds for inspiration. Cheeks, chins and snouts were pushed forward in that we used more white and light grays here, while eyes were pushed back in that we added more black around the edges. Using feather brushes and other fur-rendering paint brushes (fan brush, wisp brush), we added furry lines and texture around eyes, forehead, along the edges of our snouts, and anywhere we wanted that furry look. To make the eyes less 'startled' and to give our eyes more character, we painted over the upper edge of the iris. This softened the look a bit. We even abandoned brushes and used our fingers to finger paint some definition here and there. Fun! All my ages groups, from age 6-14, really enjoyed this multi-step process.... perhaps without even realizing just how much learning was happening! A real winner of a project! Thanks again to Natalie from Elementaryartfun.blogspot.com for the awesome inspiration! Ages 8-11 Ages 8-14 Ages 6-7

Join this famous art lesson for children to learn about the artist John Piper. We’ll look at some of Piper’s famous paintings that use collage and create our own mixed media collage art projects. John Piper collage art lesson for children In this famous art lesson we will::: learn about the […]

This mixed media art collage project is perfect for students of all ages and learning levels and inspires creative thinking.

Colorful printed paper collage bird project inspired by artist Clare Youngs. Explore collage, drawing, painting and stamping. Kids will learn and have fun while creating beautiful artwork. Grades K-8

Please Note: All images seen below are of my students artwork only. These photos/lessons are not posted in any particular order regarding the flow of my curriculum. Abstract Self-Portrait Paintin…

2nd grade mixed media inspiration: Heidelberg Project, Detroit (and my fellow flickr art teachers, who did a similar lesson w/ popsicle sticks...we just made it a local thing.) :) if you're not from here and don't know about Heidelberg, you must go read and then come and visit: www.heidelberg.org/ If you are local, you can get a sense of how the kids just "got it" w/ this project. We are crossing our fingers that we'll win a field trip from Target to get to go to Heidelberg in the spring! :)

