Valentines Pop art 4 ways

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With the K-3rd graders I did some "pop art" that had a Valentines Day theme. It was also a good way to have them do different techniques and media in on project that also ends up looking pretty cool. I used the heart as a theme, but they could interpret it in any many of way or color and were encouraged to go beyond red and pink! I had them do the heart four ways ith 6x6" squares of paper:

Watercolor on white paper

Oil pastel on black paper

Penicl and pen on white paper

Collage on black paper

Then I glued them into  a graphic 4 square layout.

Its amazing how creative the kids could get and how it made them think outside the box (even though were creating in a box) Amazing how setting  few rules can free you to be creative. Also, teaching them how to cut and draw hearts is an amazing lesson in symmetry, and following directions, which at this age, is no small task!

Week 17: Valentines

The age-old question of what to do for Valentines Day? So many fun crafty things. This year I had the kids do "snowflake" Valentine compositions in paper. They choice a couple red, pink, white etc sheets and folded them like you would a snowflake and then cut out heart shapes. If they were lucky they would get some fun inticate shapes. If not, they would at least have 8 hearts on the table that they then could still use to make a collage. I tried to get them to layer larger pieces under and smaller on top.

Week 18: Styrofoam pop art printing

I really like to introduce new concepts, and printmaking is one of those really cool, but sometimes hard concept with youngsters—eventhough, little kids are always "making prints" in their daily lives. As a background in simple graphic forms and printmaking, I decided to talk a bit about Pop Art, Andy Warhol and  Keith Haring.  I showed Haring's red heart series and Warhol's Marilyn Monroe painting. The Haring heart was a great example of simple, two colors and line work mixed with block color. The Warhol was good for the concept of multiple editions of one image.

The hard part is finding a suitable "plate" for having the kids "take away" material that will then print white. Wood, lino and other true printing supplies are expensive, and dangerous for the kids, so I figured I needed a material that was pliable that they could "carve" with apencil or brush handle, with no sharp items needed.  I thought of foam core, but quickly decided on a bunch of square foam takeaway food contaniners, that I cut down to 6 inch squares. The kids could then just use a pencil to make lines and dots in the thin foam.

As for ink, you can use offical printmaking ink and brayers and inking trays etc, but who has time or energy for that with 12 kinders and 30 minutes?  So I had to use what I had on hand: Crayola markers and poster paint.  Don't laugh, but the markers do a decent job, especially if you get a good color that will bead up on the foam and if you really press the print to soak up the marker. I used the markers as a "warmup" while I finished getting the paint ready. Marker is also less messy while they experiment.  But it tends to work better for smaller stamps and more graphic images.

Another lesson I learned was the fewer the colors the better. One color would be great, but with my background in newspaper design, I knew red and black are two great complimentary colors for printing. They also make nice Valentine-themed works.  Since I did this with the 3-4th grade first, they tended to make more complicated images and wanted to use multiple colors, which often made them feel frustrated by the limitations of styrofoam printing. Ironically the K-2nd graders did not question my limited colors and were less judgemental of their work. In the end, I think they ended up happier with the results.

The best images tended to be the simplest, with some texture and freedom.  I am really proud of the true fine art that these kids produced!!

KINDERGARTEN, FIRST,  SECOND GRADERS: