Stacie L. Smith Duenow K-12 Visual Arts Education Specialist

Artists Express

4/2/2020

For Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky, music and color went together. Kandinsky was an abstract painter, and cellist. He created a collection of abstract paintings that expressed how he "saw" music as color. Here is one of his paintings called "Lyrical" that he made in 1911.

Georgia O'Keefe was an American artist who was interested in Kandinsky's ideas about making music in visual art. Around 1920, Georgia O’Keeffe created paintings that she said explored “the idea that music could be translated into something for the eye.” In the painting "Blue and Green Music" below, do you think O’Keeffe’s colors and shapes look like Music?

YOU'RE THE ARTIST
Listen to MUSIC. Draw lines and shapes as you listen that match the sounds and rhythms that you hear. Add color to match how you SEE the music.

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Artists Create

3/30/2020

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Make a Collage!
A COLLAGE is a work of art that is made by arranging and sticking all kinds of paper and other materials onto a background surface.

Look around your house to see what kinds of interesting paper you can find to make your own collage. Don't forget to check for magazines, newspapers, junk mail, paper packages, cardboard, food boxes, the recycling bin, etc. (And make sure an adult approves of using the materials that you find before you start cutting and gluing!). Here is my COLLAGE.

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Artists Explore

3/26/2020

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Go on a TEXTURE Hunt!
TEXTURE is the look and feel of a surface. Texture can be bumpy, rough, smooth, slimy, fluffy, etc. Go on a texture hunt through your house or your yard. See how many different textures you can find.

Peel the paper off of some old crayons. Broken crayons work great for making texture! (You can find directions for Rainbow Crayons on the "Recipes" page to the left if you want to make your own crayons for this activity.) Put paper on top of the surface that you found. Lay the crayon on it's side. In class we always say "Lay your crayon down for a nap." Then rub the crayon onto the paper to see what texture will show up on your paper.
See how many textures you can find!

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FIELD TRIP to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

3/24/2020

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Visit The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Sunny California!
Click on the red link below and you will be able to choose from 10 different live cams within the Aquarium. Pick your favorite live cam and draw something interesting that you see swim by. The live cams on their website are so great. I had a hard time deciding which one to pick!

Hint: You can pause the live cam to get a good view of the sea life that you want draw
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams/

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Artists Observe

3/20/2020

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Nature Observations
Observation means to look carefully. With an adult's permission, go outside ( don't forget your coat and hat!). Look carefully at all the living things that you see. Remember, trees and plants are living things too! Take a deep breath and take in some fresh air. Be still and quiet for a few minutes and look carefully because wildlife can be scared away by loud noises or movement.

Use a pencil to draw the living thing you find most interesting. Look carefully at the lines, shapes, and colors that you see in the living things around you. Look at the background that you see surrounding the living thing you decided to draw. Add background details. Look for the lines, shapes, and colors in the background details. Add color if you have materials at home.