Masterpiece Monday (on Tuesday!): Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso

This month, the girls and I are exploring the artist Pablo Picasso.  I have Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail (Anholt's Artists Books for Children) on order (several of the series are part of the "Buy 4, Get 1 FREE promotion at Amazon"), so I'll have to share about the book later!  We did look through and read several of our Usborne Art books that contain artwork by Pablo Picasso.

Our masterpiece today was Picasso's Three Musicians, and we used collage as our art form.

 

1)  Discuss how to make a collage.  Lay out any item you'd like to use for a collage:  paper scraps, fabric, newpaper, felt, foil, etc.

 

 2)  Allow your child to freely explore and create with the collage materials.  I did set a few of Pablo Picasso's paintings around the room for inspiration.

3)  Celebrate the beautiful creations!

Masterpiece Monday: Claude Monet

This month's artist for Masterpiece Monday (happening on Tuesday because of Labor Day yesterday!!) is Claude Monet.  Throughout the month, we'll be reading books about Claude Monet and "analyzing" his artwork.

For my oldest daughter's birthday, we gave her several of the Anholt's Artists Books for Children.  (I highly recommend this series of books.  They narrate a story from the artist's life, and it's much more interesting than some of the art books I've found.  The girls actually beg to have these books read to them!)

Today, we read the book The Magical Garden of Claude Monet before we pulled out the paints.  We also found several of his paintings in some of our Usborne art books, too.

After reading the book, I didn't give any specific guidelines for the girls other than asking them if they'd like to create like the artist.  I put out watercolors, brushes, water, paper, and a few books with his paintings in them. 

(My middle daughter became frustrated because she couldn't draw a bridge,

so she decided to cut out a bridge instead.)

I just love seeing what they create!

Masterpiece Monday: Henri Rousseau (Part 2)

Oops!  Just a day later than I promised...here is part 2 of the project we started Monday!

Supplies:
Paint
Paintbrush
Leaves

1)  Collect several types of small leaves.  Cover the leaves with a thin layer of paint.

2)  Press the leaves on the painting to make prints all over the background.

Masterpiece Monday: Henri Rousseau (Part 1)

Because he painted many jungle scenes (and because our theme is zoo animals), I've picked the artist Henri Rousseau for our Masterpiece Monday!

Henri Rousseau was born in France in 1844.  He was a self-taught artist and painted in his spare time.  Although he never visited a jungle, he often painted jungle scenes -- using his imagination and time at zoos and parks to create his paintings.  You can find out more about him here.

Supplies:

Paper*
Paint
Paint brushes

1)  Paint the body and head of a "jungle" bird.

2)  Add handprint wings.

3)  Paint a beak and tail.  Add feet if desired.  Use an index finger to dot on an eye.

*If we do this project again, I will definitely use a larger sheet of paper.

I found this project from The Usborne First Book of Art. This is one of our favorite art books...and a springboard for many ideas! We'll finish the project in Part 2 tomorrow!

Masterpiece Monday: Georgia O'Keeffe

We're focusing on flowers because the girls and I are visiting some beautiful gardens later this week! 

Our spotlight artist is Georgia O'Keeffe.  You can find out more about her at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.  (For Masterpiece Monday's, I generally share information about the artist and let the girls look through the paintings/artwork.)

Supplies:

Paper

Pencil

Chalk
Tissue

Scissors

1)  Cut a large petal shape.  Trace the petal around a large circle to form the flower.

2)  Use chalk to shade the flower.

3)  Smudge with tissue.

4)  Fill outside the flower with crayon.

If you'd like to preserve the chalk, spray with fixative!

Masterpiece Monday: Silhouettes

In honor of President's Day, we made silhouettes.  Though I could not think of a silhouette "masterpiece" off the top of my head, I did find some information about August Edouart and a whole website devoted to silhouettes!

Supplies
Black paper
White paper
Tape
Pencil
Scissors
Bright light source

1)  Discuss the presidential faces on the sides of coins (the US Mint is a great resource -- they also have a special site for kids).  Discuss what a profile shot looks like and share photos of silhouettes (there are several here).

 (She's very happy to be doing this project.  Well, not really...but she was cheerful by the end!)

2)  Tape a black piece of paper to the wall.  Stand your child in front of the paper and shine a direct light onto them.

3)  Trace the profile.  Have your child cut it out. 

4)  Glue the silhouette to a sheet of white paper.

This project requires pretty good scissor skills, so it works best for ages four and up.

Masterpiece Monday: Gutzon Borglum

This begins our "Rock" theme week!

Gutzon Borglum.  Are you familiar with the name?  I wasn't!  I'm sure, however, you are familiar with his most well-known sculpture: Mount Rushmore!  You can find a short biography of Gutzon Borglum at The National Parks Service.  If you find it interesting, consider reading Great White Fathers: The True Story of Gutzon Borglum and His Obsessive Quest to Create the Mt. Rushmore National Monument.  Borglum's art and life were often quite controversial and the book explores this in-depth.

I shared the book Mount Rushmore by Marion Bauer with the girls.  The writing is extremely simple, but we learned some new things about when the monument was built, why the presidents were picked, and more!

After the book, we attempted our own "rock sculptures".  Carving rock would take specialized equipment (and probably not be very safe for preschoolers), so we made our own rock!

