This week, first grade will be starting a Charley Harper inspired artwork! He was an American artist who simplified nature into basic shapes, in a style which he called "Minimal Realism". You can learn more about Mr. Harper and view more of his works at his gallery website. After looking at examples of Mr. Harper's work, we will start on our own! We used blue Tru-Ray construction paper for the background 90lb Sax Multimedia paper for the birch trees Red Tru-ray paper Black tempera paint Cardboard Pencils, & Sharpie makers First we'll create the look of bark for our birch trees, by adding black paint to our white paper. We will use cardboard lightly dipped in black paint and drag it across the paper to achieve this effect. After the black paint had dried some, we can cut out the trees and place them on the background. I think while we're waiting for the black to dry, I'll have the children use Q-tips to paint white dots in the background for snow. Next, we'll add the cardinals! We'll use simple shapes like teardrops, half of an oval, crescents, and triangles to create the body parts of the birds. They do not have to create the same exact birds I did. Some of these shapes could be quite the challenge for some. If they just want to do teardrops and triangles, then they can do just that! After we have our birds glued on, we'll create their iconic black masks, and add their beaks. I used black and yellow orange Tru-Ray paper to do so. I notice that when the birds are looking straight at you, Mr. Harper used a "U" shape for the beak, and the mask. So, that's what I used too! If they just want to cut out triangles, they can just do triangles! I added eyes with a Sharpie marker, after I glued the mask, and beak on. Can't wait to see what 1st grade will do with theirs! Stay tuned for some awesome art! Thanks to The Colors of My Day for the inspiration too! “Lauren Stacey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.”