These art making activities are well-suited for middle school or high school aged students. The first requires some specialty materials and equipment. The video might be watched only for interest and information if printmaking is not feasible. The second can be done at any school, except those that value their property too much to allow for whimsical creative touches.
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| Alexey Menschikov |
Solar etching
Conventional printmaking requires acid solvents. Solar etching uses the sun to etch an image onto a light-sensitive plate made by Solarplate. An artist or art student can print a black-and-white photo or drawing repeatedly using these plates and a printing press, as demonstrated by artist Luella Martin in this video.
Street Art
Street art is obviously done outdoors. A very good lesson plan about street art is available here. Some details of the lesson, including a good video that delves into the difference between street art and graffiti, are available for free; the rest is behind a paywall. However, teachers can sign up for a free trial month.
Another video can't help but inspire your students and yourself.
It will be clear to your students that the featured street artists have honed their skill with a great deal of practice and experience. They also find out that very good street artists are actually paid by city governments or BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) to do a mural or a piece of ephemeral art (temporary art, like a chalk drawing) for the purpose of making a neighborhood more attractive. That's one difference between street art and graffiti.
After learning about street art, there are a variety of art making activities that students can do outside.
1. Butcher Paper Portraits* – A favorite among students, these full-sized pieces are simple and fun. Have each child lie flat on their backs on a large sheet of butcher paper while you trace around them with a Sharpie®. Instruct your students to “fill themselves in” with paints, crayons, and markers, including any trademark characteristics like glasses and freckles. Provide extras like yarn, cotton, buttons, and ribbons as glue-on accessories.
2. Chalk Challenges* – Go old-school and break out the sidewalk chalk. I have found that this medium works better on cement than on asphalt. So if you have access to a large cement area, chalk off a square of space for each student’s “canvas” and provide a variety of colored chalk. Demonstrate how to use the chalk vertically for drawing and horizontally for shading and filling in large spaces. Demonstrate also the options of using dry chalk and wet chalk as well as a combination of the two for their creations.
1. Butcher Paper Portraits* – A favorite among students, these full-sized pieces are simple and fun. Have each child lie flat on their backs on a large sheet of butcher paper while you trace around them with a Sharpie®. Instruct your students to “fill themselves in” with paints, crayons, and markers, including any trademark characteristics like glasses and freckles. Provide extras like yarn, cotton, buttons, and ribbons as glue-on accessories.
2. Chalk Challenges* – Go old-school and break out the sidewalk chalk. I have found that this medium works better on cement than on asphalt. So if you have access to a large cement area, chalk off a square of space for each student’s “canvas” and provide a variety of colored chalk. Demonstrate how to use the chalk vertically for drawing and horizontally for shading and filling in large spaces. Demonstrate also the options of using dry chalk and wet chalk as well as a combination of the two for their creations.
3. Abstract Splatter Painting* – There are several variations of this project, but the title pretty much says it all. Great for older students, this project is perfect for a whole-class collaboration, small groups, or individual work. First, choose your “canvas”. Butcher paint works great for splatter painting – you can string it with clothespins between two poles or trees or place it on the ground and weight the corners for large-group work or provide each small group or student with a smaller sheet of their own. Then choose your application tool – brushes and flyswatters are just a few fun choices but you can get really creative with this project! Provide shallow trays of different colored liquid tempera paint and let your students try scrubbing the brushes across the flyswatters horizontally. I remember splattering one color across leaved that I had laid down. After removing the leaves, I placed new ones partway across the white leaf prints and splattered a second color over the first color (orange over yellow, let's say). I'd experiment like that with more layers, finding out what worked and what didn't look good.
4. Turning Lemons into Lemonade - You will definitely need the school's permission for this art making, even if you use tempera paint or another medium that will wash off eventually. Students can peruse the schoolyard, looking for quirky features on the school building or along a fence: a crack or a pipe. They can plan on a fun design to enhance the feature, as seen in the image below and above. Their design will need your permission before they commit it to the school property, but those designs will certainly add much delight for everyone!
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| Anthony Turducken |
*These lesson ideas came from https://blog.schoolspecialty.com/4-fun-outdoor-art-projects/
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