You need:

Plaster of paris
Water
Plastic spoon or paint stir stick (to mix the plaster and throw away)
Small box (we cut off the end of an almond milk box)
Old spoon, fork, or stick for carving

1)  Mix Plaster of Paris according to package directions in your container.  It should be the consistency of gravy or pancake batter.  Allow to dry for one hour.  Do not rinse any of the plaster down the drain!!

  

2)  Tear the container away from the "rock".  I split it into two pieces with a chisel and hammer.

3)  Carve a sculpture!  (Please supervise at all times!)

The girls mainly scratched figures and designs into the rock.  They figured out quickly how challenging and time-intensive it is to carve a sculpture!  I would suggest doing this outside as it is very messy.

If you do not have Plaster of Paris available or are unsure about using it with your little ones, an alternative would be to carve a bar of soap.  I had a bar from a hotel, so I let my two-year-old work on it!

Masterpiece Monday: Nature Art with Andy Goldsworthy

"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. " - Andy Goldsworthy

I was not familiar with the work of Andy Goldsworthy, but I was intrigued when I found this project in The Usborne First Book of Art. Andy Goldsworthy uses items he finds in nature to capture his artistic vision. After he completes a piece of artwork, he takes a photograph and leaves the art to decay.

For more information and photographs of Andy Goldsworthy's work, go here. I also interlibrary-loaned a coffee table book of his entitled Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature.

You need:
Bag
Place to hike
Pinecones, leaves, acorns, etc.

1) Find a place where you are allowed to pick up items from nature. We only picked up things that had already fallen (dried pine needles, pinecones on the road, leaves on the ground, etc.).

2) Place the items in a bag or just create artwork on-the-spot.

3) Spend time creating, building, and exploring natural items. If desired, capture the artwork through a photograph!

I love how this project encourages children to explore nature. In our fast-paced, technological world, many children are deprived of natural, sensory experiences. Access to creeks, ponds, and other "wild" places is often limited by new developments and ever-expanding cities (see Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder for an interesting look at the subject).

Masterpiece Monday: Self-Portraits by Frida Kahlo

"I paint self-portraits, because I am the person I know best."  - Frida Kahlo

With our focus on "All About Me" this week, I wanted Masterpiece Monday to highlight the work of Frida Kahlo.  Frida Kahlo painted over 55 self-portraits during her career.  A well-known artist from Mexico, Frida's life was filled with pain and her paintings often reflect that tribulation.  As a young child, she suffered a bout with polio.  Later at the age of 18, she was in a terrible bus accident.  She began to paint during the year she spent recovering fom her accident.  Sadly, Frida had over 30 surgeries during her life but lived with chronic pain until she died at the age of 47.  You can read a more complete biography at http://www.fridakahlo.com/.

If you are unfamiliar with the paintings of Frida Kahlo, this video includes many of her self-portraits.  As we watched, I pointed out the backgrounds of the portraits.  I also discussed Frida's life with the girls.  I didn't have access to any books I felt were appropriate for preschoolers, so I just shared with them some things I learned about her (you can find some children's book about her life here).


If you are viewing this via email subscription, view the video here.

After viewing Frida's paintings, let your child try this unique self-portrait!

You need:
Mirror
Paintbrush
Paints
Paper

1.  Stand your child in front of a mirror or place a mirror in front of them.  Have your child paint herself on the mirror.

2.  If your child paints quickly, you can carefully place a piece of paper on the mirror and press down.  Peel the paper back and allow to dry.  If the paint is already dry, capture the portrait through a photo!

The paint came off easily, and I finally got the mirrors cleaned!

Masterpiece Monday: "Sunflowers" by Vincent Van Gogh

  VanGogh and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt is a wonderful story to introduce children to Vincent Van Gogh.  The story is supposedly based on an actual encounter the artist had with a boy, Camille, and his family.  When Van Gogh moves into town, Camille befriends the artist.  Van Gogh paints portraits of each member in the family, but the children at school laugh and tease Vincent (and Camille) about how strange the paintings look.  Camille is very saddened by how the children and people of the community treat Vincent.  The book is wonderful in opening up conversation about how to treat others.  Granted, there is a sad moment or two, but the author ends the book on a positive note.  Unfortunately, if you have read much about Van Gogh's life, you know it was rather tragic.  The book, however, does not deal with the those things.  In my humble opinion, it is a great introductory book to Vincent Van Gogh.  I have only read this book from the series, but there are many others in the Anholt's Artists Books for Children which are highly recommended as well.

There are many resources on the web to share paintings and other information with your child.  The Van Gogh Museum is located in Amsterdam.  At the website you can find biographical information to share with your child.  My favorite facts to share with children about Van Gogh include that he only painted for ten years and he was not famous during his lifetime.

For the activity today, you need:
Paper
Pencil
Tempera paint
Flour
Paintbrushes
Texture tools (like a plastic fork, Q-tip, end of the paintbrush, etc.)

1.  Share the series of sunflower paintings Vincent Van Gogh created.  If you don't have access to a book with his paintings, you can find some at the Van Gogh Gallery here.  Have your child sketch sunflowers (if they are interested) or whatever they choose for their painting.

2.  Share with your child that Vincent Van Gogh applied several layers of paint to achieve a thick texture in his paintings.  We just did one layer of paint, but we thickened tempera paint by mixing in small amounts of flour until the desired texture was reached.

3.  Paint over the sketch.  Using a fork and/or the end of the paintbrush, swirl designs into the paint.  Allow to dry thoroughly.

When doing art with children (as opposed to crafts -- and I do think there is a difference!), I like to step back and let them create however they choose.  The girls were so excited with their masterpieces today!