First graders are stepping into the great unknown with me.  We’ve embarked on a project that is potentially awesome, while at the same time still capable of being a big time flop. As a first year teacher it is so hard to know which projects will be successful and which will bomb. I am still learning where students are developmentally and which fine motor skills they’re still mastering.

So much of art is about the process and I encourage my students to take creative risks constantly so this project is my own creative risk taking experiment. Above, you will see that I have selected an image of an animal. Similarly, students have sifted through National Geographic magazines to find their own animal muse. Now that our subject has been selected, we’ve spent time looking closely and drawing the animal as we see them in the image. This is always a challenge but we’re getting better with practice. The idea is that once we’ve practiced drawing our animals, we’ll transfer the image to your old cereal boxes and trace the contour lines with glue. Once the glue dries we’ll cover the cardboard in tin foil and reveal a subtle relief. The raised surface of our once 2-D image gives students a tactile way to experience how texture influences our work.

My zebra demo (even when I practice at home, things have a funny way of turning out a bit differently in the studio…)

I love how willing students are to collaborate with one another. Our artists were helping their peers find animals that would inspire them.

Our sketchbooks came in handy when it was time to practice drawing.

Wish us luck!