Trends Modern Art

Carmen Lomas Garza is a Latina narrative artist who created images about the everyday events in the lives of Mexican Americans based on her memories and experiences in South Texas. Although she wouldn't be considered a "modern artist" because of the time period in which she was working, I thought it was important to share with the students that Garza validated styles classified as "folk art", and that her imagery was powerful, even in it's simplicity.

I was inspired by one of her pieces, Prickly Pear/ A little piece of my heart because of it's illustrative quality. For this project, I kept the materials to a minimum, so that the students could really explore the creative and technical skills they've acquired while working with paint and color pencils.

• Hand out 9 X 12 sheets of Bristol board or Canson watercolor paper. When you are using a wet medium and applying a dry one, you need a paper that can hold up. A floppy piece of construction paper/poster board/drawing paper will simply not do.
• I had several pictures of different varieties of cactus and I showed them to the students, so they would be inspired by all the shapes and colors. They picked their favorite and completed a light sketch.
• Remind students that whenever they are going to use watercolor, any/all of their pencil lines will show through. So they should practice with a light hand.
• After students completed their sketch, they painted their cacti using watercolor paint.
• Once that was dry, they painted a watercolor wash over the background, using several different colors, to give it a rich look.
  
• I handed out prismacolor pencils to the students so that they could enhance the shape of their cactus. Forget using cheap student grade color pencils. All they will do is break down your paper and possible create holes. You will never get any sort of vibrant color from them so toss them out and invest in a good quality student grade and/or artist grade set from Dick Blick. Personally, I am a loyal fan of Prismacolor pencils, but I understand that they are a little too pricey for the classroom. I've had a set for the past fifteen years that are still in great condition.
• Last step is to give the watercolor a tactile edge by cutting out pieces of scrapbooking paper to create the spines/thorns of the cactus. Encourage students to be very sparing of the glue, or else they will make a mess! I prefer stick glue to liquid.

The artwork above was created by a fifth grader.

I think this has to be one of my favorite projects we did this semester. I couldn't resist showing a couple more of what I think were the best projects in class. Both of these were created by 14 year-old homeschooled students.

The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November first and second. I really hate when I hear people call it a "Mexican Halloween". That couldn't be farther from the truth. It is a tradition that can be traced as far back as the Aztecs. To put it simply, it is a time to remember your loved ones that have gone on before you. Some people honor their deceased with altars and ofrendas, or offerings. This is where people get really creative. They decorate it with cempasúchitl, or marigolds...favorite things like toys (for little children) or their favorite drinks, food, pictures, artwork, music. Even pillows and blankets are laid out for their loved ones to be comfortable on their long journey.

Jose Guadalupe Posada was a well-known Mexican engraver and illustrator. His work has long been associated with Dia de los Muertos and it is what inspired me to begin this project. It's something I did at home with my children since the co-op we belong too doesn't observe any non-Christian holidays. And that is fine with me. We had alot of fun doing this at home.

• You will need a 9 X 12 sheet of black paper. Construction paper or poster board will do. I preferred the construction paper because it had a little bit of texture to it.
• Allow kids to sketch lightly with a pencil. I worked on my own sugar skull alongside them so they were able to get an idea of how to draw it.
• Pass out oil pastels and encourage kids to create unique shapes and designs in the background.
• When they are finished coloring it in, instruct kids to outline in black oil pastel. This makes the colors pop.
• Color pencils could be used on top of the oil pastels to create even more depth of line and shapes.
  

The artwork above was created by a fifth grader.

Gustav Klimt is one of my favorite artists of all time. I love his decorative, Art Nouveau style. His lush pattern and use of gold leaf made his artwork seem ornamental in nature. But Klimt was a master and what he created took a huge amount of artistic skill.

Drawing inspiration from Klimt's "Golden Phase", which is marked by his use of gold leaf, we attempted our own Adele Bloch-Bauer using an array of mixed mediums. I will admit I got really carried away while I worked on the sample (on the left). It was so much fun using the gold and creating patterns.

This project takes some preparation. I had to scour fashion magazines (finally, a use for all those InStyle mags I have laying around) and cut out images of women's bodies. Then so the children wouldn't giggle uncontrollably (some of the images were very provocative) and spend the entire hour cutting out the shapes, I did a basic cut and ended up with a pile of bodies cut from the waist up. Then I had my helpers give everyone a magazine cut-out as they sat down in their seat. This way there wasn't the chaos of everyone clawing at the one they wanted. I did, however, let them trade with others at their table.

• Hand out 9 X12 Bristol board, illustration board or poster board.
• Pass out scissors so the students can trim the arms from their magazine cut-out. They should have three pieces, two arms and one head. Then they can glue their collage down on paper.
• Once it's been glued, let students do a quick sketch for the placement of their gown and a few pattern shapes.
• Students should be given a variety of mediums such as, oil pastels, prismacolor pencils, and gold tissue paper. All areas of the paper should be filled in.
• Encourage students to create pattern and organic shapes with the color pencils on top of the oil pastels. You can create some really cool designs that way.
• The gold prismacolor pencils were in high demand, so make sure you buy enough to go around.
• The effect of the magazine cut-out and the bright colors and patterns came out really cool!