Dale Chihuly: Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades

As a part of our school wide artist study over Dale Chihuly, the third through fifth graders explored how heat can change an object. I try to incorporate as many general education connections into art as possible. To recreate a kid friendly, safe version of Chihuly's glass art, the students used permanent markers to design a clear plastic cup. After the students were done designing, we went to the Kindergarten kitchen to experiment. The cups were placed on parchment paper on top of cookie sheets and placed in the oven at 350 degrees. The students took turns watching the changes in the cups. Once they were cooled, the students were able to take their "glass" sculptures home.

Dale Chihuly: Kinder, First, and Second Grades

I did an artist study on Dale Chihuly with all of my students a few months ago. We looked at his various artworks, learned about the process to create glass, and then they made their own kid friendly version. Each student used washable markers to decorate a coffee filter in at least three colors. As they finished this step, they went to a station by the sink to spray their coffee filters with water. They were amazed at how the colors ran together. They then placed their coffee filters on top of a cup with a rubber band around it to hold it in place. After they dried, I sprayed them with spray starch to make the shapes hold. The students then glued them to a black cardstock base.

 

Primary Colors Project: 3-5

When we were studying Piet Mondrian a while back, third through fifth grade started a collaborative primary color collage project. They began with boxes wrapped in black paper. They then cut apart primary colored construction paper into strips and then in smaller squares. They glued the pieces all over the boxes one side at a time making sure that they overlapped so no black was showing. Now that they are complete, we display them on top of one of our classroom supply cabinets.