Pages

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Craft Giant Easter Egg Art!

      Below are student examples of three Giant Easter Egg pictures. Although each example is created with a distinct drawing or painting method, all of the pictures have the same theme. Sometimes crafts on the web are mislabeled under categories that use a method of working to describe the theme. It is the theme that is the subject of an art lesson and it is the method that is the verb describing an art project's process. When art educators are required to write lesson plans, they learn that the title of an art lesson includes the subject and that the description includes the process. 
      But on the web, teachers, crafters and companies selling their ideas and product will list the methods as the subject in order to drive traffic under different words and phrases to their web pages. This is why it is advantageous for teachers to search under both the method or the theme when surfing the web for any sort of craft/art idea.
      This giant Easter Egg was crafted using a popular wax resist method. Young students learn to color with firm pressure onto drawing paper before painting a watery solution of colored paint over the surface of their wax colors. The paint will then leave traces of painted paper where ever the crayons have not been applied. The use of this method is very popular in grade school because it shows students how they can use art materials and also develops their eye-hand coordination.

      This giant Easter Egg sponge painting requires young students to use unconventional tools in the act of painting. Sponges are easy for little hands to manipulate and these hold all kinds of sticky, messy paints made from inexpensive mixtures that kindergarten teachers can quickly shake together without investing large sums of cash in a art project. Small children do not generally produce art that will be kept forever by anyone other than their parents so, it is important to use materials that may be expendable but also fun to work with. The key to developing student performance in art is repetition and inexpensive materials ensure that the activity is repeated frequently.

      This giant, bright colored Easter egg was painted with watercolor paints and a soft camel hair brush. First the student used a black marker to draw her whimsical butterfly, fish and flowers. Then she painted in her picture with bright, festive colors. I have discovered that very young students produce marvelous watercolor paintings but grow apprehensive about the resulting finished product as they age. This is because the younger an art student is, the less inhibited they are about "how" their artwork looks. Their inhibitions are the unfortunate result of growing old, I'm afraid.
More Helpful Links to Homemade Paint Mixtures:

This video, from Nuttin' but preschool, demonstrates an excellent step-by-step process for making homemade "tempera" paints. However, if you are an artist, you know that actual tempera paints used by professionals include an egg binder. So here is an old recipe for high school students.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your thoughts. All comments are moderated.