Mini Art Lessons
I will start by saying that this is much longer than your typical blog post, but that is because I hope that it serves as a resource! Before I went full-time with my career as an artist in 2017, I taught elementary and middle school art. During my six years as a teacher, I created and collected a ton of lesson plans inspired by art history, famous artists, and children’s books.
In late March, when schools shut down and families turned to homeschooling, I compiled some of my favorite lessons I could remember, and shared them on Instagram.
Since then, a few of them have been featured by my friend Emma on House Beautiful, and on the Dudley Stephens blog. As I have been working over the past few months to re-imagine my brand, website, and blog, I knew that I wanted to save these lessons somewhere they would be easily accessible to anyone who wanted to try them out at home. The ages listed are only suggestions- I know that I would enjoy doing any one of these projects on my own as an adult! I hope that you enjoy them!
Eric Carle “Today Is Monday” Animal Collages
Pre-K through 1st
*(this one is a 2-3 day activity)
TEACH
Eric Carle is an American author and illustrator. An “author” is someone who writes books. An “illustrator” is someone who makes pictures for them.
Read aloud “Today is Monday”. Talk about the pictures- they are “collages” that Eric Carle made. A “collage” is a picture you make by gluing lots of different pieces of paper on one background.
STUDIO
Materials:
tissue paper (the kind you use to wrap gifts)
tempera paint
assorted stamping/painting objects (Lego blocks, wine corks, halved fruits/veggies, fingertips)
scissors (for you)
gluestick
dark colored washable marker
white tagboard
watercolors
DAY 1
Have child use assorted stamping objects to apply paint to tissue paper to make patterned colorful paper like Eric Carle’s
While paper is drying, have child draw their favorite animal eating their favorite food. Talk about the different shapes that make up the animal’s body (rectangle for body/legs, circle for head, etc.) Prompt them to make a LINE drawing (no coloring in yet) on the white paper, filling up as much space as possible.
DAY 2
(after paper has dried from day 1, either cut the paper into small squares (1”x1”ish, whatever works, or have the child do it, depending on scissor skills)
Have child collage tissue paper squares on to animal drawing from Day 1
DAY 3
Explain that the “background” in a picture is the part of the picture behind the subject in the picture (their animal/favorite food). Have child paint the background with watercolors (or color it in with whatever you have on hand!)
Origami inspired by “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”
Preschool and 4th-8th Grade
TEACH
Origami is the art of folding paper (2D) to create a sculpture (3D) without using scissors, glue, or tape. It comes from Japan.
Read the story of “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” (although maybe not the whole book- it’s 80 pages.)
STUDIO
Materials:
Onomatopoeia Pop-Art inspired by Roy Lichtenstein
3rd through 5th Grade
TEACH
“Pop art” is a type of art that started in the 1950s in Britain and the US. It is based on everyday images that we see- food packaging, comic strips/cartoons, advertisements, etc. It surprised and shocked people- artists took things like soup cans and turned them into giant paintings.
Roy Lichtenstein was an American Pop-artist. He took comic strips and turned them into giant paintings. In the 1950s, newspapers (and therefore comic strips) were printed with something called “Ben Day” dots- dots of color that were placed very close together. Lichtenstein used paint to mimic the Ben Day dots, and used mainly primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and black because those were the colors many comic books and newspapers used.
“Onomatopoeia” is when a word describes a sound, and actually sounds like that sound when you say it.
STUDIO
Materials:
white tagboard
black Sharpie
pencil
bubble wrap
old wooden toy block (or anything rectangular prism-y- could be a box of soap, etc.)
red, yellow, and blue tempera paint
Have child pick a word example of onomatopoeia (pop, pow, click, bang, etc.)
Filling the full space of the page, have child write out word in block letters- I’ll post an easy way to make block letters in the next slide (continued…) Illustrate the surrounding area with a line drawing that goes along with that word (one of my favorites was when a student had “POP” written over a popcorn pan, and little pieces of popcorn scattered throughout)
Trace over line drawing in black marker.
Wrap block with bubble wrap. Tape to secure. Dip wrapped block in paint, then “stamp” over block letters to create Ben Day-day style dots.
Once dots have dried, paint the background/surrounding area with paintbrush in primary-colored paints.
Wire Sculptures inspired by Alexander Calder
Pre-K through 8th Grade (yes. Seriously!)
