Classroom Auction Project: Reverse Glass Painting

Reverse glass painting refers to glass art which is painted on one side and displayed to be viewed through the opposite side. Lampshades are one example of an object that lends itself to this technique. I have used this approach to create class murals displayed by hanging in windows.
These are the steps I took from start to finish- Any theme or design would work.

Theme: Native animals in Canadian and Pacific NW habitat.
I used plastic animals as models and let students sketch moose, elk, bear, dear, etc., on individual sheets of paper.
Students then referred to reference books to draw images of mountains, lakes etc., native to this area.
As a group, the students trimmed and arranged their individual drawings on an huge sheet of butcher paper. More background detail was sketched on the butcher paper in order to unify the mural.
I picked up a sheet of Plexiglas at a local hardware store and drilled two holes in the upper corners to thread chains through for installation. I covered those holes with tape so that they wouldn't become filled with paint.
The Plexiglas was placed over the butcher paper sketch.
First, the contour shapes were outlined in permanent marker. Then using acrylic paint, the participants painted in their images. (Bears, wolves etc., )
It was difficult for them to understand the concept that the first area painted is what is seen and that the last marks made (which are visible on the painted side) Could be hidden on the reverse side. So, if an animal is painted and then eyes are painted on top of a layer of fur, the eyes won't show on the reverse side.
If areas such as eyes and facial features are lost, they can be reclaimed by scratching out the area after the paint is dry and then repainting it. Trying to wipe it out while wet may lead to a smeary mess.
After the animals were finished, the background was painted. When the entire painting was complete, a coat of light paint was applied to the back of the entire painted surface. This enhanced the image and avoided the 'washed out' look.
Chains were strung through the back and the mural was hung in the art room window.
If you do an Internet search "reverse glass painting" you will find folk art, museum pieces, furniture and many possible ways to use this technique on different objects to make a classroom art item for an auction.

These are the basic instructions for reverse glass painting:
I used the same side for both the permanent marker lines and paint, so that the viewing side of the mural could be periodically cleaned. However, the caution in the following instructions about wearing down the marker lines with paint holds true.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2248883_make-reverse-glass-painting.html

Youth Arts Projects: Mural Painting and Mosaic

This link will take you to examples of youth collaborative arts projects encompassing a wide range of age and skill levels.

http://www.mchughart.net/examples_of_youth_arts_projects_painting_and_mosaic

Classroom Art Projects for Auction: Tin Punch Screen

One of the challenges that comes with creating classroom auction projects is to find blocks of time in which students can create the art without disrupting the teacher and monthly classroom schedule. An approach that reduces overall impact on the teacher is to design a project comprised of individual units. A "project kit" may be left in the classroom for students to use during their personal downtime or study periods. The project team could schedule a session to present the project to the entire class and then follow up periodically to track how the individual pieces are progressing. One possible item that could be divided into smaller units, is a room divider or screen. For example, students could make small glass mosaics on squares of fiberglass netting to be assembled and installed by parent volunteers outside class time. (Search "indirect mosaic techniques, mosaic netting" etc., for directions). If wet applications (such as mosaics) are applied to wood, make sure that the wood itself can tolerate it. Use marine plywood for the screen panels (IE., for the mosaic base) or waterproof and seal a store bought prefabricated screen so that it doesn't warp and separate. Another simple stylish idea is to use paintable tin punch ceiling tiles, installing them on both sides of a screen. Palettes and themes can be preselected to ensure that all the tiles function as one piece when assembled together in a screen. If a stack of ceiling tiles is left in the classroom, students could either work alone, or in groups to paint them during periods of free time. Giving both the teacher and students open ended work time will more likely produce careful unhurried paintings. This is a link to directions
for building a wood screen, and using tin punch ceiling panels as the decorative element.
http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/Tin_Punch_Screen_1106.aspx

Garden Art and "Green Graffiti"

I live in an area of the country which both has a dank wet climate suitable for growing moss, and an area that encourages learning about the environment through "eco-arts projects". Moss is an excellent medium to include in the design of garden art objects.

In the past, I have made concrete planters using a mixture of peat moss, perlite and cement.

The easiest way to do this eco-friendly art with children is to use discarded containers. I have used everything from old boxes, baking pans, and once, even two old washing machine tubs. If the items don't have drainage, drill or pound holes into the bottom of them. In order to give the goopy mixture texture to adhere to, roughly butter the surfaces with tile mastic, and allow to dry overnight.

