Georgia O'Keefe Inspired Watercolors

Today the first graders created gorgeous, Georgia O'Keefe inspired flowers using watercolors, watercolor pencils and black glue outlines.  I am so happy with the way these turned out.  I've done this project with first, third and sixth graders and I think these first graders rivaled some of the sixth graders!  It took some pushing and prodding but I finally got them to draw their flowers BIG so they filled the page. The kids usually have a hard time grasping the idea of keeping the paint wet and try to use it like tempera paint.  They also tend to blend everything into a not so lovely shade of gray but his group got the concept down in one lesson.  I love the black outlines contrasting with the vibrant washes of color.

Torn Paper Flower Collage

It's feeling like spring in the art room!  My Special Ed students have been focusing on the element of art "shape".  Last week we made geometric collages using only black, white and gray pre-cut squares, triangles and circles.  This week the students learned about organic shapes which are found in nature.  When I told the class they would be creating artwork out of paper and they had to tear, not cut their shapes, their initial reaction was negative. 
They really don't like the idea of giving up that control.




After demonstrating how to tear paper in a controlled
manner we discussed how they could use these rough, irregular shapes to create beautiful, abstract flowers.  Although they got off to a tentative start they were soon ripping and tearing paper with wild abandon.  I was worried we would end up with a huge pile of confetti. Everyone had a good time and each student was able to create some very lively looking flowers. 



I like torn paper collage.  When you tear paper you have less control and sometimes that's a good thing.  It's easy to get tight and controlling when creating art, obsessing over every little line and shape.  The finished work can end up being well done technically, but boring.  When tearing paper you have to work with what you get and the end result can be very dynamic and sometimes even more interesting than a similar work with smooth, perfectly cut and spaced elements.  It works especially well for younger students or when you would like bold, organic shapes and painting is not a good option.