Second Graders … or Interior Designers?

After studying Henri Matisse, second grade students tried out interior design as a viable career option. Well, not really. But, they did design their own interior spaces using printmaking and collage. Following a presentation closely looking at Matisse’s interiors, students began tackling this project in many stages. From the wallpaper to the window treatments, every element in the interior space was created with originality and skill. One of my favorite parts of this project is that each room ends up taking on the personality of individual students. Take a tour of each room below. Be sure to take a close look at the windows, specifically the views outdoors.

Frank Lloyd Wright Art Glass Window Collages

In fifth grade, students explored the exceptional architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. It was fun to take a closer look at an influential architect with such a familiar name. We looked into his life and work, and focused heavily on the artistic and abstract stained glass windows. Similar to Wright, students looked for inspiration in their home state. Students chose a flower or plant native to Illinois as the subject for their own art glass window design. Students first experimented with several ways to abstract their plant. Second, they created a final sketch using the abstracted version of their plant. I asked students to design their window using a symmetrical or asymmetrical design. To create the final collage, students chose between 3 and 5 different colors of construction paper. Below are a few examples of the art glass window collages.

Tradition Drawings with Patterned Frames inspired by Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold is an artist well-known for her story quilts. In class we learned about Faith Ringgold’s life and observed her artwork. Then, we read the book Tar Beach, which prompted a discussion on tradition: What is tradition? What is Faith Ringgold’s tradition in Tar Beach? And, what are your traditions? Following the discussion, students chose a tradition to feature in their artwork. Then, students drew a representation of their tradition by drawing mostly from their imagination with a little help from some reference photographs. Then, students transformed their drawings into story quilts by framing each piece with the patterned tiles they created earlier. 

 

The story quilts really turned out beautifully (great job third grade!), but my favorite part of this project was learning all about the students traditions. There were so many traditions I had never heard of – from “elf on a shelf” to “pickle presents.” It was neat getting to learn more about students and their families through creativity.

Krazy for Kandinsky

We have been brushing up on our cutting and gluing skills in second grade art. After learning all about geometric and organic shapes, students were introduced to their first famous artist of the year: Wassily Kandinsky. Students not only observed the artwork Kandinsky made, but they also learned about his life. Then, inspired by his abstract paintings, students created a Kandinsky collage layered with different shapes, colors, and lines. A focus was put on composition, and I encouraged each student to arrange their shapes and lines in a way that was most pleasing to them.

Oh, and I stumbled across a neat interactive Kandinsky activity on the National Gallery of Art’s website: http://www.nga.gov/kids/kandinsky/kandinsky1.html

Geometric and Organic Shapes

Last week, the second grade artists learned all about geometric and organic shapes. First, we talked about what shapes are, and then we talked about how to identify them by category. Students were introduced to a nifty way of cutting out these shapes with more precision. I showed them simple folding techniques to create more defined shapes. Students also worked on polishing their cutting and gluing skills with this project. The final result is a reflection on all of the shapes that the second graders can skillfully cut out. This project sure will come in handy for the Kandinsky Inspired Collage. Stay tuned…