Famous Artists Week Part I

This week, we are taking the Kansas State Math Assessments! We are going to TACKLE THE TEST!

In the afternoons each day, we are going to study a famous artists: Georgia O'Keefe, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Jackson Pollock, Wang Yani and Pablo Picasso.

Georgia O'Keefe
-Students are given history about Georgia O'Keefe and show some of her most famous paintings. O'Keefe's flower paintings are what we are focusing on. She found a flower to paint and really focused in on just that one flower.

-The students are given a choice of which flower to choose from. (I printed images of various flowers with many colors)
-Students are given a white piece of paper and oil pastels with which to create their flower. Be sure to model how to use oil pastels. For some students it is hard create a 'blown up' version of the flower, but with a teacher model, they can do it.

Teacher model:

Students' creations:


Jackson Pollock
-Splatter Paint at its best! Jackson Pollock created HUGE splatter paintings. He would lay his canvas on the ground and walk around it, splattering paint as he went. The students really like this artist because he likes to make a mess!

-Students are given contruction paper to place in the lid of a paper box. Give the students cups of paint, each with a few marbles in them. Let the students choose the colors they would like to use and have them scoop the marble into their paper box. Then the fun begins!
-Have the students shake their boxes and add different marbles/colors as they go. Each student will end up with a one-of-a-kind splatter art.
-Students can also creat splatter art on the computer through JacksonPollock.org.
Students' creations:

Vincent van Gogh
-Van Gogh created motion in his paintings. Starry Night is a wonderful example of this. The wind seems to be moving objects in the painting the same direction. Students will create their own Starry Night with oil pastels.

-Students color the starts in the sky first on white paper, then draw swirls around each star, making the swirls larger and larger as they create the sky. The oil pastels should completely cover the background of the paper. Put this to the side
-Using black paper, students create a town in the valley of Starry Night. After the outline of the town is drawn in pencil, students cut it out. The town should extend from one end of the paper horizontally to the other end.
-Finally, let the students use a kleenex to rub (in one direction only!) the wind from one side of their paper to the other. Then, glue the townscape on top of the oil pastel night.
Teacher Model:

Student Creations: