Friday, March 7, 2014

Art "docent" have to be hard.


How cool are these?  Pretty sweet, huh?

They are the artwork of two elementary school classes.  In our school system, we have an art docent program, and I am privileged to be the docent for a first and a fifth grade class.

Each year the school has an auction to raise funds for the art docent program, and each classroom in the school creates a piece of art to sell.  Prints are also made of the originals, so everyone who wants the artwork can have access to it.

 Here's what I did:

1. Out of nice sketch paper, I cut out a large (3.5" long) and small (2.5" long) petal shape for each student.

2. I gave them Sharpie markers and oil pastels and had them go to town decorating their petals to their heart's content. For the 5th graders, I did encourage the boys to use mostly cool colors, and the girls to use mostly warm colors.  But in the end, I don't think it really made a huge difference. They really did what they wanted to.

3. I painted a 16x20" canvas with acrylic paint.

4. I arranged the petals so the colors were well spread and coordinated.

5. Then, it was ModPodge time! If you haven't done much ModPodging-- it works best to use it generously to glue down each piece, rubbing the pieces to remove any air bubbles. Then, let them dry completely before you do a top coat. I did two top coats--one with vertical brush strokes, one with horizontal. This gives it a canvas-like finish.

6. Once it dries, it's done!  


These were the first graders' petals. Aren't they great?!?


I love this yellow! 


All laid out. I wrapped the ones that hung over around. It was challenging to get them to stick well. Cutting them off would be fine, too.

First Graders' finished piece

Fifth-graders' finished piece






2 comments:

  1. These turned out sooo cute! I guess I should check to make sure both my kids have art docents in their class!
    ~Amber

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  2. I love this art. Are there docents instead of art teachers?

    ReplyDelete