Chinese Vases



Year 3 artworks

 Lesson Background:

We have been studying the icons and symbols of Asian countries as part of our Snapshots of Asia unit this term.  I have a beautiful Asian-style vase at home and thought it would make a nice activity for the students to create a Chinese vase artwork.  I found the gorgeous artwork below on Google images, and used it as a starting point for inspiring the students.

Lesson Steps:

1.  We looked at images of Chinese (and a couple of Japanese) vases and discussed the lines, shapes, colours and patterns. 
2.  We talked about the different images found on Chinese vases- the symbols and pictures that are valued by Chinese society (dragons, koi/carp, cherry blossoms, leaves, flowers, birds, etc).
3.  I then showed the students how to use symmetry and their fingers to help them measure and draw the shape of vase they wanted.  I then modelled how to fill the vase in with a pattern at the top rim, bottom rim and possibly in the middle.  I then suggested they draw in a symbol/s of China or Japan that they wished to represent as important to that culture.
4.  The students drew their vases.
5.  I then showed students how to draw a couple of different types of flowers and recommended they use an odd number of flowers, make sure their stems reached all the way down into the vase, and that they showed leaves and flowers at different stages of growth.
6.  The students drew their flowers.
7.  Students then coloured their vases in with coloured progresso pencils and outlined their drawings in black progresso or black texta.

Year 3 Student Artworks:



My sample artwork I used to model for the children

   

By Andrea G

 

By Nick U



By Tom N



By Olivia

By Ailec

By Jia

By Angus



By Dharan



By Kundai




By Dane



Some of the Year 3 artworks

 



Mehndi Art

By Denzelle (Year 3 student)

Lesson Background:
During our Year 3/4 unit of work "Snapshots of Asia" students have been learning about different aspects of Asian countries.  Many of the students in our classes were born in India or Pakistan and these students were keen to share their knowledge of traditional mehndi in our classroom.  This lead to the creation of these artworks.

Lesson Steps:
1.  Students shared their knowledge about mehndi and we also looked at pictures and information on the Internet.
2.  We talked about other cultures with similar traditions, such as Maouri tattooing, and the symobolism and significance involved in such traditions.
3.  We looked at different designs and described their features- the types of lines, shapes, symbols, pictures etc.  We also talked about the colour of the ink and how the designs were different to other design work we had done during the year.
4.  Students traced their hands in brown or black texta.  They then used photographs of traditional mehndi, to inspire them to create their own designs.
5.  The students cut their hand designs out and mounted them on black or coloured paper.

Sample Year 3 Artworks:


By Denzelle




By Janis




By Charles




By Nomvula



By Kaya



By Kaya



Some of our Year 3 artworks

Chinese Dragon Oil Pastel Drawings

By Kaya (Yr 3 student)

Lesson Background:
Our students are currently engaged in a unit of work entitled "Snapshots of Asia".  As part of the unit, our students are reading a class novel-  "Dragonkeeper" by Carole Wilkinson. I based this dragon artwork on one I saw on the art blog "The Art Fairy": http://msjuliesartschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/chinese-dragon-in-oil-pastel-on-18-x-24.html

The Lesson:
1.  I used a printed copy of the step-by-step drawing activity from The Art Fairy blog to show the students how to draw a dragon.  I demonstrated each step and how to add my own personal touches.  I also demonstrated how they could use different coloured oil pastels to show light, shade, patterns and interesting tones.
2.  The students went back to their desks and, using the step-by-step guide, they drew their own dragon and coloured them with oil pastel.  Most students attempted to include patterns and light/shade.
3.  The students then painted a red or yellow ink wash over their drawing and left it to dry.

Year 3 Sample Artworks:



By Charlotte




By Kundai



My sample that I modelled for the class



By Arpita




By Parth



By Tom



By Aimee




By Dharan




3B dragon artworks



Charcoal Hogwarts Castles

By Aimee (Year 3 student)

Lesson Background:

As part of the Year 3/4 Harry Potter unit, my students have been creating many different artworks using a wide range of materials.  As an extension activity and a chance to put all the knowledge and skills gained through art lessons to use, I decided to give them an independent, unguided task in which they had to draw what they thought the Hogwarts castle looked like.  I gave them a drawing I found on the Internet to use as a guide and they were encouraged to add and change elements of the drawing to make their own unique version.  The students who attempted the artwork were particularly encouraged to include detail in their artwork, use light and shadow and think about space and positioning in their artwork.

Year 3 Student Artworks:
Well done to these clever (and brave!) students of mine...


By Josh

 

By Arpita




By Olivia



Harry Potter Symmetrical Charcoal Drawings

By Denzelle, Year 3 student

Lesson Steps:
1)  I showed students a black and white photograph (sourced from Google Images) of each of the 3 main characters from the Harry Potter movies.
2)  We talked about symmetry and how faces are symmetrical.
3)  I folded the 3 photos in half and we observed how the symmetry worked.
4)  I demonstrated how to use charcoal to draw in half of a missing face, by copying the symmetrical features and using my fingers to help create accurate distances and widths in the facial features.
5)  During this demonstration I explained how to get thin lines by using the sharp edges of the charcoal and how to lightly colour areas and smudge them with fingers to achieve shades of grey.  We also talked about how including little features like eyelashes, eyebrows, eyelids, eye bags, smile lines, shadows etc, help to make the drawings look more realistic.
6)  I then gave each of the students half of a photocopied photograph of one of the Harry Potter characters and students went back to their desks to draw in the missing half of the photographs using charcoal sticks (I like to use the thick synthetic compressed charcoal sticks with this age group- they don't break as easily and are nice and dark).
7) When the drawings were completed, we sprayed them with cheap hairspray to fix the charcoal and stop too many smudges!

Year 3 Drawings:

By Charlotte

By Kaya



By Aimee



By Kaya



By Andrew



By Olivia



By Tim




By Tom



Night Owl Drawings

Year 3 student

Lesson Background:
My colleague Jo Burns came up with this great art idea to fit in with our Harry Potter unit of work. 

Lesson Steps:
1)  Students brought their A4 black cardboard to the floor with a white, silver, pale pink or yellow progresso pencil.
2)  Students watched the wonderful Youtube drawing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWJAM553u8E.  I paused the video after every step to give the students time to draw that part of the owl on their paper.  I encouraged the students to make their owls look as fat, skinny, small, big, cute, mean etc as they wanted.
3)  When the video was completed, students went back to their desks and coloured their owls in, using whatever mixture of colours and patterns they liked.
4)  Students were encouraged to outline their owls and tree branches in white progresso pencil, so they stood out on the black backgrounds.

Year 3 Artworks:


By Tom




By Andrew



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By ____, Year 3 student



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By ____. year 3 student



By ___, year 3 student




By ___, year 3 student




By Ethan