TEACH
*this can be tweaked depending on the age!
A sculpture is a piece of artwork that is 3D. That means that it isn’t flat- it can be big or small, and you can walk around it (and sometimes put your hand/arm through it!)
Alexander Calder was an American sculptor who made sculptures out of different materials- metal, wood, etc.- whatever he could find! When he was growing up, he’d even make jewelry for his sister’s dolls out of scraps of copper he found laying around (both of his parents were artists, too). He is most famous for making “mobiles,” or sculptures with moving parts.
STUDIO
Materials
pencil
paper
Twisteez wire
scissors (older children)
possibly scraps of cardboard, string, etc.
Activity 1- Have child make a one line drawing (without lifting their paper), and then try and recreate it with a Twisteez wire
Activity 2- Best for older children- have child use Twisteez, string, and scraps of cardboard to create their own hanging mobile. Discuss the importance of balance in making a mobile (weight needs to be equally distributed, or the sculpture will hang funny!)
Activity 3- Have child/children create their own wire circus (Calder made one- linking an incredible video here by the Whitney where someone filmed him “performing” his)
Found Object Assemblage Inspired by Louise Nevelson
4th Grade through Adult
TEACH
Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor. She was born in Russia in 1899, and moved to the US with her family when she was six years old. She is famous for her large abstract monochromatic sculptures, made out of wood and “found objects.”
“Found objects” are just what they sound like- things that can be found around the house, like bottlecaps, paperclips, and old toothbrushes. Nevelson combined these objects together to make “assemblage” sculptures.
She would spraypaint her assemblage sculptures a single color to make them “monochromatic.” Black, white, and gold were common colors that she used.
STUDIO
Materials
empty cardboard jewelry box or shoe box
assorted found objects
EITHER acrylic craft paint and paint brush OR spraypaint (proceed at your own risk)
hot glue gun or wood glue
Have child go on a scavenger hunt to find as many “found objects” as they can. The objects need to fit inside their jewelry box or shoe box. The recycling bin and the backyard are both great starting points.
Child should arrange their “collection” of found objects in the shoe box. Talk to them about balance (you don’t want all of the objects in one corner of the box/ if you have an object in the lower right-hand corner, it’s a good idea to have another in the upper left, etc.), and look at examples of Nevelson’s sculptures for inspiration.
Once child is happy with their arrangement, have them use wood glue or hot glue (with your help) to glue objects inside their box.
Once assemblage has dried, either spraypaint, or paint everything one color (if you’re using paint and a paintbrush, it sometimes helps if you paint the objects first).
BONUS: Once sculpture has dried, have child sketch a picture of the finished product.
Abstract Sculptures Inspired by Barbara Hepworth
Preschool through 1st Grade
TEACH
Barbara Hepworth was an English artist who made abstract sculptures with negative space.
When art is “abstract,” it doesn’t look like something you’d find in the real world (like a person, or a pet).
“Negative space” is empty space- if you can poke your finger through something, it’s negative space (pose with your hands on your hips/etc. And have your child put their arm through the “negative space.”)
STUDIO
Materials:
Model Magic or play-dough
Square piece of tagboard
Prompt child to make a sculpture that:
Is freestanding (at least the height of a closed fist)
Has at least one negative space
Is abstract
Has a base no bigger than the edges of square index card
Mary Cassatt Japanese Woodblock Printmaking
3rd through 6th Grade
TEACH
Mary Cassatt was an American Impressionist painter and printmaker.
Printmaking is a process for making art where the artist creates an image using one material (like wood, metal, etc.) and used that to create many “prints” of the same version.
“Relief printing” is when the artist carves into the material to make lines. The artist then takes a special kind of paintbrush, called a “brayer,” that looks like a mini paint-roller, to cover their image with ink.
STUDIO
Materials:
Styrofoam tray with edges cut off
Very sharp pencil
Sheets of paper
Paint and paintbrush (if you have tempera paint, I would recommend over acrylic paint, which is very difficult to clean up!)
Have child make a line drawing (no coloring in or shading!) on a piece of thin paper
Tape line drawing on top of styrofoam tray.
Using an extra sharp pencil, child should trace over drawing while “carving” into the styrofoam (sometimes, it’s easier to just skip the paper part, and carve right into the tray).
Child can use paintbrush (as most people do not have brayers laying around!) to cover the tray with paint.