I've been wanting to do this project for ages, ever since I saw it on the blog [email protected]. You can find Natalie's original post here. After many illustration and painting projects under our belt, I wanted to do a paper art project with my kids, and knew this one would be perfect for all ages. And boy, was it fun! Be aware that this project is rather time-consuming, as it requires many steps and is done on a large format. It took us three 90-minute classes, but it worked out well, since we lumped the three main steps into one class each. Day 1: Students chose to do either a cat or a dog (large or small breed). I prepared tracers of cat eyes, dog eyes, cat nose, and a small and large dog nose. I used simple cardstock for this. I don't usually use tracers, but felt they were fitting for this projects since the focus was really on pastel blending, painting for dimension and definition, and collaging, and the tracers really saved us a lot of time and effort in an already lengthy, multi-step project. Students traced their eyes and nose on good watercolor or acrylic paper. Eyes were colored using 3-4 analogous oil pastel colors. Starting at the outer edge of eye ball with the darkest color, students colored a ring of color always coloring in the direction of the pupil. The next lightest color was applied in the same way, but slightly touching the first ring of color in order to have the two colors blend. The third and fourth colors was applied in this same way. This process created slightly blended colors where one color ring transforms into the next, and it really looks like the streaks of iris color. You're best off watching Natalie's eye coloring tutorial here. Once irises were colored, black acrylic paint was used to color in pupils and the outer edge of eyes. Reflection spots were added in white acrylic paint. The dog nose was painted using black acrylic paint with white, to create grays. Cat noses were painted with red with white, to create pink. Highlight spots were added here too. Watch Natalie's nose painting tutorial here. This was all we managed for day 1. Day 2: To hugely save on time and cut down on mess and waste, I had prepared and pre-torn strips of paper is various colors, patterns and textures. I used as many different kinds of paper as possible for maximum interest - atlas paper, book paper, painted paper, printed/stamped paper, deco paper, wrapping paper, graph paper, dotted paper, colored construction paper.... and I had my (biological) kids help me create paper using different mediums (watercolor resist, printing with stamps, painting with stencils, scribbling and drawing, printing with bubble wrap and other found objects, etc). I then tore these up into long strips. You could do this step on a separate day with your students (the kids would love it) but I was pressed for time. So, day 2, students were given a large 50x35cm black paper and were told to collage strips of paper in as many different colors and patterns as possible (mindful of balance and harmony, so perhaps repeating a few colors and patterns here and there). Strips should head towards the center and go slightly beyond the edge of the paper. We used acrylic gel medium for our glue. As always with gel medium, we glued under and over, which really helps to firmly seal our strips. This process took nearly the full 90 minutes of class. Collaged strips Day 3: We glued our eyes and nose onto our collage paper. We had many visuals of dogs and cats at our desks, to helps us visualize the facial order, features, texture and fur of our animals. We noted that with animals (and people), eyes are generally placed only as wide apart as the width of our noses. We glued these down and went over them with glossy acyclic gel medium, which gives our eyes and nose that glossy shimmer. Then it was time for adding definition, dimension and texture, and to make our eyes and nose harmonize with and look like they 'belong' to our collaged background. Using only black and white paint (and creating our own grays), we defined our eyes, created a snout shape and chin, considered dimension and facial structure. Again, we looked to visuals of cats and different dog breeds for inspiration. Cheeks, chins and snouts were pushed forward in that we used more white and light grays here, while eyes were pushed back in that we added more black around the edges. Using feather brushes and other fur-rendering paint brushes (fan brush, wisp brush), we added furry lines and texture around eyes, forehead, along the edges of our snouts, and anywhere we wanted that furry look. To make the eyes less 'startled' and to give our eyes more character, we painted over the upper edge of the iris. This softened the look a bit. We even abandoned brushes and used our fingers to finger paint some definition here and there. Fun! All my ages groups, from age 6-14, really enjoyed this multi-step process.... perhaps without even realizing just how much learning was happening! A real winner of a project! Thanks again to Natalie from Elementaryartfun.blogspot.com for the awesome inspiration! Ages 8-11 Ages 8-14 Ages 6-7

A blog about art making and art education explorations in a humble art room for adults and kids of all ages.

The kids and I loved doing this project. First of all, I love combining collage with painting and drawing, and I love big bustling cities. Secondly, this project was an opportunity for my students to visually communicate where they, or their families, comes from. Always big points for personalizing art. The New York artist, Elizabeth Rosen, was the inspired for this project. See her work here. Elizabeth Rosen Objectives were: creating a layered cityscape using various collage and book papers; overlapping buildings; variety in text, color and shape; balance and harmony; perspective (smaller and higher in back, bigger and lower at bottom); and creating depth with charcoal sticks, which we smudged with our fingers. We added personalized symbols which represent our home city of choice. We began by painting our sky in an opaque color. We only painted half way down, because we knew that our collage papers would cover the bottom up to middle portion (saving on time and paint is always good!) We then cut out various collage papers in simplified building shapes and were mindful of varying our shapes and sizes of our building, as well as choosing papers with different fonts, coloration and design, so as to achieve a well balanced and dynamic cityscape. We arranged and then glued, starting at the back of the city and moving down, so that those in front overlap those in back. We then drew symbols, signs or other indicators of the city we were representing (a shopping mall in Dubai, the City Hall in Zagreb, building top water tanks, yellow cabs and a bagel shop in New York, a church and clocktower in Prague are a few examples the kids came up with the identify their city). We cut these out and pasted them on our buildings. Lastly, we used soft vine charcoal to run a black line along the edge of all our buildings, and then smudged lightly with our fingers. This gives immediate and stunning depth and 3-dimension to our city. Represented in the below collages are Berlin, Prague, Milano, NYC, Minneapolis, and an invented city. Kids 7-9. Kids 7-9 Represent in the below collages are Dubai, Budapest, New York, an imaginary city, Zagreb and a Chinese city. Kids 7-11

A blog about art making and art education explorations in a humble art room for adults and kids of all ages.

