A few months back, I took a wine and canvas
class at our local art studio. It was so much fun, and I was so inspired, that
I decided to replicate it (not the wine part, of course) in my classroom. I’ve
been saving this project for the second semester as a sort of reward for making
it through the first half of the year, and it just so happens that it matched
up perfectly with our earth science unit.
The theme of the lesson was landscapes and how
the beauty of nature is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. Landscape art
and artists are as varied as they come, from Monet to Van Gogh to Kandinsky to Matisse;
all the great artists seem to have had an interpretation of nature. And why
wouldn’t they? So we looked at different styles and interpretations of
landscape art and we looked more in-depth at David Hockney who is known for his
use of vibrant colors in landscapes. The kids then chose a landscape they
wanted to paint, and we went from there.
This art project was quite an undertaking, and I’m
not sure I would do it again, despite the fact that they turned out
beautifully. I suppose I underestimated the time and effort it would take to
get the quality outcome that I wanted. The kids were running out of steam at
the end of our third session, and that’s never a good thing in art, because
then they rush to finish it. It was, however, a good practice in patience and
delayed gratification, which I suppose is beneficial for all of us at times.
Here are some shots from start to finish. Hope you enjoy them!
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