Kimono Paper Collage - Year 5

I'm loving the unit on Asia so much that I have decided to go with it in Term 3. I found a great Kimono idea on http://bluemoonpalette.blogspot.com/. I changed it a little and decided to give my students some exquisite Oriental patterned paper to use.
We started the lesson exploring a little about the Kimono. Students wrote a few facts in their Visual Diaries and then sketched a few different designs.
They drew their outline on a small piece of white paper and chose their favourite paper. They added ribbons to add detail. Most completed the project in a 90 minute session. The collages look splendid on black paper. Well done Year 5s!

Amazing Bugs Mural

To celebrate our unit on Mini Beasts, we embarked on a mural that involved 7 classes ( 3 Year 1 classes and 4 Year 2 classes). I had a High School students doing work experience in the Art room and she worked on the amazing tall grass. She was very talented and used all different types of textured paper in shades of green. The students also used amazing textured and patterned paper to create their collage bugs. I gave the students little guidance as I really wanted them to explore their creative skills. Once again they blew me away with their beautiful creations. This mural will hang proudly in our annual Art show later in the year. At the moment it's looks great in the Art room!

Rainforest Habitats - Threads and Textiles - Year 3/4

I wanted to teach my Year 3 and 4 students basic sewing techniques. Habitats were covered in Term 3.  We hadn't worked on Threads and Textiles before so I was very keen for my students to learn basic techniques. I wasn't too concerned on perfect stitches. The goal was to attach 2 pieces of fabric together. The children also used PVA and Supertac glue.  Their sewing project had to resemble a rainforest habitat. Once again, the results were great!

Asian Lanterns Year 6

I originally got the idea from Anne's Blog  http://useyourcolouredpencils.blogspot.com/2010/07/chinese-style-lanterns.html So I wanted the students to create Cherry Blossoms.They are made entirely out of paper. After some challenging moments in the art room, we managed to make them look pretty good.

Japanese Carp Windsocks

Wikipedia meaning of Japanese Carp Windsocks -' Koinobori meaning "carp streamer" in Japanese, are carp-shaped wind socks traditionally flown in Japan to celebrateTango no Sekku, a traditional calendrical event which is now designated a national holiday; Children's Day. These wind socks are made by drawing carp patterns on paper. In Japan they are then allowed to flutter in the wind. They are also known as satsuki-nobori. Children's Day takes place on May 5. Landscapes across Japan are decorated with koinobori from April to early May, in honor of sons and in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.'

I saw a similar idea on http://www.artprojectsforkids.org except they were made of fabric. We used light weight paper to draw the shape of the Carp fish. We used strong vibrant oil pastels and then covered them with a glitter wash. Some students found it a little challenging and I really needed to encourage them to have a go. We outlined the lines with soft white oil pastels. They look awesome in the art room. Well done everyone!

I'm loving our Asian Inspired Artwork

Miniature Japanese Screens - The Rising Sun - Year 5

We have had a successful term in Year 5/6. We have explored Asian Art and the students have thoroughly enjoyed it. The Year 5 students created these wonderful Miniature Japanese Screens. Here is the link where I got the idea from: http://www.hitentertainment.com/artattacK/minijapanesescreen.html 

I changed it a little and made it much easier. Firstly we looked at the design and practised in our visual diaries. The students used lead pencils and drew their drawings on a A4 white cartridge paper. We used oil pastels. I then cut them in 1/4s and we pasted the panels on an A3 black cartridge paper. I was very pleased with the result!

Art inspired by Joel Henriques

I saw this wonderful artwork by Joel Henriques and was inspired to turn it into an art activity for my Prep students. This week they went on an excursion to the 'Traffic School' and learnt about bike safety and rules.  

I decided to use black paper. The children used soft white oil pastels and guided them on how to draw a bicycle. It's hard to believe that these bicycles were drawn by 5 and 6 year olds.  
Next the children cut strips of coloured paper and glued them on the black paper. I encouraged them to use lots of colours and not put the same colour next to each other.
The final step was to add a sun and clouds in either coloured paper or drawn.
We had a double session and therefore the art activity was completed. I was very pleased with the result.  Well done Preps!