Love Crayons and Markers for Teaching!

[LarrySeiler]

Like many teachers have experienced across the country over the past few years, my budget for supplies had to be cut back in efforts to keep the district running smoothly, yet as any art teacher knows our needs are consumables. Part of my strategy to deal with the cuts and yet assure benefit to the students was to focus and aim to master more rudimentary drawing skills this year...especially at the elementary levels, K-6 (I teach K-12 art)

We did a lot of initial work the first two terms with shapes, converting the contours of shapes with the line families and referred to subjects that the kids are excited about at this time.

I have done quite a few Power Points in the past showing step by step methods, but the kids seem to enjoy it most when I draw up front at an easel and they follow along. Seeing the steps gives them more confidence and insight.

The following images are my quick efforts (remember, kids don't handle long demo's of any kind!)...using a red lumber yard crayon for the sketching of shapes and some line family refinements, then use of a black crayola marker to create the contour lines. I emphasize building up of color, warm colors moving toward line, cool in shadows as well as bounced reflected light. Of course 5th and 6th grade are better prepared to understand more so I give them more, the lower grades less...so we focus on simpler goals.

these are drawn large on newsprint sheets...first some Nemo characters, and then Pirates of the Caribbean's characters. Note the underlying red lumber yard sketching visible up close, and the progressive steps.

I have found that students don't hold a tool lightly at these young ages, so I have them use the lumber yard crayon and then progress. High school students can control their finger pressure much better and can use one tool to draw prior to coloring-

Larry

[LarrySeiler]

here are some sailors from the British navy, Pirates...
Larry

[LarrySeiler]

Originally Posted by LarrySeiler

here are some sailors from the British navy, Pirates...
Larry

you can see in the closeup of the last, the use of varying colors, warm & cool which work to render form, and though it comes in time I labor to constantly remind the young artists to look, to see...look carefully, and do!


Larry

[LarrySeiler]

Okay...here is a quick demo I did with my last 2nd grade class this afternoon, taking digitals between steps while children worked on their own. Next week I'll show some pics of the children working for fun...

first will be several images of shapes put down on newsprint with a red lumber yard crayon...then, a marker drawing it out. To color, I begin with yellow representing warm light hitting the little fella, the a blue to suggest where the cool shadows are going to be...

[LarrySeiler]

Here you'll see I used an aqua blue crayon to lay down an under layer that will help the turtle feel it exists within the blue water environment. From here I'll build other colors into it till finished, then apply some color for water around it.

My classes with the 2nd graders is only 30 minutes long, so after getting materials out, this is roughly a 25 minute effort from demo'ing and helping the kids. It is very quick, and I must say that working with students like this day in and day out has to be an asset for my eye when on my own time going outdoors to paint plein air or my nature paintings in general-

For those of you working with young children that might not be art teachers, I hope this little demo/thread gives you some ideas to help their efforts come along. Give 'em much much praise for their efforts as they are artists in training!

Larry

[tommie]

Neat Demo Larry! The kids need to be shown how to overlap different colors to make new colors even with crayons and how to use the light and shadow (cool/warm colors) to create form. I sure the kids LOVE to come to your class!

[LarrySeiler]

I was thinking, you know...while it can be a frustration to have supply limitations, the challenge to teach under such has not been altogether a bad thing. I have been surprised that the children have had the patience to dig in and work hard, never seem to be tiring...seem most definitely to be learning. I am amazed at what my youngest children are putting out, and it causes me to think sometimes we under estimate their capabilities.

We want so much for them to experience free exploration and experimentation...and true, this is good and desired, but also...a young child is capable of tackling a task, buckling down...learning and demonstrating applied skills. It has in a sense been a learning experience for me as well.

Many young people see what in their mind is a complicated subject, and immediately believe it to be too difficult to draw. I have really made it a point of attack this year to dispel those assessments. That all things are easily reduced to simple shapes and forms, and from there we make adjustments and embellishments so that it then appears complicated and excellent to the appreciative viewer.

Where kids used to voice objections...."that's too hard...!" it is now almost a game for them to find the shapes.

My old response when hearing objections was, "can you draw a square? How about a circle? A triangle? Okay...then this is not so hard as you think!" The kids are really really getting it, and I'm quite pleased to be on the end of experiencing this.

As somewhat of a reward...the kids really like to get my demos, and we have a lotto type giveaway a couple days of the week. Kids that have demonstrated working hard the whole period (majority) pick a letter from A to Z....and win the drawing.

As an artist...I had some misgivings about how'd I'd feel going back into the classroom, and it requires a bit of a servant's heart, can be humbling to give when you have worked to develop reputation and professionalism in the art world. Staff and faculty rarely will know what your stature was or is in the art world, and you have your moments wondering what the heck you are doing. However...to see the understanding beginning to click in the kid's heads and know that you are making the difference for them. Its all very good!

Larry

[LarrySeiler]

In 5th grade, we did a quick drawing of one of the cursed sailors on Pirates of the Carribeans. A great character. You can see my class here, my drawing progresses on newsprint on an old easel in front of the room...

