Friday, September 30, 2011

100th post: Charley Harper bird collage


Charley Harper
 American artist Charley Harper is one of my favorites in terms of style.  His slightly abstract nature scenes are very simple and geometric, making it easy to find emphasis in the picture, or showing what's important. Our 3rd grade collages were inspired by his geometric, sparse style.  We also looked at the realistic bird paintings of John James Audubon and compared the two styles.  We incorporated visual texture by using newspaper to represent the black and white texture of birch tree bark, and scrapbook paper to represent the textures of feathers and nests.

*update* My student Alondra brought her writing journal to class to show me how she had written about her enjoyment of this lesson.  Wonderful!





















6 comments:

  1. ohh I bet bringing out the book Picture Pie would go well with this lesson:)

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  2. These are great! About 30 years ago, when I had braces, my orthodontist's office was covered with signed Charley Harper prints. So simple and graphic. I was mesmerized. Wonder what they're worth now? (My hubby went to the same orthodontist and I asked him if he remembered the bird prints. "No." he answered, "I just remember the pain."

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  3. These collage compositions are amazing.
    Your students did an excellent job interpreting the work of the artist.

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  4. Lovely! And congrats on your 100th post - it goes by so quickly, doesn't it?

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  5. Congratulations!very good artwork!! Kisses from Greece.

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  6. Wow - what beautiful art! I have wanted to do some kind of lesson with Charlie Harper's art as the jumping-off point.

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