What is Imagination?

What is Imagination?

This mini-lesson is from my good friend and colleague Maryellen Picker at Captain Elementary.

Have you ever had a picture in your mind? Artists often do! Sometimes we imagine things in our mind that we have never seen or experienced.

Sometimes we look at artwork and say that it has a lot of imagination...we are saying that the artwork is unusual or different.

Artists find pictures in their minds and make many cool artworks.

Would you say that this building (Dancing Woman) was created by an architect that had a great imagination?

Or the designer of this chair?

Or the fashion designer of this dress?

How about these artworks by Paul Klee, who was a Swiss German painter?

Artists use their imagination all of the time to create many things. You do too.

Let's read a book together about a boy and the pen he uses to create imaginative drawings.

So, what can you do with a pen? 

Close your eyes, be still and wait. Maybe you will see something you have never seen before! 

You can start in any studio with a pen!

Fibers studio

 This week we will be visiting the Fiber Arts Studio!

We will document what we know in our Artifact Books

There will be materials on your table to share. You can help each other learn some skills for the Fiber Arts Studio.

Fiber Arts is about making art with threads, papers,  fabrics (material like your clothes), and yarns. Some of the materials are natural.

 Yarn can naturally come from a ...

sheep...baa, baa

Sometimes artists make weavings...materials that go over and under each other.

What do you think this woven basket is made out of?

 You can make a weaving out of paper in Fiber Arts...you could even make your own paper for it!

  Today we will practice weaving a yarn over and under.

In Fiber Arts  we use thread to sew with. The thread is wound around a spool.

We will use needles ...notice one end is sharp and one end has a hole in it.

 We also use pins to hold material together.

We keep our pins in a pin cushion to keep the pointed ends sharp.

We will learn how to thread a needle.

We will practice learning how to make a knot at the end of our threads. 

 

We will pin two pieces of fabric together ...

and we will sew some running stitches.

Key Stage 2

When a person sews, sometimes they make a sketch of what they want and they create a pattern. 

 

You will learn the whip stitch.

What kinds of things would you like to create in the Fiber Art studio this year?

Sculpture Studio

Sculpture Studio!

Let's Discover the Sculpture Studio

Sculpture is a type of artwork that is three dimensional. It can be seen from all sides. Sculptures can be made out of many things like clay, wood, metal, glass...you name it!

An artist who makes sculptures in called a sculptor.

What do you think the sculpture below is made from?

We can see a sculpture in a museum...

Sometimes an artist can sculpt from unusual materials...

Sometimes artists create sculptures for the outdoors. Have you seen this sculpture in Forest Park?

We keep our materials organized... 

  In this studio we use tools in a safe way...

  Today we will do a checklist in our Choice Folders to show that we are ready to work in the sculpture studio.

The materials that you will use today...

 You will do the connection test...

You will make a cylinder...

You will flange the cylinder...

You will create tabs or braces...

 After you flange a cylinder and show that you know how to make tabs, you may explore other ways to connect papers for sculptures...

Painting

Making Art In The Painting Studio

This week you are going to show what you know about the painting studio! We will document in our Choice Folders! 

We learn how to set up our paint area...

We will experiment with watercolor and tempera paints.

Look for directions

Why are there different size brushes?

What is this?

Artists paint on different materials...

Sometimes artists paint with unusual tools...

Could this be used to paint with?  

Can you  paint with these?

Some people like to paint standing up and some people like to paint sitting down in a chair. How do you like to paint?

You can make paint papers in the painting studio and then use them to create in the collage studio!