muppet abstracts...

The fourth graders have been learning all about different artistic styles this year, and this was a fun one!

We talked about Abstract Art, which uses lines, shapes, and colors to create a composition that doesn't exactly represent the world as we see it. This was a tough concept to grasp for many! Some artists have a need to make it look "real" and in this one, they were being asked to make it not look real!

Since we are using a modified choice, I limited the subject of the artwork to a muppet, or cartoon character; but, the students could choose which character to use, and could use any supplies from the drawing, collage, and painting centers.

The students' goal was to show me an abstract version of the muppet they chose. They could do this by paying close attention to the lines, shapes, colors, and patterns on the muppet, and then recreating them in a different arrangement. It helped to explain that the final artwork should almost be like a mystery to the people viewing it... they should have to put all of the clues together to decide what or who it is!

I think they did a great job... here a few examples... can you name the muppet or cartoon character?

calder scuptures...

Third graders learned about Alexander Calder and his wire sculptures!

We then created patterns and designs on small cardstock pieces.

Each student had five pieces, and they were supposed to focus on 

making each pattern different, 

while still having an 

element of harmony throughout their 5 designs. 

Students learned that they could repeat one element 

(a line, a color, or a shape) in each of their designs to create this harmony.

Then we had to do some more problem solving... 

the kiddos could choose as many pieces of straw as they wanted, 

and they had to cut, glue, and assemble the straws and design cards

together to make a sculpture. The only rules were that the final sculpture

had to be just that.... a sculpture. Three-dimensional, not laying flat on their tables. 

This was not an easy task with the materials 

at hand, but the students shined! 

Check out some of the amazing sculptures our third graders built:

 (so proud!)

figure to abstraction paintings

My third graders LOVE this project! It is a really fun way to make abstract art and explore the idea of working together as a community!

This project usually follows one on figure drawing - this year we had focused on Keith Haring and his "bubble people" first. Then, for our 'figure to abstraction paintings', we start by talking about the abstract artist Lee Krasner. (Go here to see images of her artwork, and here to read information about her life.)

The students do real life "bubble people" outlines on large pieces of bulletin board paper. (We used white, but I'm thinking butcher paper would be cool too!) They have fun laying in different poses on the paper and tracing each other. Their goal is to overlap the "bubble people" many times, so that it creates shapes, and the people outlines are no longer recognizable.

Last - bring on the paint! Each group chooses five colors that they think will look nice together on their composition. I really encourage them to come up with at least 2 colors other than primary and secondary ones - some favorites are hot pink and teal! I use small plastic "fruit cups" with lids to give them their paint, and these are stored on the windowsill for week to week use. When they paint, the kids try hard to fill in each shape that was created by overlapping their "bubble people" tracings, without going over the pencil lines.







In the end, they have an amazing abstract work of art!