I've been wanting to do this project for ages, ever since I saw it on the blog [email protected]. You can find Natalie's original post here. After many illustration and painting projects under our belt, I wanted to do a paper art project with my kids, and knew this one would be perfect for all ages. And boy, was it fun! Be aware that this project is rather time-consuming, as it requires many steps and is done on a large format. It took us three 90-minute classes, but it worked out well, since we lumped the three main steps into one class each. Day 1: Students chose to do either a cat or a dog (large or small breed). I prepared tracers of cat eyes, dog eyes, cat nose, and a small and large dog nose. I used simple cardstock for this. I don't usually use tracers, but felt they were fitting for this projects since the focus was really on pastel blending, painting for dimension and definition, and collaging, and the tracers really saved us a lot of time and effort in an already lengthy, multi-step project. Students traced their eyes and nose on good watercolor or acrylic paper. Eyes were colored using 3-4 analogous oil pastel colors. Starting at the outer edge of eye ball with the darkest color, students colored a ring of color always coloring in the direction of the pupil. The next lightest color was applied in the same way, but slightly touching the first ring of color in order to have the two colors blend. The third and fourth colors was applied in this same way. This process created slightly blended colors where one color ring transforms into the next, and it really looks like the streaks of iris color. You're best off watching Natalie's eye coloring tutorial here. Once irises were colored, black acrylic paint was used to color in pupils and the outer edge of eyes. Reflection spots were added in white acrylic paint. The dog nose was painted using black acrylic paint with white, to create grays. Cat noses were painted with red with white, to create pink. Highlight spots were added here too. Watch Natalie's nose painting tutorial here. This was all we managed for day 1. Day 2: To hugely save on time and cut down on mess and waste, I had prepared and pre-torn strips of paper is various colors, patterns and textures. I used as many different kinds of paper as possible for maximum interest - atlas paper, book paper, painted paper, printed/stamped paper, deco paper, wrapping paper, graph paper, dotted paper, colored construction paper.... and I had my (biological) kids help me create paper using different mediums (watercolor resist, printing with stamps, painting with stencils, scribbling and drawing, printing with bubble wrap and other found objects, etc). I then tore these up into long strips. You could do this step on a separate day with your students (the kids would love it) but I was pressed for time. So, day 2, students were given a large 50x35cm black paper and were told to collage strips of paper in as many different colors and patterns as possible (mindful of balance and harmony, so perhaps repeating a few colors and patterns here and there). Strips should head towards the center and go slightly beyond the edge of the paper. We used acrylic gel medium for our glue. As always with gel medium, we glued under and over, which really helps to firmly seal our strips. This process took nearly the full 90 minutes of class. Collaged strips Day 3: We glued our eyes and nose onto our collage paper. We had many visuals of dogs and cats at our desks, to helps us visualize the facial order, features, texture and fur of our animals. We noted that with animals (and people), eyes are generally placed only as wide apart as the width of our noses. We glued these down and went over them with glossy acyclic gel medium, which gives our eyes and nose that glossy shimmer. Then it was time for adding definition, dimension and texture, and to make our eyes and nose harmonize with and look like they 'belong' to our collaged background. Using only black and white paint (and creating our own grays), we defined our eyes, created a snout shape and chin, considered dimension and facial structure. Again, we looked to visuals of cats and different dog breeds for inspiration. Cheeks, chins and snouts were pushed forward in that we used more white and light grays here, while eyes were pushed back in that we added more black around the edges. Using feather brushes and other fur-rendering paint brushes (fan brush, wisp brush), we added furry lines and texture around eyes, forehead, along the edges of our snouts, and anywhere we wanted that furry look. To make the eyes less 'startled' and to give our eyes more character, we painted over the upper edge of the iris. This softened the look a bit. We even abandoned brushes and used our fingers to finger paint some definition here and there. Fun! All my ages groups, from age 6-14, really enjoyed this multi-step process.... perhaps without even realizing just how much learning was happening! A real winner of a project! Thanks again to Natalie from Elementaryartfun.blogspot.com for the awesome inspiration! Ages 8-11 Ages 8-14 Ages 6-7

