Birch tree moonscapes for middle school

This was a very successful

mat board / cardboard strip black paint smearing/flicking birch tree project 

that I elevated so that it was appropriate for 6th grade and more challenging than I've done previously.

As (hopefully) all of you know, the birch tree trick project is a no-fail project that makes every student feel like a super-duper artist. The objective this time around was to

create a full landscape that demonstrated great depth and shadows. 

Before I start- I am so close to 200 followers(!) so please pass this along to friends

or colleagues so that I can hit a new milestone.

(I think it will also motivate me to do my blog design overhaul sooner rather than later.)

The lesson: 

 This was my favorite of my photo and print examples. 

It is a woodcut called "Northern Shadows" by Lisa VanMeter

who has many beautiful woodcuts and tree-themed work on her website. 

Project breakdown:

-Drawing-

1. Sketch closest trees

2. Add in horizon line and hills. 

3. Sketch in the rest of trees ( I required a minimum of 6.)

4. Draw in moon and shadows. 

5. Add in extras: houses, animals, footsteps, etc.

-Painting-

1. Use cardboard or mat board pieces to scrap thinned black tempera for the birch.

2. Paint in sky with liquid watercolor. 

3. Paint in shadows and create a "chalky moon texture" with a very light black wash. 

4. Use watercolor pencils for tiny things like houses, pine trees, animals. 

*To expedite the process I had three sky color options pre-made

and the shadow paint pre-mixed and ready. 

For elementary teachers I have a "wicked" old version of this project and a round-up of many other winter project ideas here. 

Plaster house sculpture in the style of Ndebele Painted Houses

This lesson is based on the brightly painted houses of the Ndebele in South Africa. 

It was a great lesson on sculpture, architecture, and style.

My sixth grade has had a year-long focus on "style"- what it means, how to identify it, variations in, etc.

In addition to looking at the houses we discussed how a style can influence other art for years to come and how we can identify style. 

To help identify key Ndebele style characteristics we looked at these images after looking at the houses:

-Materials List for this Lesson-

Armature/base:

empty milk cartons, 

mat board (6 x 8" ish)

plaster strips

Gate:

glue gun

mat board scraps

model magic

Painting:

pencil and rulers worked to draw right on the plaster

Tempera - some cracked

we used some Acrylic as well to prevent it from flaking off more

Acrylic medium for sealing or sometimes I mixed it into the tempera

*If I had an outdoor space (and not been in the middle of the city) I would have taken them all outside and spray coated them.

We collected empty milk cartons and rinsed them out. 

My school has a subscription to Brainpop- we watched the "sculpture" video.

This explained how an armature works as well as different types of materials used the kids were unfamiliar with. Then we talked about using the milk cartons as armatures for the houses.

I hot glued them to mat board and then we covered them in plaster strips.

The Gates 

This is where we discussed architectural design.

The students cut up mat board scraps and arranged them where they wanted them.

I hot glued them together. 

They covered them in a thin layer of model magic to create a plaster-like texture when it dried.

The design and painting was up the students. 

They had to consider geometric designs, patterning, and bold colors. 

Drawing with pencil on the plaster before painting worked well. 

Beginning painting stages:

They painted the gates separately and I hot glued them on with folded mat board tabs behind them to support. This worked well.

Additional resources:

(I was unable to find any good/useful short videos.)

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me by Maya Angelou

Ndebele: The Art of a Painted Tribe by Margaret Courtney-Clark

2-D painting lesson on Adventures of an Art Teacher

A paper version on Mrs. Knight's

April 2012 Ndebele Inspired Houses lesson in School Arts