Monday, December 31, 2007

"Fancy Cats" Art Lesson in Chalk and Glue

A classic glue and chalk pastel lesson. Using a 12" x 18" sheet of white or black construction paper, instruct the kids (directed art) how to draw a cat. You can come up with your own version. I encourage the kids to follow the directions in this lessons as problems arise if the kids don't draw the cat big enough. The fun part is the glue. After the kids draw their cat, complete with clothes, crowns, jewelry, etc. it's time to bring out the golden glue! I mix metallic paint with regular white glue (50/50). I demonstrate how to hold the bottle and squeeze the glue out so that it doesn't glob, dribble or pool.
The kids trace all their pencil lines with the golden glue and that's it for the first half of this lesson.

For the second half, the kids get to color in their masterpieces with colored chalk pastel. Encourage the kids to use only one finger for smudging and avoid using their entire hand...not great look. To finish the piece, the kids can go over any area that has been smudged too much. That way their cats can be as sparkly and fancy as they intended!
The fancy cats seen here are from Mrs. Orr's 2nd Grade class from Foothill

4 comments:

Jane said...

I love your site and the art lessons are great. Thanks for sharing. I have noticed that you use alot of chalk pastels with your students, and was wondering which kind of pastels you like best or at least the kind you use on these projects.
Jane
K-5 Art
Fayetteville, AR

Patty Palmer said...

Hi Jane,
Glad you're finding the lessons helpful...that means a lot to me!
As for the chalk pastels, I tend to order the mid-priced pastels. I fluctuate with the brands and some are better than others (more creamy and less dusty) but I can't remember which ones. I'll get back to you with some names...stay tuned!

Cassie Lee said...

Hi there! This project is a great idea and my kids were excited to add "bling" to their cats. I was just wondering if you have a tip for keeping the chalk pastels from smearing so badly?

Patty Palmer said...

Hi Cassie,
Some pastels are better than others. Prsimacolor pastels don't create as much dust but they can be expensive. Typically (and this is from a tip here on DSS) I now put the artwork between a folded piece of newsprint or cheap paper. f you can't do that, try hairspray. It's cheap and the coverage will certainly prevent smearing. Only drawback is that it distorts the color a bit.
Hope this helps and thanks for the question!

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