Chinese Dragons

Fourth graders are so enthusiastic about creating these Chinese dragons.  We talked about the difference between the European dragon and the Chinese dragon. The Chinese dragon is a symbol of good luck and wisdom. It is a symbol of power for people who are worthy of it and a creature to be feared by fools and evildoers. The European dragon on the other hand is typically an unruly dreadful beast feared by all for its ruthlessness.

We talked about how the appearance of the Chinese dragon has changed over time. It has become a creature that flies with a serpent's body, hawk claws, cow ears and the whiskers and scales of a carp (koi).

We also learned the Chinese Waterfall Legend. It tells if the koi fish that swam up the Yellow river against the current and tried for 100 years to jump up the waterfall. When he finally made it, he became a dragon that chases pearls of wisdom.  We talked about the life lessons that this story teaches us such as perseverance.

The dragon is a huge part of Chinese culture and makes many appearances at celebrations. We also watched some dragon dance videos while we worked. Notice that it is chasing a pearl of wisdom!

The main art concept that we talked about during this project was color blending. We talked about how to layer colors to blend, and we talked about using water to help colors to smoothly transition on our papers.

Does it Blend Well?

YES: 2 Primary Colors, 2 Analogous Colors (next door neighbors on the color wheel)

NO: 3 Primary Colors, Complementary Colors (opposites on the color wheel), Secondary Colors

When we talk about blending, I explain that our goal is to use vibrant rainbow colors on our artwork, so it's important to know how to avoid brown.

Next, we do some color math. I explain that to make brown, you combine all 3 primary colors.  I write out this basic equation on the board...

Red+Yellow+Blue = Brown

Then, we simplify the equation a variety of ways:
If, R+Y=O, and Y+B=G, and R+B=P, and R+Y+B= Brown then...
(R+Y)+B= O+B = Brown ...or...
(Y+B)+R= G+R = Brown ...or...
(R+B)+Y= P+Y = Brown

As it turns out, when we simplify the equation we end up with complementary pairs: (notice that these are on the "NO" list).

Orange and Blue
Green and Red
Purple and Yellow

Why can't we blend secondary colors together Mrs. Seitz? To answer this question we expand the equations and discover that all 3 of the primary colors are present in the mixtures.

Orange + Green = (R+Y)+(B+Y)
Green + Purple = (Y+B)+(R+B)
Purple + Orange = (B+R)+(R+Y)

The color math really helps the kids understand the reasons behind what works and what doesn't. It also gives them a way to figure it out if they haven't memorized what works. When I teach it this way, it creates an ah-ha moment for many of the kids. At this point in the year, my 4th graders are really quite good with color concepts because we have already done our Kandinsky color mixing lesson with fractions!

Learning Goals: I can...
- Explain the difference between Chinese and European dragons
- Tell about Chinese dragons
- Blend using analogous colors (next door neighbors)
- Give examples of colors that do and do not blend well

Rainbow Gardens

Second graders focused on color during this project! We began by talking about rainbow order and how rainbow order can help us to remember which primary colors to use to make secondary colors! We watched this fun video before painting a rainbow sunset to use as the background for this project! We only used the 3 primary colors of liquid watercolors to create the background. Liquid watercolors are great for color mixing when you layer them!

Next we read "Planting a Rainbow" and added the flowers!

2nd Graders at Forest Grove won an extra clay project because their grade level had the highest percentage of students participating in the Square 1 Art fundraiser (at Bauer Mrs. DeGram's Kindergarten class won). At Forest Grove we talked about symmetry and created butterfly sculptures using Model Magic, pipe cleaners and beads!

Learning Goals: I can...

- Tell rainbow order

- Mix primary colors to create secondary colors

- Create smooth marks with thick paint (flowers)

- Use symmetry to design a butterfly

- Create a 3D sculpture (Forest Grove)

Abstract Circles

Second graders did a quick project on abstract painting.  We talked about the difference between abstract and realistic.  At the most extreme end of abstract art we have non-objective art.  This project would fall into this category because there is not even a hidden picture camouflaged by shapes and colors.

When we painted our acrylic circle paintings with watercolor we talked about color relationships.  We learned that if all 3 of the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) are present in a mixture then the color turns brownish.

To illustrate this concept did some MATH! We simplified equations:

R+Y+B =Brown: this equation can be simplified the following ways:

Mixing Complimentary Colors (opposites)

O+B=Brown

G+R=Brown

P+Y=Brown

We also expanded equations and discovered that all 3 of the primaries were present in these secondary mixtures:

G+P=Brown becomes Y+B+B+R= Brown

O+G= Brown becomes Y+R+Y+G=Brown

When blending our watercolor paint we tried to avoid the above combinations!

Students learned that they can play it safe by blending analogous colors (colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel).  These color combinations always involve only 2 primary colors!

Learning Goals: I can...

- Tell the difference between abstract and realistic

- Blend colors and avoid a muddy look (brownish)

Kandinsky Instruments

Wassily Kandinsky was the inspiration for these colorful 4th grade paintings!  In order to learn about Kandinsky we read "The Noisy Paint Box." Wow, this is an awesome book that really gave the kids a better idea of who Kandinsky was.

The kids learned that he was an artist with synesthesia. A condition in the brain where color and sound are connected.  Kandinsky could hear color as music, and see color when listening to music. He is also considered to be the father of abstract art.  We combined the theme of music with an abstract background full of shapes and colors.

First we practiced drawing the instruments on the back of our paper.  Then we turned the instruments into a composition of 3-4 instruments with at least one pair overlapping. 

After drawing final compositions onto the front of their papers, students did a serious study of the color wheel... complete with pre and post test.  In addition to mixing their own colors, students were also asked to connect color mixing with math and fractions!

Here is a sample of the way we approached color mixing with math:

Color mixing is a practical application for fractions.  If you don't use the right proportions of each color you just don't get the exact color that you want!  For instance, when making green, if you use too much blue (a dark, powerful color) it's very hard to add enough yellow (a light, weak color) to create green.  The kids were asked to remember to use two double scoops of the lightest color (4/5) and one tiny dab of the darkest color (1/5).  We used these measurements as guidelines.  The kids also learned the difference between indigo and violet (indigo is mostly blue while violet is closer to red on the color wheel.  When you combine them you get purple).  

Each student mixed their own colors on a color wheel worksheet (painters palette):

Students used popsicle sticks (our makeshift serving spoons) to scoop the primary colors out of the paint trays and onto their mixing worksheets. Then they used their brushes to do all the mixing on the sheet.  This was the first project that I have used this method for, and I loved being able to have ALL the kids in charge of making ALL of their own colors!  Whenever they ran out of a secondary color they had to problem solve to match the original color again! I think this helped the kids learn the color wheel very well. 

We started with only primary colors...

Then the kids added their secondary color mixtures.  The kids tried not to have shapes of a like color touching.  This created even more problems to solve!

This was a project with so many layers of learning and problem solving! It is definitely one I will use in the coming years!

We wrote a simplified version of the learning goals listed below on the back of our art for parents to see what we're learning!

Learning Goals: I can...

- Tell about Kandinsky

- Create and abstract background using regular and irregular shapes

- Create a composition with at least one set of overlapping instruments

- Name the primary and secondary colors

- Use fractions to communicate how to mix primary colors to make secondary colors

- Explain the difference between indigo and violet

- Use good craftsmanship when painting smooth edges and outlines

- Create contrast (as opposed to camouflage) by using different colors in shapes that share a side