Paper sculpture buildings

Kindergarteners have spent a couple of sessions lately looking at examples of architecture and drawing buildings using combined shapes. Next, we turned these flat designs into 3-D designs with paper folding techniques - some were demonstrated by me, and others they figured out by trial, error, and success! They love this lesson, every time. Our art show company, Artome, donates mat board inserts to the art room and they make perfect bases.

Pop-Up Architecture in Kindergarten

 

Kindergarteners drew a variety of different types of buildings and learned about the job of the architect. We also created folded paper backgrounds with a pop-up tab, so the building stands on its own when the paper is opened - pop!

We also experimented with folding, curling, and bending paper strips to create paper sculptures. Making 3-D art is a favorite with these young artists.

Architecture Pop-ups

Making three-dimensional art is an area of focus for kindergarteners during our third 9-week unit. This year we drew building designs after looking at books of examples, and then like a pop-up book, some of our buildings appear to be in front of others in the background. We discussed the role of the architect in the community, as well as how builders would work differently if there were no blueprint - what a mess! We talked about the most important parts of buildings - roof, door, window - and that shapes could be combined to make these. This lesson took two 45 minute sessions, and I helped each child glue their gray paper individually to keep the glue in the right places:)

This pop-up idea was adapted from the wonderful lesson at arte a scuola :http://arteascuola-miriampaternoster.blogspot.com/2013/04/pop-up-with-7-wonders-of-ancient-world.html?m=1

 In this picture, you can see how the folded paper pops out the opposite way, providing support for the buildings:

 These friends had very similar taste in architecture:

Cityscape printmaking, 4th grade

   Boy oh boy, did I love this project!   I have always had a fondness for cityscapes, and printmaking is one of my favorite mediums, so when I came across the drawings of James Gulliver Hancock from his "All the Buildings in New York" project - I couldn't wait to get this plan written and underway. Check it out here - http://allthebuildingsinnewyork.com/new/ - "an attempt to draw all the buildings in New York by James Gulliver Hancock, an illustrator originally from Australia currently based in Brooklyn, New York."

My fourth graders began by looking at examples from the series, and sketching their favorite parts of the architecture in their sketchbooks, combining them in their own way to create a building design. Next we transferreed the designs onto foam printing plates, keeping in mind that things will print in reverse. Did you know there is a printmaking meme out there called "Printmaking Panda?" Here's a cute example - a fellow art teacher photoshopped this one to clean up the language a little: 

Some early sketches:

 

 

Next, we each made 4 prints on a variety of colored papers using the students' choice of black or white ink. This is my teacher sample, and some of my JGH handouts.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the prints were complete, we selected our best one and traded the rest with classmates so we could each have a variety of buildings in our cityscapes. We placed emphasis on our own buildings by placing them near the center. We also texturized our backgrounds with crayons and rubbing plates to give that gritty urban feel.

I am so pleased with these and I hope you guys like them as well. Thanks to artist James Gulliver Hancock for the inspiration!

***Update: I sent James Gulliver Hancock some pics from our work and he wrote us a fan letter:

From:James Gulliver Hancock

Dec 24, 2013

To:Hope Knight

 WOW! Hope, really really beautiful work! I love printmaking and children have such a free and confident way of making marks these are fantastic works. So glad I inspired such a wonderful workshop. 

If you can spare one of the prints I’d love to receive one :-)

happy holidays!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relief, Rubbings, Resist! 2013

This second grade lesson was so much fun last year that we are doing it again. I would like to thank Room 9: Art! for the great lesson idea. We constructed relief architecture facades using scrap matboard and cardboard, then used them as printing plates for crayon relief rubbings, with a final wash of watercolor resist over the top. The two pieces have different looks - the relief is graphic and sharp, while the resist is atmospheric and soft. The kids really enjoyed it!