Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Chinese New Year Scroll


Our focus has been on Chinese New Year with our visiting artist Cai Silver this month.  Look at the Plum Blossom Scrolls we finished today.  To make their scrolls kids first toned their paper with chalk pastels and wiped with a tissue to get a light airy effect.  We printed on the twisted shape of the old plum trees using the side of a piece of cardboard.  The kids dipped into the paint and scraped to make the trunk and pressed to make the branches.  After our trees dried we pressed on some blossoms with the flower stamps we made from sticky foam flowers and small squares of cardboard.  Plum trees are the first trees to bloom and herald the coming of spring.  The blooms follow the retreating snow.  They are a symbol of luck and rejuvenation.  Happy Chinese New Year!

Monday, January 30, 2012

New Year Dragons






































Third graders made these beautiful dragons today.  The banners went together quickly because we practiced last week and because we have so many motivated artists in this class.  We started and finished this project all in one day and they are a beautiful addition to the art room.  Nice work artists! 

Sunday, January 29, 2012

More Chinese Scroll Painting



Seventh Grade finished up their version of plum blossom scrolls today and yes brushing and blowing the ink to form the branches was a whole lot of fun.  Kids brushed on their flowers, or dabbed them on, using q-tips and pink paint.  After the paint dried we added bands of gold contact paper to the top and bottom of the scroll.  My seventh graders loved adding the Chinese characters to their scroll.