CD Case Portraits

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Rina Vinetz

Do you remember those old-fashioned lockets with little portraits inside? Our fourth graders made modern-day double portraits using recycled CD cases, Sharpies and oil pastels.

Materials:

Clear plastic CD ‘jewel’ cases, with trays removed
Sharpies
pencils/erasers
oil pastels (we used Crayola Oil Pastel Sticks plus a few Pentel Oil Pastels for the skin tone)
paper for sketching
baby oil + q-tip (for correcting oil pastel mistakes)
rubbing alcohol + q-tip (for correcting Sharpie mistakes)

We began by looking a pictures of lockets from Google images.

We talked about how you could only put a couple of photos into your locket. You had to choose carefully. Our students then sketched two portraits to fit their CD ‘lockets’: one self-portrait, plus one portraits of someone very special.

Trace around CD case with Sharpie, then sketch a portrait in pencil.
Place sketch under CD case. Trace lines in Sharpie on OUTSIDE OF CASE.
Completed line drawing of single portrait.
Completed line drawing of double portraits.

It was really wonderful to see who the students drew for the second portrait. Most drew a parent or a sibling. Several drew their current or late pet. A couple of students drew religious portraits. My intention was to do an identity project, and I do believe we got a better idea of the student based on who he or she selected for that second portrait.

The last step was coloring with oil pastel INSIDE OF THE CASE . The oil pastel is messy and can smear – by putting the pastel on the inside we can trap that mess for tidy storage.

Tips for success:

Sharpie on the outside of the case, oil pastel on the inside of the case. Erase Sharpie mistakes with a little alcohol and a cotton ball; erase oil pastel mistakes with baby oil and a cotton ball or q-Tip.

The project took three 40-minute classes, including writing an artist statement. It was lots of fun and extremely successful. These look great displayed accordion style on a table, especially with a light coming through from behind. I think the 4th graders will be very proud to show their families their very special double-portrait ‘lockets’.

This would also be a great recycled art or Earth Day project. It would also be a GREAT Mother’s or Father’s Day gift!

P.S. I got double duty out of my 250 donated CD cases! Here is a Kandinsky circles project made from the discarded CD trays.

Heritage Self-Portraits

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Rina Vinetz

Thinking about a self-portrait project? This project starts as a basic self portrait but turns into a family ancestry art project when students add in national flag designs. This lesson uses basic materials and takes just two 40-minute classes. It comes straight from the wonderful Artisan Des Arts blog.

Materials:

White drawing paper, 12″x18″
Pencils and erasers
Chisel-tip markers (we used Mr. Sketch)
reference photos of national flags

We began by looking at the great student examples on the Artisan Des Arts blog post. Then I asked the students, “Where does your family come from?” After a quick discussion, Next we looked at flags of the world. Then the students drew their portraits in pencil.

Because most of our students have mixed heritage, they had the option of using multiple flags in their design. It was up to them to figure out their own designs. The most common choice was to have one flag design on the face and a second on the shirt.

As a final touch, students had the option of cutting out their self-portraits and mounting them to construction paper.

I really look forward to our next art show. I think the parents will be THRILLED to see their heritage honored in this project.

What a fabulous lesson plan! I will definitely repeat next year. Thanks to Aly at Artisan des Arts for sharing this great project.

Do you have a special twist on a portrait project?

Tie Dye Snowflakes

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Rina Vinetz

Give your snowflake project a colorful twist – ‘tie dye’ them! Sixth grade just finished their tie dye snowflake collages, made with coffee filters and painted with tempera cakes. This lesson was inspired by this post at A Faithful Attempt blog.

Sixth graders cut and paint coffee filter snowflakes, then use them in a collage. Allow two 40-minute classes.

Day 1:

We began by viewing all the excellent student examples on the Faithful Attempt blog. Next, we folded our coffee filter rounds and cut our snowflakes using this method. NOTE: DO NOT OPEN THE PAPERS AT THIS TIME! Students painted their folded snowflakes with tempera cakes, then clipped on a numbered clothespin.

Students were allowed to make multiple snowflakes, so long as the folded flakes could fit stacked up in a single clothespin. One student was able to fit three painted snowflakes in a single clothespin. I let the papers dry on a sheet of cardboard.

Label each snowflake with a numbered clothespin. If you have multiple classes, use a different colored number for each class.

Day 2:

The sixth graders carefully opened their papers. THEY LOVED THE RESULTS! They mounted the snowflakes on construction paper using glue stick (tip – glue down the center first and carefully work your way out to the edges).

I was going to stop the project at that point, when someone asked me if she could double-mat their work. Then someone asked me if he could make a decorative border. I pulled out the ‘fancy’ scissors and the scrap paper bin, and gave them free rein. Our snowflake project turned into a collage project!

