Art Projects
Here are directions for several art projects I use in my classroom. You can find more art ideas and other curriculum projects related to math, history, geography, and language arts on the Curriculum and Skill Projects page.
City Skylines -- Draw a skyline silhouette to remind you of New York City.
Monochrome Self-portraits --A more difficult project that produces excellent results. Students start with a digital picture, and use a modified "paint by number" technique to create a self-portrait, using three tints and three shades of a color.
Polka Dot Perspective -- A cool vanishing point perspective that gives practice measuring and using a ruler.
Sunflowers and Sunflowers II --Two variations of a sunflower project. One uses regular acrylic paint, and the second uses tempera paint mixed with white glue and cornmeal.
Tropical Island Sunset --In the style of Gauguin, students use torn tissue paper to create a tropical island scene.
Tropical Fish Watercolors --Students use a crayon resist technique with watercolor paints to create a tropical fish scene. A special "secret ingredient" creates a watery effect.
Warhol Self-portaits --Students modify a digital self-portrait to create an outline version. Then they use eight copies of the picture to create a collage in the style of Andy Warhol.
Line Art --A great rainy day project that provides lots of practice drawing a straight line using a ruler!
Mondrian Designs --Students create a fast project in the style of Piet Mondrian, using primary colors.
Holidays
Halloween Pumpkins --Oil pastels on black paper give ths project an interesting depth.
Spooky Silhouettes -- Orange paper, black markers, and a hole punch make a very simple but impressive project.
Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns --This is a quick and easy project that's a nice twist on the typical construction paper jack-o-lantern.
Thanksgiving Still Life --Students use oil pastels to shade construction paper fruits and vegetables.
Christmas Soldiers --Students create a toy soldier out of a Pringle's can.
Nutcracker Close Ups -- Just the face of a nutcracker, up close and personal!
Grinch Christmas Ornaments -- The Grinch gets stuck in the chimney!
January Snow Scene -- Painting using tints. 
Easter Rabbits --In this simple project, students create a three-dimensional rabbit made from strips of paper.