Place a blank paper on top of the painted tray, and smooth it out so that it sticks.
Slowly peel off paper- the image will be “printed” onto the paper.
Repeat several times to create several prints.
Adinkra Printmaking
1st or 2nd through 5th Grade
TEACH
The Ashantis are a group of people in Ghana (Africa- for young children, see if they are able to point out Africa on a map) who use something called “block printing” to stamp pictures on fabric. A long time ago, the fabric was only for special occasions (weddings, funerals, etc.), but now, it is worn more often.
Each picture is a “symbol.” A symbol is a simple picture that stands for an idea. Make a list of several everyday symbols (recycling, stop sign, etc.) Here is a link for some Adinkra symbols.
The Ashantis carve symbols into blocks of wood to create patterns on fabric. A “pattern” is something that repeats.
STUDIO
Materials:
A sheet of sticky foam (or regular foam and glue)
Either an old wooden block (if you have old toy blocks laying around) or a square piece of foam core (like from a tri-fold presentation board)
Scissors
Tempera paint
Thick paper or tagboard
Ask child to create their own “symbol” by drawing a couple of shapes. Keep it simple! They should draw their symbol on a 3”x3” piece of paper first, then copy it onto a sheet of sticky foam.
Have child cut out the shapes of their “symbol,” and then either paste or stick them onto the wooden block. This will be their “stamp.”
Fill paper plate with tempera paint, then have child place their stamp face-down in paint, wiping off excess on plate edge.
“Stamp” design in a pattern on paper. Let dry
BONUS: Once dry, teach about “negative,” or “empty” space. Have child fill negative space with watercolor.
Yayoi Kusama Collages
Preschool through 2nd Grade
TEACH
Yayoi Kusama is an artist from Japan (point out on map) who uses a lot of polka dots and bright colors in her artwork.
Polka dots are a type of “pattern.” A “pattern” is something that repeats.
A “collage” is something that you make by cutting out different pieces of paper/materials and gluing them one one background to make a picture.
STUDIO
Materials:
Wine corks
Tempera paint
Colorful construction paper
Glue
Scissors
Have child dip end of cork into plate of paint, and “stamp” polka dots on different colors of construction paper. This works best with different colors of paint. They are making patterned paper, which they will later use for their collages.
Once dry, have child either cut or tear shapes from polkadot paper, then glue them onto a new background. Collages can be “abstract” or “representational.”
Faith Ringgold Story Quilt Squares inspired by “Tar Beach”
2nd through 4th Grade
TEACH
Faith Ringgold is an American artist and author (born and raised in NYC). She has created many “story quilts.”
A story quilt is a piece of “narrative” artwork, which means that it tells a story. A “quilt” is a piece of artwork that is made when many different pieces of fabric are sewn together. “Tar Beach” is based off of one of Ringgold’s story quilts- it takes place in 1939, and tells the story of a little girl named Cassie and her little brother, and her dream of flying above NYC.
STUDIO
Materials:
Pencil
White tagboard
Watercolor, colored pencils, or markers
Glue
Assorted scraps of patterned paper
Scissors
After reading and discussing “Tar Beach,” have child brainstorm the top three places where they could fly if they were able.
Ask them to pose and pretend like they are flying. Talk about what it would look like to fly (arms and legs out, etc.)
Have child draw a “self-portrait” where she or he is flying over a location/scene of their choice. They may use colored pencils, watercolor, whatever you have on hand! Have them work on a square white piece of tagboard.
Cut out a slightly larger piece of paper, and have child make a collaged border/frame using scraps of patterned paper.
BONUS: Once child has finished, have them write a five sentence paragraph story about their “story quilt” that explains where they would fly if they were able to, and why.
Color Theory with “Mouse Paint”
Preschool and Kindergarten
TEACH
Read aloud “Mouse Paint” by Ellen Stoll. Explain- red, yellow, and blue are called “primary” colors. You can mix them together to create new colors.
For kindergarten- purple, green, and orange are called “secondary” colors. You make them by mixing together the primary colors.
STUDIO
Materials:
White paper
Red, yellow, and blue washable paint
Tape down a big sheet of paper (the bigger, the better). Fill three separate plates with red, yellow, and blue paint. Child can experiment by mixing paint with their fingers to make new colors (purple, orange, and green) and finger painting.
*Tip: for less mess, ask child to choose a “paintbrush finger”