Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder changed the course of modern art by developing methods such as sculpting, bending, and twisting to create 3d drawings in space. Calder had mobiles that consisted of abstract shapes made of different materials.

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Mobiles are forms that move with the flow of air. This is the way Calder revolutionized sculpture. This image is an example of a mobile that was created by Calder in 1932 and was created using metal, wood, wire, and spring. It is approximately 1500 x 2000 x 2000 mm. It is currently on display at Tate Modern.

 

Mobiles are easy and quick to create! Students can create mobiles with paper that is of any form and is attached to a wire and then can be hung from the ceiling.

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Resource

http://www.hellokids.com/c_17878/drawing-for-kids/drawing-lessons-for-kids/how-to-draw-animals/how-to-draw-insects/ant

Hello Kids is a wonderful website that can be used to help with ideas needed for directed drawing. This website provides free examples of various pictures which can be used for an art class. The drawings all have step my step instructions which makes it easier for a teacher to use if they are not familiar with how to draw or which steps should go in which order. There are not too many options on the website however, it can still be used.

Resource

http://www.clay-it-now.com/claycoloringtechnique.html

Clay it now is a great website that can be used not only to help with ideas of what to mold your clay pieces into but also with shapes, colours, tools, etc. It is a great tool for teachers to refer to when teaching using clay, especially if they are not familiar with clay. It can be useful for teachers who have used clay numerous times by providing new or different techniques and ways of using clay.

Experimenting with colours

Drawing a picture with oil pastels ~ painting over the drawing with thin black paint

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Starting with pure colour and adding increasing amount of white or black.

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Mixing colours and using sponges, paper towels, forks and spoons to enhance our colourful creations.

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Following the examples of Georgia O’Keefe’s art we worked and created two up close paintings using WARM and COOL colours.

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Slinkachu

We were introduced to a Contemporary artist, miniaturist, Slinkachu. He is a London-based artist who creates very small street-based installations and then photographs them from far away and up-close.

Here are some examples of his work.

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Activity

We were asked to find objects throughout the school in our group color theme (Orange). We could use any objects as long as they could be returned or recycled.

We were then asked to take our found objects and display them in a way that tells a story.

We displayed our objects to tell a sequence of events from childhood elementary school to young adulthood university.

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Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is a sculptor and photographer who uses the natural environment and found objects to create beautiful sculptures, which are then extensively documented in photographs.

 

Goldsworthy inspired art!

Materials:

Natural objects found in the environment and a photograph taking device

 Class Activity:

Andy Goldsworthy’s art was featured through photos on his website and a video of his work to really appreciate the time and detail that goes into his work.

We were then asked to go outside and use the environment to create some Andy Goldsworthy- like art and take photos of our creations.

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Activity

At the beginning of class, each small group was assigned a team colour.

Our group color was orange.

We were given magazines and asked to cut or tear pages and pictures that had our colour (orange) on it. The contrast of cut and torn pieces adds an element of varying edges.

Next we were asked to arrange the colours into a colour gradient form lightest to darkest.

Finally we were asked to create something using a collage of our cut/torn pieces in the theme of “under the sea.”

We created a goldfish.

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