Then, blend together equal parts each of peat moss, perlite and cement, adding enough water to make a thick goopy soupy mixture. It is possible that you may need to add a little more cement to the mixture in order to make it stronger. (If you are unsure about how these materials "feel", it would be good to make a practice container alone instead of doing your first one with the help of excited children. ) Wearing protective gloves, pat the mixture directly into the dried mastic, creating the desired form. When the mixture dries (but isn't yet cured) paint or spray the surface with buttermilk and attach clean moss. Corn syrup may be used to make the moss "stickier". Use a spray bottle full of water to "mist" the moss until it gets a good start. If the container is situated in a garden area suitable for moss growth, the children will be able to watch the moss grow spread, covering the entire outer surface of the container while the inside is growing any combination of shade loving plants. In urban gardens, large moss containers could be used to grow grass which could be trimmed so that young children could sit on "lawn chairs" in their garden. ( Included are two links for ways to expand upon this basic art garden idea. One is for a more challenging way to make art garden containers, and another is for making "green paint" out of moss! Although the instructions which follow are for "moss graffiti", I plan to use the green paint as a medium to paint a geometric design on a garden wall.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/639943/diy_how_to_make_concrete_planters_lightweight.html?cat=6

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Moss-Graffiti

Classroom Auction Projects - Begin with a simple survey

Prior experience as a chair for classroom auction projects at various schools has taught me that the easiest way to get started is to send out a simple survey to the teachers, using the survey input to create a timeline for each class to bring the projects from idea to procurement.
This is a sample of a survey I used at a k-8 grade school.

RE: Classroom Auction Projects/Art Projects

Dear Teachers:
This initial survey is the first step to getting the Classroom Auction Projects off the ground. Please return this survey to the office by __________. Thank you very much for your participation.
My classroom auction project is already in process and it is:

I would like my project to be:


Parents to contact as possible project volunteers are:


These are some prospective exciting projects for which we have artist/parent volunteers. Is your class interested in doing one of them?
(List any art projects talented adults have already volunteered to facilitate- IE., mosaic objects, painted furniture, class quilts,) etc.,

Do you have any ideas that would make a good classroom auction/art project, even if they are not suitable for your class?

If you have any questions, please call me at:___________

Thank you,

Parent Auction Chair

Making Holiday Gifts With A Diverse Group Of Students

Sometimes the most simple solution to a challenge is a good one. I have been in diversely populated school settings in which teachers approached gift making by avoiding it. One example is a teacher I know who abandoned the idea of making father's day gifts because she didn't want to cause any pain to children with absent fathers. Winter is a festive time of year with calendars filled with religious, cultural and ethnic celebrations and holidays. The city in which I live places a high value on social inclusion, which has contributed to my creating art projects and activities for diverse groups of children. I have found that children have a need to make presents for important people in their lives. When a class works on gift making projects together, the children feel as if they are personally engaged in the holiday season. In order to create an open spirit of warmth in a classroom, I have started projects by asking each child to identify, in his or her mind, the recipient of the gift. I have found that in extreme situations, classmates like to brainstorm with members who are unsure for whom to give a gift. The benefit has been that the children who had trouble identifying for whom to make a gift felt bonded to the classmates who had families, and not psychologically separated from them during the act of making presents. I remember one class in which a boy who was in foster care did not want to make a present for anyone. This led to a brainstorming session in which the boy remembered that he really liked his school coach and he thought he could make a present for his coach to give to his wife: he started the gift making activity with the other children on a happy note.
So, what to make? One universal symbol and value is love. A simple heart can be stylishly produced using many artistic methods and materials. This is an inexpensive, easy way to make an heart which has a nice fragrance and looks like a sophisticated piece of thick handmade paper.
Potpourri Flour Dough Heart Threaded with Raffia Ribbon:
Proportions of 1 cup flour, 1 cup potpourri (use botanical potpourri because the pieces of wood chips in other mixtures are hard to manipulate) to 1/2 cup salt & 1/2 cups water in amounts large enough for the group. Add blue food coloring and fragrant oil to the mixture. Refrigerate.
Give each child a ball of chilled dough. Either trace heart patterns on dough, cutting out the shapes with plastic knives, or use heart shaped cookie cutters. Create a thick slab of dough. Pierce holes in which to thread the ribbon in the wet dough. These heart wall hangings should not be too thin for danger of cracking or breaking when threaded. Put an initial on the back of the heart, let dry. String thoroughly dried hearts with Raffia ribbon and wrap in hand made gift wrap.

Art Museum Field Trip To Study Art Fundamentals

If at all feasible, a trip to a museum provides a great benefit to young students. Much of art appreciation happens by physically being in the presence of the art object. The meanings the viewer experiences through his or her relationship to the the scale of the work are not communicated in reproductions, not to mention accuracy of color and detail is lost in photographs. Many times classes make trips to museums to see specific exhibits, as the content of the exhibits and the related museum provided activities/lectures support the already topical classroom curriculum. Another reason to bring a class to a museum is to give the students an opportunity for an exercise to identify the formal elements and principles of art used in the works. Any permanent museum collection would work for this exercise.
Exercise:
Ask the students to select at least three works in the museum collection and spend a minimum of 5 minutes studying each work for a total of 15 minutes of observation.
Ask them to guess how much time it took the artist to create the work. Tell them that some works take months or years to make and can't be appreciated in the time it takes to watch a TV commercial. It takes a "slower" type of observation to begin to "see" what an artist is "saying" in his or her art.
Ask them to record: the name of the artist, title of the work, medium and year created.
Answer the questions: What is the artist communicating/expressing in this work?
How does the artist use the elements of art (line, shape, form, color, texture space) and the principles of artistic design( balance, unity, contrast, emphasis, pattern, movement and rhythm)
as the vocabulary of visual language to express and communicate -(what the student identified)- in the work?
Ask them to share their observations with each other as the beginning point for a discussion about the art they observed that day.