Kindergarten Paul Klee Paintings

Kindergarten artists at Georgetown Elementary learned about the Swiss painter Paul Klee. They viewed his painting entitled “Castle and Sun” and discovered that he liked to use many shapes in his paintings. After identifying geometric shapes in the painting, the Kindergarteners created their own castles  and suns using the same shapes.

Kindergarten artists learned they can print shapes using every day objects like cardboard and cups. After the shapes were printed and dried, they added color using watercolor paints.

Learning Goals –

I can learn about the artist Paul Klee.

I can print geometric shapes using everyday objects.

Kindergarten Line Monsters

Kindergarteners at Georgetown and Bauer have been busy learning about lines in the art room. After reading the book, Lines that Wiggle, by Candace Whitman, they explored all different kinds of lines. Kindergarteners began by drawing lines in the air with their imaginary pencils, then they painted them on paper with black tempera paint. When those lines dried they used watercolor paints to paint color between their lines. The final step was to cut them to look like monsters by adding eyes, (or an eye), mouths, teeth, and other things to make their monsters unique. The Kindergarten artists had so much fun creating their monsters, and they are proud to display them in the school hallways!

This was a great first lesson for Kindergarten. It took a few sessions, but we were able to learn many first skills in the art room. We learned how to use scissors properly by holding our thumbs up and moving the paper, not the scissors. We learned painting correctly by treating the paintbrush like a ballerina and tiptoeing in our paint and dancing across our paper. We also learned how to properly use a glue stick by making the glue peek over the edge and not pop over the edge. Best of all, we were able to learn the routine of painting and cleaning up paint in the art room by starting simple with just one color.

Georgetown Elementary: Kindergarten Paul Klee

Kindergarten Paul Klee Cats

The Kindergarten artists at Georgetown Elementary have been busy learning about the Swiss painter, Paul Klee. Paul Klee’s paintings were very childlike with bright colors like the color he saw when he visited Africa.

                                       

 His famous painting entitled Cat and Bird was the inspiration for this project.

After following multi-step instructions for drawing their cat and bird, Kindergarteners chose bright watercolor paint and practiced their painting skills to add color to their cats. They finished their paintings by using a very small paintbrush to outline their lines with black paint. Awesome job Kindergarteners! You have really brightened our hallways at Georgetown.

Georgetown Elementary: Kindergarten Artists

At Hudsonville Public Schools, each elementary grade has at least three artists they are required to be introduced to. Dutch artist, Piet Mondrian, is one of the artists for Kindergarten. Kindergarten students at Georgetown Elementary had fun learning about him because he painted with primary colors and straight lines. Each artist made four small squares by gluing strips of paper in Mondrian style, and many made an extra one to take home with them.

See more Mini Mondrians at our ARTSONIA on-line Art Gallery!

Georgetown Elementary: What's YOUR Name?

Georgetown Elementary's first art projects this year are all about NAMES!  Each grade level learned a different way to write their name – 1st and 2nd grades wrote in BUBBLE LETTERS, 3rd grade was challenged with BLOCK LETTERS, and grades 4 and 5 were excited to practice writing their name in CURSIVE.  Students then added the art elements of line, shape, and color to turn their names into a work of art.

 

Grades 1 & 2 bubble letter designs

 Grade 3 block letter designs

 

Grade 4 cursive writing designs

Grade 5 cursive writing designs

We also spent some time looking at how other artists use words and letters in their art pieces.  We looked at the words that Faith Ringgold includes around her Story Quilts.

Andy Warhol's "100 Cans" and Juan Miro's "Hirondelle/Amour" also brought some interesting discussions about the way artists use words in their art making.

 

"I Can" Goals

I can write my name in block, bubble, or cursive letters.

I can talk about different works of art.

I can use the art elements of line, shape, and color to create a work of art using my own name.

Kindergarten Self-Portraits

Kindergarten artists created these special self-portraits to give their moms for Mother’s Day. The artists learned that a self-portrait is a drawing or painting of themselves. I love the innocence of Kindergarten drawings, and knew their moms would love their drawings too.  I struggled with directing the students too much so all the portraits looked the same, but directing them enough so they would have success with their portraits. I decided to take the students through an exercise of exploring their faces and bodies so they did not miss any parts. We pulled our shoulders up to see what we would look like if we didn’t have a neck and they thought that would look pretty silly! We also discovered that our eyes are in the middle of our heads, not our noses. After exploring their bodies, students eagerly began drawing their portraits while adding their own unique touches. After the portraits were finished and the tissue paper backgrounds were added, their classroom teachers helped them write notes and Mother’s Day wishes to their moms around the border.
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This project meets the following Michigan Visual Arts Standards:

Explore the elements of art through playful sensory experiences.

Recognize that art can be created for self expression or fun.

This project can be found on our online art gallery ARTSONIA

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Entry Filed under: News From Mrs. Persch. Posted in  News From Mrs. Persch Tags:Artsonia, Kindergarten Art Projects, line, Mother's Day, self portraits, tissue paper.

Georgetown Elementary: Mondrian + Kandinsky = ABSTRACT ART!

Georgetown fourth grade artists have really been flexing their art muscles this month!  Their latest creations combine their understanding of the abstract art of Mondrian and Kandinsky, plus their recent study of color families, AND our school goal of improving number sense and fractions.  Whew!

After viewing work by Mondrian and Kandinsky, students discussed how both artists might have divided up their picture space as they created “Broadway Boogie Woogie” and “Several Circles No. 323″.

  

Students folded their paper into halves, thirds, and quarters and carefully planned where to place their lines and shapes to create a strong abstract composition.  Color was added after considering color families, and a printed border pulled their pieces together.  The final result?  Stunning!

       

Learning Goals - I CAN:

• Recognize the abstract work of Kandinsky and Mondrian
• Understand that artists create abstract art to show emotion and feeling through color, line, and shape
• Use understanding of fractions to divide picture space into a visually pleasing composition
• Add color using color family combinations

See more of these abstract pieces at our ARTSONIA on-line art museum!