Looking for awesome award winning art ideas

kellyscottfrl · #1 07-20-2008, 04:20 PM

I'm beginning a new job teaching elementary students at a really great school that is opening this fall. We have an art festival coming up at the end of sept that I would love to have my students enter artwork. It's the biggest art festival we have. Most teachers use work from students that is finnished at the end of the previous year since it is often the best work. This is a new school so I won't have that option. I would love to have some awesome artwork to display at the festival. However, I will only have about a month to have students create it. Keeping all of this in mind could you recommend some fool proof art lessons that you have had huge sucess with that might generate award winning art? I would love to have a lesson for each grade level K-5 that would be really really successful !!! I would love nothing more than have one of my students win an award the first year we were open. I previously taught middle school so I need ideas for elementary art!!!

SanDL · #2 07-22-2008, 07:15 PM

Your post must have stunned other teachers. This forum has had no movement in 3 days.

Are you asking that others do work that you should be doing?
There are no fool proof lessons in art for the inexperienced or the lazy.

misharyan · #3 07-23-2008, 02:45 AM

Kelly, I've been teaching art to elementary aged kiddo's for over 17 years and I have an old standby that I use, that always produces great images from every student. I got the idea from a video I saw years ago. You need large black construction paper and lots of oil pastels. I give each child a white oil crayon and I draw with them on my huge paper on the board. I draw an animal, they follow along on their paper, line by line, Mona Brookes style. After the initial line drawing is complete, the students fill in every section that they want colored with a WHITE oil pastel. Then, on top of the white they can add colored oil pastels, of their choosing to fill in each section. With older children I let them choose a photograph of their choice of animal to use as a drawing reference. The younger children really get to be selective about the colors they choose. I usually draw tropical birds, so they all look so different with different colors. I often will do three different drawings with the children, in this method, in three different class periods so they can chose their best for a display. Then you really get tons of diversity. This won't work if you don't use the white crayons under the colors, or if you don't have lots of white oil crayons for drawing and filling in spaces. If you don't know the Mona Brookes method, yikes, you really need to read it immediately!

Sheary · #4 07-23-2008, 11:13 AM

Kelly,
I too, use the Mona Brooks method for fantastic results. Misha's technique is striking.
Another one is to do the directed drawing with Sharpie pens with overlapping shapes or objects (die cut outs shapes for the little ones, even letters for names, or school desk objects for the older ones), coloring can be with watercolors or markers.
And yes, do get a copy of Mona's book 'Drawing with Children', you can't go wrong with her method.

kellyscottfrl · #5 08-08-2008, 11:34 AM

I'm sorry you must have completely misunderstood my post. I am certainly not lazy or inexperienced...well in experienced w/ elementary since I am making the transition from middle to elementary. However, from what I have heard if you can teach middle then you can easily make the transition to teaching elementary. I just want to be prepared the first month so that hopefully my school can be recognized at the festival. It's a brand-new school. Being new at elementary art and only having a month to have students create this art, I don't have time to try out different lessons. Most teachers have a few lessons that they always come back too b/c they have great success w/ them. I don't see where in my post i mentioned that others would do the work for me? I was looking for lessons that some other elementary art teachers that produced great results. I know there are no fool-proof lessons but if you are an art teacher you should certainly realize that some lessons bring much better results than others. I'm sorry that you feel my trying to better my art program and posting a question to other elementary art teachers is somehow a weakness. It's called networking. Are you a teacher? From the other responses that I received they seemed to "get" my point.

kellyscottfrl · #6 08-08-2008, 11:40 AM

Thanks so much I have heard of Mona Brooks Drawing with children. Isn't that related to the Monart teaching method?I will go get it today. Thank you for your feedback.

kellyscottfrl · #7 08-08-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misharyan

Kelly, I've been teaching art to elementary aged kiddo's for over 17 years and I have an old standby that I use, that always produces great images from every student. I got the idea from a video I saw years ago. You need large black construction paper and lots of oil pastels. I give each child a white oil crayon and I draw with them on my huge paper on the board. I draw an animal, they follow along on their paper, line by line, Mona Brookes style. After the initial line drawing is complete, the students fill in every section that they want colored with a WHITE oil pastel. Then, on top of the white they can add colored oil pastels, of their choosing to fill in each section. With older children I let them choose a photograph of their choice of animal to use as a drawing reference. The younger children really get to be selective about the colors they choose. I usually draw tropical birds, so they all look so different with different colors. I often will do three different drawings with the children, in this method, in three different class periods so they can chose their best for a display. Then you really get tons of diversity. This won't work if you don't use the white crayons under the colors, or if you don't have lots of white oil crayons for drawing and filling in spaces. If you don't know the Mona Brookes method, yikes, you really need to read it immediately!

I love the idea you suggested. I just want to make sure I understand the technique. You are saying that they choose where in the bird or animal to color in the white pastel. If they do that then some areas will be left be left w/ just the black paper. Is it then ok if they color over the black parts w/ color w/o having the white underneath? or are you saying that the entire bird must first be colored in w/ white pastel and then layered w/ colored pastel? I ask this because you mentioned it won't work w/o the white pastel. Thanks :do you have an art website to view your works?

kellyscottfrl · #8 08-08-2008, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellyscottfrl

I love the idea you suggested. I just want to make sure I understand the technique. You are saying that they choose where in the bird or animal to color in the white pastel. If they do that then some areas will be left be left w/ just the black paper. Is it then ok if they color over the black parts w/ color w/o having the white underneath? or are you saying that the entire bird must first be colored in w/ white pastel and then layered w/ colored pastel? I ask this because you mentioned it won't work w/o the white pastel. Thanks :do you have an art website to view your works?

one more ? ...you say use large blk construction paper I assume 12x18 would be large enough? I would imagine any larger elementary students would have trouble finnishing it.

misharyan · #9 08-11-2008, 03:08 PM

12 X 18 inches is fine. White oil pastel MUST be used under every color. There will be very few parts of the paper (negative space) where there is no color and you can see the black of the paper. Sorry I don't have a web site with my student artwork samples. If you make one on your own first I think it will all be clear as to what to do, and more importantly NOT do when you teach the lesson.

jake22man · #10 11-03-2011, 08:35 PM

I did a similar project...found the idea on the internet, I think. Using the Mona Brooks method, I demonstrated how to draw a blue crab (we are on the Mississippi Gulf Coast) and we drew with oil pastels. To prevent all the dust, we dipped the pastels into white tempera paint and then just colored in a normal fashion. It gives this wonderful painterly look. All the parents loved the artwork, and many people framed their children's work. I did it with first grade through 6th grade.

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