Our first project this year has been a very progressive, multi step, multi media project that has really evolved as we created! Our first project when we got back from hurricane Harvery was to release some stress with scribbling to music.... Students spread out on the floor and scribbled to the sound of fast and slow music by “The Piano Guys” they love these songs because they recognize them from the radio but it’s all instrumental. The students were instructed to use large arm motions that cross over the body. Any motion that crosses from the right side of the body to the left or vise versa uses both hemispheres of the brain since each side controls one side of the body. It is very relaxing and the kids LOVED it!!!!!! The next class kids painted over thier scribbles with water colors, tempera paint, and India ink. They explored the way different paint resists or does not resist the crayon. You can follow me on instagram for more photos "Natty241" And my facebook page "Mrs. Waggenspack's Art Room" They were allowed to use their hands at the end. We try to use all 5 senses for a while brain experience. We talked about abstract art, Kinetic art, And the experience of art. It is a process and not just a product that we create in art. After each experience we gathered on the floor and talked about how they felt in one word. Students said, “Free, alive, happy, exhilarating, dancing, creative, like a real artist, quiet, excited, open,angry, peaceful,etc” When the paintings were finished the students tore them up into strips! They were so upset at first. When they saw the next step they were so excited. The students glued the strips on a late paper for the collage. This took three 50 minute classes. Then students traced the eyes and nose of the animal they wanted and outlines the eyes, nose, and beaks with India ink. ( pictures at the bottom of blog) this is the resin I use. I paint it on with a brush. This resin must be mixed one to one ratio and it is toxic so you must wear a mask. Do NOT let the children use it. You have to do it for them if you want the ultra shiney eyes effect! Wear a mask and use gloves! You can sprinkle glitter in it too for extra FUN!!! Then they glued the eyes and nose on the collage. The next step was to embellish the face and add details. We used India ink and fan brushes to make fur and feathers. When the entire face was finished I added resin to the eyes to make them shine These are how the eyes and noses look before they cut them out. We used the fan brush for making fur. These are the travers they could use for eyes, noses and beaks

Take your collage to the next level with this fine art for kids project. Create beautiful mixed media artwork in this fun idea for grades K-8. Inspired by the work of Robert Rauschenberg.

Our first project this year has been a very progressive, multi step, multi media project that has really evolved as we created! Our first p...

In my last post, I showed you some of Sabrina Ward Harrison’s artwork and talked about what she shared with us at her artist visit. Her artwork is very inspiring, messy and beautiful. Please check out the other post to learn all about this artist. After the presentation, smaller groups of kids in grades 3-6 had a collage workshop with Sabrina. She demonstrated how to use Mod-Podge to paste down pieces of her pinwheel shape. While she demonstrated the pinwheel … Read more... →

Even young children can get beautiful results from a collage craft. So, here are the top Creative Collage Art Ideas For School to help you get excited about your next project. A collage can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.

Collages are things of joy and fun since they tend to be not just one piece of art but a mix of several. And the best part is that while like other art, it

