Kindergarten Leaf and Nature Collages

 

Kindergarten artists created collages using photocopies of leaves on colored paper and oil pastels.  This lesson helped practice our cutting, gluing and line drawing skills.

We also made leaf rubbings with crayons, then painted over them to experience the watercolor resist technique.  We added these leaves to our collages.

On yet another beautiful fall day, the kindergarten class headed outside to collage objects from nature for our moveable nature "collages."  We shared our materials to create temporary nature collages, which we photographed on the iPad before dismantling. 

Our nature collage station:

Zentangle Landscapes

What is a Zentangle?

Zentangle is a way of creating drawn art from repetitive patterns. It increases focus, mindfulness and creativity. This process should connect body and mind and help the artist feel relaxed and present, similar to a state of meditation.  I feel that it is an important art tool to teach at the beginning of the school year.  This technique of careful, focused drawing can help students (and teachers!) deal with stress and find focus when it is most needed.  

There are many ways to draw a Zentangle. Click here to learn more about the Zentangle Method. Click here to watch some Zentangle techniques on YouTube. 


Fifth and sixth graders created Zentangle Landscapes for their Original Works submissions. We used Sharpie markers, Crayola Super Tips markers, Crayola watercolor pencils and regular colored pencils.

Monarchs and Milkweed by the Kindergarten

Mixed Media Collages Inspired by Matisse's Goldfish

Here are some things we noticed about this painting:
Bright colors                               Lots of circles and curved lines
Large brushstrokes                      Different types of plants and flowers
Patterns                                        Side of a chair or a railing
Complementary/contrasting colors  Plants make patterns
Reflection of goldfish in water     Different types of brush strokes
Very light and very dark colors    Goldfish catch your eye
Not trying to be super realistic     Makes me feel calm


Here's some fascinating info about Matisse and his goldfish paintings!

First we mixed different shades of colors using liquid watercolor paints and painted the paper that we will use for our collages.  We added salt while the watercolors were wet to observe amazing patterns as the paint dries. 

#liquidwatercolor #paintedpaper for our #Matisse #collages by #faystonschool #thirdandfourthgrade

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Kindergarten Art Stations

#kindergarten #artstations at #faystonschool

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Follow ArtClass_AllDay on Instagram!  Here are some photos of our Kindergarten class exploring different art stations.  You can scroll through the images by hovering on the picture to see an arrow appear on the right side.