Kindergarten Art: Absorb/Repel Science Project

This week in Art, kindergarteners once again experimented to discover unique properties of various art materials. They received watercolors and three surfaces to paint on: Aluminum foil, paper towel, and watercolor paper. They painted rainbows on each surface. 

Then, we discussed how the surfaces had reacted to the paints in different ways. For example, I asked questions such as: Which painting feels the wettest? Which painting drips the most? Which painting made the colors bleed together the most? We then discussed to what extent this meant the surfaces absorbed and repelled the watercolor paint. This reinforced the usage of this materials science vocabulary which they learned in the kindergarten classroom. 

They determined that the foil was the most repellant, so much so that it probably wouldn't dry before class was over- uh oh! So, they took an absorbent watercolor paper and placed it on top to make a print, which ended up looking like beautiful tie-dye. 

Finally, based on our observations, we looked at pictures of all three under a microscope and talked about their textures, and tried to guess which was which and how this affected their absorbance. 

Can you guess?

Kindergarten Verblist Art

In collaboration with their materials science unit, kindergarteners explored the characteristics of art materials by experimenting with them to create these lively multimedia works of art. 

This project was based on a MOMA lesson, and inspired by artist Richard Serra’s Verblist (1967-8). Serra famously said, “Drawing is a verb.” He created a list of action words (verbs) to inspire artists to try new things with their materials. In his own sculptures, he used metal in new ways, to encircle, enclose, fold, and much more. 

Verblist, 1967-8

During this two-class lesson, I placed a wide variety of materials on the common table. Then, I gave the students one verb at a time and challenged them to find the material that they thought could best perform that action. As they chose their materials, we discussed why they thought that material was the best choice.

Sculptures by Richard Serra

Third Grade Landscapes and Accessibility

Third graders created these watercolor collage landscapes as part of their unit on texture. First, in conjunction with their geography studies of the Northeast, they brainstormed textures and land forms they might find in that region. Then, they learned how to create watercolor textures using techniques such as scratching, salting, and blotting their paintings. Finally, they used their texture papers to create collaged landscapes. 

To accompany their landscapes, they also wrote descriptive poetry as a tie-in with their classroom unit on accessibility. We observed and discussed how museums make their collections accessible to blind and low-vision audiences, for example, through descriptive tours and audio guides which incorporate senses other than sight. 

InSight Tour, Smithsonian National Museum of Art

A Warm Summer Day In The Northeast

Wavy waters, crashing against the shore,

Smooth ridged trees, swaying in the summer breeze,

Rough rocks, disappearing as the tide comes in,

Brick towers, shining in the morning sun,

Sharp mountains, behind the sea,

Juicy apples from the tree,

Fluffy clouds that look like cotton candy

The Northeast is very peaceful! 

I want to climb, and sunbathe - What? What’s that you say?! Oh sure I’ll swim - I’ll swim all day!

A Night In The City

Smooth and rough night sky shines on your face, sort of whiskery, brushing against you

Tangled trees surround you, trunks rather ribbed and scaly

Frizzy grass is dimmed, but you can tell the knotty roughness around your heels means it’s still there

Flickering and bumpy lights are shining bright, just like the woven stars above you, glowing

The moon, up there it’s spiky, rough, rocky but down here it’s lacy, smooth, feathery, the creature, The Man On The Moon, waving to you as he’s controlling all the stars

Scratch cars, some crashed and banged up, traveling one way and another, back and forth at high speed

But the rocky Washington D.C. National Monument attracts most with it’s blinking, glowing red light at the top, and it’s scaly texture!!

Loud and crashing, a rocky and gritty Washington D.C. has the night taken under control

If I were in Washington D.C., I'd move into the White House!!

A Nice View In The Northeast

I feel the sleek water between my toes

There are rocks in the bumpy in the sand

The rocks are scratching my body when I’m laying on it

I see the foamy white stuff in the ocean coming to shore

There is a beach in front of my collage.

There are trees behind it because when I go to the beach there are sometimes plants.

I put mountains in because I think it looks really good .

In the back I have my sunset  sky.

I added a moon for a little light.

If I were there, I would go swimming in the ocean.