Butterfly Oil Pastel

In this project, we started by learning about butterflies and their life cycle, which helped us connect the art activity to science. After that, we used a stencil to trace a butterfly wing onto paper. The goal of the project was to design and color the wing using oil pastels and watercolor while showing a clear understanding of warm and cool colors. I first traced the wing and added detailed designs inside each section, then outlined everything with Sharpie to make it stand out more. For the inside of my wing, I chose cool colors like blue, purple, and pink, and blended different shades to create a fading effect. I filled the empty spaces with black to make the colors pop. For the background, I used warm colors like red and yellow with watercolor to create contrast and make the wing the main focus. Overall, this project helped me better understand color relationships and how art can connect to science concepts like the butterfly life cycle.

An extension activity for this project could be having students create a full butterfly by designing the second wing as a mirror image, reinforcing symmetry. Students could also write a short explanation or label each stage of the butterfly life cycle around their artwork to further connect the science concept to their piece.

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Introduction Footprint

An introduction project where we traced our foot on colored paper. The footprint had to include three different mediums, our name, and items that represent us. I added my school, hobbies, favorite foods, and family, which gave others a little insight into who I am and what I enjoy. After completing the footprint project, students will post their footprints on a bulletin board to create a “class path.” This display shows how each student is unique while still being part of the same classroom community. It helps students learn about one another and feel connected to the class.

Hidden Safari

For this art project, we started by learning about safaris and the kinds of animals you might see, like elephants, giraffes, lions, and rhinos. We also talked about warm and cool colors. Warm colors are red, orange, and yellow, and cool colors are green, blue, and purple. One of the main skills we worked on was how to draw upside down. Drawing this way helps you focus more on the shapes and outlines instead of worrying about every little detail of the object. Before starting our final piece, we also made red glasses, which would later help us see the hidden image in our artwork by blocking out the warm colors. For my project, I chose to draw a monkey. I drew it upside down using a cool color, which helped keep it hidden later on. After finishing the drawing, I used warm-colored crayons to add patterns over the entire page. I used the different warm colors and different patterns to hide the monkey. When looking at the artwork normally, you mostly see the bright patterns. However, when y...

Perspective Drawing

For this project, we created a one-point perspective drawing inspired by M.C. Escher. We started by studying his patterns and perspectives, then added a dot in the center of the page to serve as our focus point. Next, we drew at least eight squares or rectangles, four on each side of the page, and connected the corners of each shape back to the center dot using a ruler, starting with the shapes closest to the dot and making sure none of the lines overlapped. After that, we went over all of the lines with Sharpie to make them bold. Then we added patterns to the shapes, using a mix of our own ideas and two patterns that were drawn on the board, outlining the patterns with Sharpie once we were finished. Finally, we colored in the patterns using oil pastels, which really helped the shapes pop and gave the drawing a three-dimensional look. For an extension, students can create a one-point perspective cityscape or room scene using a vanishing point on their paper. They will draw buildings, f...

Sara Mobergs Art

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