Another project in my big Art History unit with my students is finally all displayed and ready to be shared! The two above were chosen for Youth Art Month at the Portage County Library! I found this project via pinterest (which is the worst kind of pinterest post). JUST an image. However, this image was actually pretty useful for understanding the project. Day 1: Picasso intro! Short and sweet powerpoint with a YouTube video of Picasso in action. I did stop it a minute early because he paints a naked lady (and I wasn't ready to tackle that). They really seemed to enjoy this short clip, makes the artist a lot more real to them. If only we had video of Van Gogh! After the video we played "Roll a Picasso" here is a version on Teachers Pay Teachers but I made my own to add a view more parts to it. My students absolutely loved this. They did it for 30 minutes without getting bored! I told them there was no mistakes, they didn't need to erase, and they would take them with them when they left. If they got sick of drawing they could switch to coloring them. I really wish I would of taken some pictures. There was really great ones! Day 2: I show them a little poster that I put together reminding them of some things about Picasso and showing some of his other works. Then I demo drawing the different features on the paper scraps using oil pastels and finishing with a black crayon. I saw such a higher level of confidence of this project and I think it was because of the Roll a Picasso. They had come in knowing what their strengths were with what features, and I didn't limit them to the ones on the sheet either. If there was a way they wanted to draw a feature or knew how, they did it. Day 3: Showed the poster once again just to remind them of Picasso (seeing as we only see each other once every six school days)! And started with a short demo of creating the head shape and coloring and assembling it. Started with drawing the head, arranging the pieces, traced them, took them off and colored the sections of the face with oil pastels. If it didn't naturally break into sections they did it where they thought best. Last step was glue sticking them on and tracing the added paper and lines in black crayon. I am so excited to share these with you, I just LOVE how these turned out! McDill Elementary... Kennedy Elementary... Jefferson Elementary...

"How wild it was to let it be."

Colorful printed paper collage bird project inspired by artist Clare Youngs. Explore collage, drawing, painting and stamping. Kids will learn and have fun while creating beautiful artwork. Grades K-8

A great collaborative kids process art project.

Hi everybody! Susanne here and I’m sharing an abstract mixed media art journal tutorial today and dive into mark making and transparent layering. I am using a flower from our Pencil Marks 4 s…

Use Arrows above to toggle through examples! SUMMARY: We began this lesson by creating a series of oil pastel-patterned papers. Working with distinct warm or cool color schemes, the students c…

A great collaborative kids process art project.

Our first project this year has been a very progressive, multi step, multi media project that has really evolved as we created! Our first p...

Use Arrows above to toggle through examples! SUMMARY: We began this lesson by creating a series of oil pastel-patterned papers. Working with distinct warm or cool color schemes, the students c…

Our first project this year has been a very progressive, multi step, multi media project that has really evolved as we created! Our first project when we got back from hurricane Harvery was to release some stress with scribbling to music.... Students spread out on the floor and scribbled to the sound of fast and slow music by “The Piano Guys” they love these songs because they recognize them from the radio but it’s all instrumental. The students were instructed to use large arm motions that cross over the body. Any motion that crosses from the right side of the body to the left or vise versa uses both hemispheres of the brain since each side controls one side of the body. It is very relaxing and the kids LOVED it!!!!!! The next class kids painted over thier scribbles with water colors, tempera paint, and India ink. They explored the way different paint resists or does not resist the crayon. You can follow me on instagram for more photos "Natty241" And my facebook page "Mrs. Waggenspack's Art Room" They were allowed to use their hands at the end. We try to use all 5 senses for a while brain experience. We talked about abstract art, Kinetic art, And the experience of art. It is a process and not just a product that we create in art. After each experience we gathered on the floor and talked about how they felt in one word. Students said, “Free, alive, happy, exhilarating, dancing, creative, like a real artist, quiet, excited, open,angry, peaceful,etc” When the paintings were finished the students tore them up into strips! They were so upset at first. When they saw the next step they were so excited. The students glued the strips on a late paper for the collage. This took three 50 minute classes. Then students traced the eyes and nose of the animal they wanted and outlines the eyes, nose, and beaks with India ink. ( pictures at the bottom of blog) this is the resin I use. I paint it on with a brush. This resin must be mixed one to one ratio and it is toxic so you must wear a mask. Do NOT let the children use it. You have to do it for them if you want the ultra shiney eyes effect! Wear a mask and use gloves! You can sprinkle glitter in it too for extra FUN!!! Then they glued the eyes and nose on the collage. The next step was to embellish the face and add details. We used India ink and fan brushes to make fur and feathers. When the entire face was finished I added resin to the eyes to make them shine These are how the eyes and noses look before they cut them out. We used the fan brush for making fur. These are the travers they could use for eyes, noses and beaks