Then you'll see a group of the kids at work, Jade, Nico, Jay and Tawnee, then the drawing of Heather. Finally my drawing and a closeup.

The process was to sketch out basic shapes with the red lumber yard crayon which you see sitting to the left on the table in Heather's drawing. Then go over with a marker, and then color.

Stress is made on carefully observing the various colors present in the shadows and light, and to build them up. All told...about a 35 minute effort for us one and all.

Larry (Mr "S")

[LarrySeiler]

Gollum and "FishEEEeeee!"

[msue]

Larry, this is great. I bet the parents are appreciative that you are teaching so much with such simple tools. I aid parents every semester with their list in hand of things they have no clue what they are looking for (4B graphite pencils, tortillons and blending stumps, kneaded erasers). Seriously they have wide-eyed looks and stand at the aray of pencils looking terrified and many of them have all the wrong items in their hands when I walk up and offer to assist them.

[LarrySeiler]

bottom line is...we're all hurtin in our district. It exists in a national forest where the tax base yields little compared to most districts in our state. We are far up north and it appears state legislators are concerned only with making voting constituents in the southern part of the state happy. Strange though that every wants to come up north to vacation and such, but there will be little of the north ready with ammenities if that keep that attitude!

Consequently, we depend on state aid to exist for the most part, and much of that has been cut. While it intends to balance things out for most schools, we are unique in that our surrounding is a national forest. Little accomodation at the moment, so we've had to severely tighten our belts.

I feel though that learning to see, see accurately, and express can be done even with the limited materials I have and perhaps we'll make the most of it because perhaps their teacher is an artist! While exploration and experimentation with media is an art teacher's preference, the artist in me still believes there is much that can be learned. So...we make do with what we have.

I think the kids are really advancing...and though I wish circumstances were different, I draw some pride in thinking I am yet making a difference toward excellence for these kids. I'm proud of many of them.

Larry

[Studio224]

Larry, thank you for this wonderful lesson!

[LarrySeiler]

Will be starting to get into some clay work with my younger classes now, but with the 3rd term begins an 8th grade class. Since I haven't had them for two years...we are working with similar concepts of shapes and line families, but our crayon work will be more sophisticated.

You really can take a thing with crayons deeper.....

compare the latest Johnny Depp character, "Captain Jack" I did with the 8th graders to the one done for the younger grades....
8th level-


to this earlier version with the 5th-6th grades-



Looking at the closeup...you can spend time teaching kids to build color up-


Starting with yellow where light will hit strongest, toward cooler color working your way down the colorwheel into the shadow areas. Then, you can introduce using black as a shade for creating more dramatic rendering form. Many colors are built up here...and my kids do come up to inspect the easel closer all the while looking at the reference for themselves. I keep emphasizing seeing...looking...telling them to spend 70% of the time observing, 30% drawing...(which at their age means they're likely to perhaps remember just to look a bit more).

The 8th graders have 74 minutes to work, versus roughly 40 minutes that the younger grades have.

Larry

[grainne]

Originally Posted by LarrySeiler

I was thinking, you know...while it can be a frustration to have supply limitations, the challenge to teach under such has not been altogether a bad thing. I have been surprised that the children have had the patience to dig in and work hard, never seem to be tiring...seem most definitely to be learning. I am amazed at what my youngest children are putting out, and it causes me to think sometimes we under estimate their capabilities.

We want so much for them to experience free exploration and experimentation...and true, this is good and desired, but also...a young child is capable of tackling a task, buckling down...learning and demonstrating applied skills. It has in a sense been a learning experience for me as well.

Larry

Larry,

As the Academic Administrator in a Classical school, I would just like to validate your comments quoted above. In art, creative writing, music, and many other subjects as well, the trend for the last two or three decades or more has been toward the "freedom" of self-expression, not disciplined effort toward learning basic skills, rules, and techniques with which the students could express themselves in a more meaningful way. And I do not mean "meaningful" to us the adults, but to the children themselves. Somehow we thought it would increase their self-esteem to throw out the rules and just "do their own thing." We watched while they became bored and checked out, all the while seeking after more and more novelty to combat the ennui that naturally comes from too much self-absorption and self-gratification. Hopefully, the pendulum is swinging back the other way, and we will re-discover the joys and satisfactions that only come from disciplined effort. At the end of hard and sustained effort toward a goal, and then the resultant job "well done," is a sense of accomplishment, meaningful self-satisfaction, true self-esteem, and Joy!

Regards,
Grainne

[grainne]

BTW, as a fellow educator, please accept my appreciation for the work you are doing with your students. You have not developed a defeatist attitude in the face of the cut-backs in your program, but have used your creativity to find other means to solve your problems and still provide a meaningful experience for your students. You have not given yourself an excuse not to do your job well, as so many do in these days. That may be the best lesson you are teaching the students, who see you do the best you can with what you have and still find great joy in it. I salute you!

Grainne