Creating Mandalas

on January 14, 2016

What is a mandala?

"A mandala is a sacred space, often a circle, which reveals inner truth about you and the world around you."




"In Sanskrit mandala means both circle and center, implying that it represents both the visible world around us (the circle-the whole world) and the invisible one deep inside our minds and bodies (the center healing circle) from Native American and Tibetan sand-paintings to Gotgic rose windows and Hindu yantras, mandalas are used as symbols for meditation, protection, and healing."
- Clare Goodwin 1996

ART PROMPT: CREATE A MANDALA USING PATTERN AND SYMMETRY.


Students were taught how to create mandalas using repeating patterns and symmetry design. Each student created a mandala on 9x9" drawing paper using sharpies and colored pencils. 

 








I recommend using this lesson when teaching about geometry and symmetry in art.

I will be adding a template I used to create the mandalas (once I find where it went!) to this post, so check back soon or please comment for questions.

-

 Have you found other ways to bring mandalas into your child's education?

 Let me know your findings so we may all learn together!

Griffin Lesson

on December 03, 2015
Last week, students learned how to draw the mythical creature called a Griffin or Griffyn. This animal is half eagle and half lion and the students at Ace Academy loved drawing it. We created them using watercolors and they turned out beautiful!









I am officially on TpT!

on April 01, 2015
What is TpT? It is Teachers Pay Teachers - a website where teachers can list and sell their original lesson plans and whatever else is original and could help all teachers alike! And it is totally free!

It is a really awesome place that I have finally started to post on... you can find my shop here:

my Little hearts Little art TpT Store


I will always have free art lessons on this blog, that will always ALWAYS be free on my TpT store as well, but there are definitely some extensive lessons you might want to check back for that are priced at a fair cost! So check 'em out if you are wanting more...

A little snippet of what my Store looks like:

Quote of the Day

on June 11, 2014
Art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and also experience them.

Warm-to-Cool Drawing Series: Phoenix Lesson

on June 02, 2014

Warm-to-Cool Drawing Series

What is the "Warm-to-Cool" drawing series?

Starting off as a way to save time & energy, I created a draw along by just following the natural progression from a warm color to a cool color. You only need one drawing for your lesson; just the one like below. Then each line, by the order of how you want to instruct said line, is colored in the continuous step by step color on the color wheel: yellow, orange, red, violet, blue, green. 
It is that simple and easy to follow along, especially for us art teachers! 


How does this help?

If you are like me, you try your hardest to create your own lessons from scratch, and with this method it saves energy and time from drawing each step by step over and over again! You also kind of teach the kids something too, if you choose to hand these out; how to reach a cool color coming from a warm one! It's like two birds! A win-win! Learning and drawing!

Now you try it!

1. Draw what you want to teach (light pencil lines!)
2. Starting with a yellow marker or crayon, trace the first line you would like your students to draw. The very first step in a drawing! (Yellow is good as a starting point because the natural progression is highly evident, but also because it is a very light color, and the perfect match as the colored line for the basic shapes you would first start off with in your drawings.)
3. Then trace the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. from warm to cool. (orange, red, violet, blue, green, respectively)
4. You choose which colors are used, add the in between colors of blue-green or red-violet if needed, or even pink! It's easy, just take a gander at the color wheel and you will have endless possibilities for colors!



If you still have extra steps, invent colors! Double line it. Use the little gift of your mind we are so blessed to create with. 

Thanks for reading! Now, the official lesson and examples below.

How-to-Draw-a-Phoenix


Phoenix - mythical creature
Fantasy Art Class

Examples from Students:








Spotlight Artist: Karl Baden

on May 28, 2014

Karl Baden the Photographer.

His work is just so extraordinary. I have never seen anything like it. And that is beautiful. It's only so many times you see something new in the art world, so when it happens, it is just mind blowing. It makes me utterly excited to see new processes and forms of art that has never even been in my dreams before. So, I honestly and whole heartedly, congratulate this man and his eye and mind. Just beautiful. 

Here is his blog, http://kbeveryday.blogspot.com/, which chronicles one project of his; which is taking a picture of his face every day since 1987, Feb. 23. (which coincidentally was the day the Yuma Symposium started so that was kind of cool) This project has appeared in many galleries and exhibitions and the installation is always different on certain milestones, i.e. 10th Anniversary of project.





