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