Art Methods Portfolio

 These collages were based off of Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. There were a few steps to the project: First, we glued strips of tissue paper onto dark-colored construction paper using Mod Podge. The tissue paper acted as the sky. It was meant to mimic some of the brushstrokes and expressive colors that Van Gogh used.  Next, after the Mod Podge dried, we used oil pastels to add lines, swirls, or other designs to the sky.  The third step was to create a landscape using black construction paper. We could use whichever kind of landscape we wanted, so I made a desert canyon. We cut the shapes of the landscape out of the black construction paper and glued them onto the tissue paper background.  The last step was to take oil pastels and add little designs and details on top of the landscape.  Extension Activity:   This project would be a great extension to an art history lesson. The students would learn about Van Gogh's life and work and create a series...

For this project, we first read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. It is a children's book that encourages students to express themselves and promotes the idea that everyone can be an artist. To go along with the book, we made dots using coffee filters or circles of some sort. We had to use at least three different media to create our dots. I used crayons, watercolor, oil pastels, and markers. I wanted to experiment with a couple different designs.  Extension Activity:   I would use this activity at the start of the school year. All of the students could make dots with their names in the center (like I did) and use them to label their locker/cubby/chair. From the beginning, students would hopefully be inspired to create art and believe in their own abilities. I would also get to know all of their names.