These next projects are the ones that put me in awe. I have never seen anyone create 2D sculpture within multiple photographs. It is all so new to me. And, he did it all with parts of his body!






Step-by-Step Series: Butterfly

on May 01, 2014

Butterflies! Ahh So beautiful and precious! They always remind me of how life is magical, through the good times and the not so good times, and to always take a break to watch a butterfly cross my path, no matter what. Without those breaks, I cannot truly appreciate her beauty and simple personality.

Some Facts about Butterflies:
  • There are 24,000 species of butterflies.
  • Top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour!
  • They cannot fly if there body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
  • And butterflies can see red, green and yellow. (Whoa, Artist eyes!)


Here is the Step-by-Step Animal Lesson Drawing I created:


You may print this out for personal or educational uses. 
Please credit my site if used.


Enjoy!

What Art Teaches..

on March 05, 2014

Unlocking a child's creativity is pure MAGIC! 
As an artist, a teacher, a mentor and a friend; my mission in life has always been to help guide young (and older!) minds to reach their unseen creative potential.

There are just so many advantages and benefits with art education, it is a wonder (and a shame) why it has been so downplayed. Without art, life wouldn't be as grand. We wouldn't be able to notice colors and textures or moments. We wouldn't have the many inventions and creations that came directly from the Creative Soul. So much in Life, as we know it, would have nothing, if Art wasn't alive.

Oh, the wonderful places you will go with Art in the Heart! Read on!

The Arts Teaches Us...

1. to Respect Others from all walks of life and struggles.
2. to start a Dialogue, no matter the subject.
3. to Experiment with Materials and explore the possibilities.
4. to Observe, listen, feel and create.
5. to Find our own Voice in a place where so many voices are heard.
6. to Evaluate our Selves and how we interact with the world.
7. to Make Connections with the world and the people around us.
8. to Express Ourselves through ways we thought impossible.
9. to Learn from Our Mistakes, because mistakes are portals to discovery.
10. to Clean up and be mindful of the environment.
11. to Reflect on Our Work and evolve, grow, and learn.
12. to Embrace Diversity, to love and respect all the people in the world, big or small.
13. to Persevere and always keep going, always keep talking.
14. to have an Opinion, because without speaking our truth, we cannot live our truth.
15. to Appreciate Beauty in every single thing on this Earth.
16. to Break Away from Stereotypes and find an unwalked path.
17. to Envision Solutions and solve issues.
18. to Value Aesthetics and feel the beauty each Artist represents.
19. to See another Point of View, walk in another person's shoes.
20. to Innovate and to not be afraid of making changes.

Spotlight Artist: Fred Babb

on February 26, 2014



"Fred Babb’s expressive colors, powerful statements and dynamic compositions makes him one of my favorite artists. Unfortunately, Fred died in 2006. I would have like to have met him. He stood for everything I believe art should be; an extension of oneself that is not necessarily taught, but understood. I try to remember this each time I walk into my classroom and face the little individuals that we often clump together as a whole. I try to remember that each child has a story. Each child has an expression. I don’t always maintain this level of thinking. Often I succumb to the pressures of classroom management and parent expectations. At times, I’m a slave to the minutes on the clock, finishing the project, encouraging the kids along.Rushing.Poking.But when I browse through my collection of Fred’s Art (check out his website here), he slows me down. Reminds me of why I’m here. Nudges me to think in broad terms. Tells me to remember the most important thing of all: don’t let yourself be the reason kids abandon art. Be the reason why they embrace it…for life."

Baby Tigger's Valentine

on February 15, 2014
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE... From Tigger ! 

This lesson is always a fun one to do, especially for the lovely holiday. Not only is this little Tigger incredibly cute holding a valentine heart, he also got to provide a simple lesson in building a character with basic shapes. 
  • Students learn how to draw the body form using circles and organic shapes. 
  • Students may color him however you choose. (I personally give choices to my upper student classes; for my lower I would recommend using markers and colored pencils.)


Step 1: Sketch basic shapes / forms
Step 2: Using the "Rainbow Steps" system,
Start from lightest color to darkest ie. yellow to orange,
draw in the details.
Step 3: Draw in final details and shading.

Example drawn in class

Students working this past Valentine's 2014

Artwork by Cheyenne M.
watercolor, marker, colored pencil
Artwork by Rocky W.
colored pencils, markers

Theme of Lesson: Valentine's Day 
Technique Learned: How to Draw a Cartoon Baby Tigger

Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )