Thursday, December 12, 2019

Sensational Still-lifes? Just Take A Peek...



Normally, most people might not associate the words “sensational” and “still-life.” Those people have clearly not seen the work that EES third grade students just completed!  This project was, to be sure, ambitious for eight and nine-year-olds. Never one to be deterred by wondering whether children can really do something (Show light source and effect in first grade? Solder circuits in fifth grade? Of course they can!), I set out to teach third graders how to observe, sketch, and refine drafts, while working in traditional and digital media.



Students began by observing clusters of fruit and fabric on their art tables. The first day was all about making mistakes in pencil, and I let them know that they would have as many pieces of paper as they needed- look, draw, look again, draw again. The results were amazing; as kids relaxed and slowed down, they added overlapping areas, refined shapes, and experimented.

          

We used these rough gorgeous drafts as a starting point for second drafts in Sharpie. They could choose to use the Sharpie directly on their sketches or on new sheets of paper. 



Using one of my favorite-ever iPad apps, students photographed and uploaded their drawings into Colorscape. In Colorscape, the drawings become a black line drawing and top layer. The coloring that students do is a layer underneath digitally. The tools like paint bucket, soft brushes, and pens allow students to fill in their work and begin to add light sources. Thanks to an enormous and generous grant, we had access to 1:1 iPads for students, giving these artists ample time and flexibility to explore the program.


This cohort has been studying light and shadow since first grade, when they had concurrent science and art units. As they have gotten older and had more practice, the work has become more sophisticated. Students were here asked to imply their light direction- in other words, no corner suns- just to show the direction of the light by applying consistent lights and darks to the fruits and the surface with highlights and shadows.


After they completed the work digitally, student used a variety of traditional media, including crayons, oil pastels, markers, and pencils to create a hand colored version as well. The work is displayed so that the viewer can see all three, which show the observations, changes, and progress the artists made.










Stunning still-lifes! 

The best I have ever seen by students at this grade level.  The students are so, so proud, and we look forward to displaying them in our upcoming February Fine Arts Night.