Sixth grade results:

For more cool snowflake ideas, check out my previous post: Cut Paper Snowflakes Designed on an iPad.

Snowmen Snapshots

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Rina Vinetz

Third grade just finished their snowmen ‘snapshots’. I found this great lesson at Mrs. Knight’s Smartest Artists.

Third graders drew snowmen from four different points-of-view. Allow three 40-minutes classes.

Materials:

sketch paper
pencils and erasers
white construction paper, 12″x18″
Sharpie
viewfinders
colored markers, thin-tip and chisel-tip

Day 1:

We looked at all the student examples at Mrs. Knights’ blog. Students learned some new photography vocabulary to describe point-of-view:

zoom in/close up
zoom out
profile/side view
3/4 view
viewfinder
crop

The third graders sketched their snowmen in all the points-of-view on a sheet of copy paper. Then they moved their viewfinders over the snowmen drawings to crop the picture.

Days 2-3:

Students folded their white construction paper into quarters. Using pencil, they drew the snowmen from four different points-of-view, one in each quarter. They went over their lines with Sharpie, then erased.

Students had to pick a unique color (or pattern) for each section. I modeled coloring with the markers, and emphasized neatness. This was a ‘no spaghetti’ (no scribbling) project. Some kids still need the reminder!

Third grade results:

This was a very successful project. I heard a couple of kids say they thought it was the best art project they ever did. Please check out Mrs. Knight’s fabulous post – her student examples are great.

Cut Paper Snowflakes Designed on an iPad

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Rina Vinetz

It’s winter! Time for a snowflake project. Our sixth graders just finished their cut paper snowflake projects, with a special twist: all the snowflakes were designed on iPads.

Students designed snowflakes on iPads using the My Flake app, then cut paper snowflakes to match. Allow one 40-minute class.

Materials:

round coffee filters (I got a pack of 150 at my local dollar store)
protractor (optional)
scissors
pencil
iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone with FREE My Flake app
Optional: construction paper and glue stick or spray glue for mounting

Snowflakes and Symmetry:

We began class by viewing this excellent slideshow of magnified snowflakes from the book The Art of the Snowflake: A Photographic Album by Kenneth Libbrecht.

Magnified snowflake photo by Kenneth Libbrecht.
Source: scientificamerican.com

This is a good time to discuss radial and bilateral symmetry. Just like real snowflakes, our iPad and cut paper snowflakes will have radial symmetry, with six identical branches.

Folding the Paper

Next we folded our coffee filters in sixths. Students folded the round coffee filters in half, then used a protractor to divide the semi-circle into thirds. See this post from the Heart of Wisdom blog for great directions on folding the coffee filters.

Cut paper snowflakes start with a round coffee filter folded in half, then into thirds. Then one more fold in half to create a skinny wedge.

Designing the Snowflake on the iPad

I demonstrated how to use the My Flake app, guiding my finger on the screen to make virtual cuts on the paper image.

Students spent the next five minutes exploring the My Flake app. The app allows them to test out different designs virtually by ‘cutting’ a folded paper image, then previewing the design. They can go back and undo or redo one ‘cut’ at a time, and preview the resulting changes.

Once the students settled on a final design,they copied their My Flake design on the folded paper, and finally cut the folded paper to match.

Tip: encourage students to try a simple design on their first snowflake, and draw pencil lines lightly.

Sixth grade student work:

Matching paper and iPad snowflakes

Mount cut paper snowflakes on construction paper.

Our school is 1:1 iPads in grades 4-6. However, this project can be done collaboratively in pairs or in small groups. Several students can share an iPad, each adding a virtual cut or two. Then they can all cut the group design (U.S. art teachers – collaboration is a big part of new Common Core standards).

These two students collaborated on an iPad My Flake design, then both cut to match.

On its own, the My Flake app may also be an option for an inclusion activity. Students who cannot easily manipulate scissors may be able to design virtual snowflakes on My Flake and print them out for decorations.

More resources:

If you don’t have an iPad: use the Make a Flake website.

If you are looking for a book to accompany a snowflake project: our librarian likes Snowflake Bentley, the Caldecott-winning book by Jacqueline Briggs Martin about real-life snowflake photographer Wilson Bentley.

More fun snowflake resources on my cut paper Pinterest board.

Thanks to Dryden Art and Brunswick Acres Art for sharing My Flake and other resources on their blogs. Thanks to N.T., one of our awesome sixth grade teachers, for support on this project.

Do you use iPads in the art room?

Do you have a favorite app?

K – 6 Art

Art lessons for kids ages 5-12 – fresh from the art room!

Category Archives: 4th grade

CD Case Portraits

Heritage Self-Portraits

Tie Dye Snowflakes

Snowmen Snapshots

Cut Paper Snowflakes Designed on an iPad