Key Connections
Visual Arts
- Art materials are tools that help artists communicate ideas and emotions.
- Different materials and techniques cause different responses in the viewer.
Writing
- Writing traits are tools that help writers communicate ideas and emotions.
- Different writing traits cause different responses in the reader.
Instructional Objectives
Visual Arts
- Students will identify ways artists use a variety of media and tools to communicate ideas and emotions.
- Students will understand that different art materials convey different ideas and emotions.
- Students will experiment with various media and tools to communicate ideas and emotions.
- Students will describe the effects they create with various media and tools.
Instructional Plan
Observe
Tell students they will create an art exploration sheet by exploring the elements of art (color, line, shape, form, space, value, and texture) using different drawing tools and art techniques. Then they will continue to experiment with techniques such as drawing, watercolor, rubbings, and crayon resist to create patterns and textures on new sheets of paper.
A Closer Look
Show students an example of an art exploration sheet, which is a large sheet of paper filled with various drawing marks and media combinations, labeled with the tools and media. Introduce students to different drawing tools, such as pencils, crayons, colored pencils, charcoal, and oil pastels, and demonstrate some of the ways they might be used. Next demonstrate one or more of the art techniques, such as crayon resist and rubbings.
Create: Art Exploration Sheets
Supplies
- Student journals
- Pencils, crayons, colored pencils, charcoal, and oil pastels
- Large drawing paper (16-by-20 inches or 11-by-17 inches), one large sheet and several smaller sheets of paper per student
- Watercolor paints
- Different sizes and styles of paint brushes (bristle, foam, sponge, etc.)
- Plastic wrap and salt for making textures with watercolors
Activity
Explore Drawing Tools
Provide each student a large sheet of paper or several sheets of smaller paper if large is not available. Give students these guidelines to follow while exploring materials:
- Label each mark with the name of the tool they used to make it. Add any other details that will help them remember how to make it again, such as “heavy line with crayon.”
- With drawing tools like crayons, pencils, charcoal, etc., try drawing by moving just their wrists. What kinds of lines do they get? Then try again, this time moving just their elbows, then shoulders. How are the lines different? Try this with other drawing tools.
- Try making a hard line by holding the crayon or pencil firmly. Then press lightly for a soft line. Draw a shape and fill with a gradation going from hard to light. Notice that the flat shape begins to look more like a three-dimensional form.
- Make as many different kinds of lines (straight, curvy, zigzag, hard, light, twirly, etc.) as they can.
- Experiment with unique kinds of lines or combination of materials.
- Experiment with the various media on different kinds of paper: poster board, construction paper, watercolor paper, tracing paper, kraft paper, etc. Which media work best on which papers? Do colors look brighter on some paper than on others?
Explore Art Techniques
Have students experiment with each technique and then try them in various combinations, such as rubbings with crayon resist.
- Watercolor and plastic wrap: Use a big brush to fill a sheet of paper with different colored washes of watercolor paint. Make sure the paint on the paper is very wet. Cut a sheet of plastic wrap that is a bit larger than the paper and place on top of the paper. Bunch it up to create lines and textures on the paper. Let the paper dry completely before removing the plastic wrap. It might take a few days for the paper to dry. If it is wrinkled, place dry paper between books for a few days to flatten it.
- Watercolor and salt: use a big brush to fill a sheet of paper with different colored washes of watercolor paint. Sprinkle salt on the wet watercolor and watch as textures form. Let the paper dry. Flatten it between books if it is wrinkled.
- Crayon resist: Make a quick drawing or series of patterns and textures with crayons. Paint over the crayon with watercolor paint and see how the wax of the crayon resists the watercolor paint. Experiment with different colors of crayons and watercolor. Try drawing with a white crayon on white paper and add watercolor on top.
- Rubbings: Try making rubbings from different surfaces around the room. Experiment with different drawing tools (crayon, pencil, colored pencil, and charcoal) to see what kind of effect each creates.
Reflect
Arrange students’ work on tables or desks and give them a few minutes to look at each other’s work. As a group, discuss the different technique experiments. What do some of the examples bring to mind? Do any evoke different kinds of weather, natural scenes or landscapes, emotions, or events such as fireworks or celebrations? What else do the students see or notice in their work? Can they imagine how they might use these processes in other artworks they might create? How might they use them in the artists’ books they will create in future lessons?
Have students respond to one of the following prompts in their journals:
- The best thing about this activity was….
- It was hard for me when I had to….
- Next, I would like to experiment with….
Go Deeper
Check out related writing objectives, lesson extensions, and more in the comprehensive PDF lesson plan.
Vocabulary
Drawing
Drawing is a series of intentional marks that describes how a thing looks or feels. Drawing can also describe an idea or feeling.
Watercolor
Watercolor is a paint medium, usually more transparent than other paints like tempera or acrylic.
Crayon resist
Crayon Resist is an illustration technique in which watercolor is painted over a crayon drawing. The wax in the crayon resists the watercolor, so the watercolor only fills the spaces between the crayon.
Rubbing
Rubbing is a process that transfers textures and patterns from the surface of an object to paper.
Elements of art
Elements of art are color, line, shape, form, space, value, and texture. Artists use these tools to create all visual art: representational, abstract, and non-representational. (Review the vocabulary list for definitions of individual elements of art.)