Monet Mood Landscapes

Claude Monet painted the same thing over and over again, but during different times of day during different seasons.  Due to this (see below, Haystack series example) although his subject remained the same, his color palette changed dramatically from painting to painting.   Students explored how the use of color can effect a person's mood and feeling by drawing one landscapes, making a copy of it, then used two opposite sets of colors to color each in. We then hung the pictures around the room and discussed how color affects your artwork and how people look at it.

Symmetrical Rubbings

For this integrated lesson, students took what they were learning in math class and extended it to the art room.  We talked about what symmetry is and what shapes are symmetrical before discussing animals/insects that are symmetrical.  On a folded paper students drew half of a symmetrical animal/insect with pencil before coloring it in HARD with oil pastels.  Students then closed their paper and used a large popsicle stick to rub the drawing so it would transfer onto the other side of the paper.