Halloween Art History continues with bats adorned with images inspired by the works of artist Jean Michel Basquiat.
This is one of my favorite projects to share with younger students in grades K through 3. You can learn more about Basquiat and his work in this TEDed video -https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chaotic-brilliance-of-artist-jean-michel-basquiat-jordana-moore-saggese#review
Work in progress. Finding recurring elements in Basquiat’s work.Inspired by the artist’s themes and colors.Finished bats by 2nd grade students.Supplies – royalty free images or your own, markers, crayons, paper. Skills – color, portraits, color theory.
WARHOL WITCHES
Our next artist spotlight for Halloween Art History is Andy Warhol. We’ll be making Warhol Witches inspired by Warhol’s celebrity silkscreen portraits and unique color palettes. This is a great project for introducing the color wheel, complimentary colors and more.
Here are some links where you can learn more about about Andy Warhol and Faber Birren, a scholar on color theory that Warhol referenced in his work.
Today’s Story Time read aloud was “The Rainbow Goblins” by Ul de Rico. This is a stunningly illustrated book that tells the story of the Valley of the Rainbows and the greedy goblins who want to steal all the beautiful colors.
Rainbows are magical and even the scientific explanation for their origin is the stuff of wonder. Light streaming through water molecules at just the right angle to bend light? Amazing. White light that actually carries the spectrum of colors? Incredible. Nature and science really are magic and so is art.
You can watch the read aloud video and see how I created the mini rainbows above at Sea of Visibility on FB.
Rothko was an abstract artist who expressed emotions with color. he also tried to make viewers feel certain emotions only using color.
When I was playing with lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish to blend and combine colors, I was reminded of Mark Rothko’s abstract color paintings. Just trying out different color combinations and blending the different pigments together made me happy. I thought I knew what result I would get but was pleasantly surprised every time.
Here are two great sites to visit to learn more about the artist Mark Rothko and to make your own rainbow experiments.
Today’s video features a very popular activity in my house – drawing on the wall!
No, I am not advocating drawing on walls BUT there is a way for your little ones to be able to feel a little subversive while keeping your walls clean.
There are also wonderful muralists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring that can inspire you. Excellent, age appropriate resources on these wonderful artists, just for kids, can be found here –
Visit @artoutofanything on FB or Instagram for the complete video how-to.
Here’s what you will need to make your very own “mural” –
Paper– any paper including, but not limited to; construction paper, copy paper, wrapping paper, drawings that have outgrown the fridge, old magazines, paper bags, recycling etc.
Tape – masking tape, scotch tape, first aid tape – you get the idea.
A wall– I used the wall in my studio next to the guest bed (formerly my son’s room), but you can use any wall in your home that is easily accessible.
Things to draw with – the usual suspects will work, but why not try out something new like old lipstick or chalk dipped in water for a new experience?
Using things other than for their intended purpose, allows you and your kiddos to be creative thinkers and explore different approaches to problem solving. These are very important skills that are beneficial to understanding traditional subjects and navigating through life.
Process –
Attach all the paper together with tape so it resembles a quilt. You can make it as long and as wide (high) as you like.
Tape the paper “quilt” to the wall. Experiment with taping it higher on the wall or lower.
Begin your mural! Have you ever noticed how children tend to draw small images, regardless of how big the canvas is? Encourage your child to experiment with scale/size and create larger images. What happens when the paper is high on the wall and they stand to draw as opposed to when the paper is low on the wall and they can sit and draw? What do they enjoy most?
This mural wall can be left up for children to add to whenever they need a break or feel like adding some drawings to it. This is a very popular activity at our summer camp, we usually end up with at least 5 or 6 collaborative murals by the end of the season.
In keeping with out motto – “work with what you have” we have also found a great use for our completed murals. Once the paper is full of your stunning artwork, you can take it down and use it as a tablecloth or drop cloth for more art play. You can also cut it up and frame smaller pieces of it or make cards out of them! Why not experiment with using an old tablecloth or sheet instead of paper?
A brand new mural wall is then only a few minutes and some paper and tape away 🙂
Have fun, stay safe and follow us on FB and Instagram @artoutofanything for more videos and activities.
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