My Apple students (third grade enrichment) recently learned about artist Alexander Calder and his mobiles and stabiles. After discussing his sculptures for a while and reading Scholastic Art's article on him, we decided to try our own hand at making a stabile. Students started by collecting cereal boxes. After cutting the cereal boxes so they would lay flat, students had to draw a shape using a ruler or a compass. Students then had to ADD a shape, and then TAKE AWAY a shape. They also had to consider how it would stand up, and how balanced it would be. After drawing their abstract new shape, they had to cut it out, and then trace it somewhere else on their cereal box. After students had TWO of their shapes cut out, they had to use the rest of their cereal box to cut one inch strips. They used masking tape to tape their strips to the edges of their abstract shapes. After the final structure was complete and could stand up on its own, then came to messy part! We used strips of paper we have been collecting and watered down glue to paper mache the strips onto the "stabile." This took quite a few class periods to get it all on there. The hardest part for the kids was getting the edges completely covered. After the stabiles were paper mached and dried, they were primed with white spray paint. After the stabiles were primed, students used acrylic paint to paint designs on their finished work. Instead of using just one color like Calder, students were allowed to use multiple colors and patterns. These are just a few of the finished pieces. I am EXTREMELY proud of these kids and all their hard work!!! Their finished pieces look fantastic and I can't wait to put them on display at the front of the school for all to see!! THEY are proud of their work, and that look on their face is something I hold near and dear to my heart!
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Fourth Graders are learning about artist Wayne Thiebaud. Wayne is best known for his delicious looking pies and pastries that he painted. His rich colors and thick application of oil paint actually looked like icing on his canvases! We all drooled while looking at his paintings and were anxious to start making some of our own. After chatting about foreshortening and viewpoint, students painted their doughnuts and added their icing. We made our backgrounds using some fun new painting techniques and texture tools.
After several weeks of most excellent behavior and stellar looking doughnuts, we ended our unit with eating some real doughnuts! |