Art at Home for Week of April 13

This week's art theme is houses and homes.  I thought this would be a great theme because we' are all spending so much time at home these days!  Read below to get to the lesson for your grade level.  Don't forget, you can email me a photo of your work and I'll post it in our Art Gallery. :)

Patchwork House Collages

For Grades K and 1

A collage is a piece of art made by sticking different materials such as pieces of paper or fabric on a backing. 

Materials:

-Cardboard (back of a cereal box or similar is fine)
-Marker or pencil
-Scraps of fabric, patterned, paper, wrapping paper, cut up paper, magazine or newspaper scraps
-Buttons (or anything fun you can find to add to your collage)
-Glue (or tape if you don’t have glue)

                       

1. Have a grown up cut a house shape out of your cardboard.  Now you’re ready to start !

2. Use your marker or pencil to draw windows, a door and a roof on your house.  Draw anything else you think you need.


3. Now use all of your fabric and paper scraps to fill in the space of the house.  Glue everything in place.


4. Lastly, decide where you’ll place your buttons or other objects.  They could be decorations, doorknobs, or tiles on the roof. Glue these down as well.  

5. Leave your collage somewhere safe to dry.

6. When it’s dry, show your collage to someone in your family.  Tell them about what parts you added to your house and what supplies you used.  Tell them the hardest part about creating it, and the most fun part.

Sukhala Houses from 

West Africa

For Grades 2 and 3

There is a country in west Africa called Burkina Faso, and in that country there is a small village called Tiebele. Tiebele is famous for its sukhala or colorful windowless traditional houses.

In Tiebele, people use their natural resources to express their rich culture. They decorate their homes by painting intricate patterns and designs on the walls of their houses, using colored mud and chalk. 

Take a close look at the photographs of houses below.  What patterns do you see? What shapes do you see (stars? triangles? diamonds?)  What colors do you see? What types of lines do you see (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zig-zag, what else?)

Now you are going to create a drawing of a house in this style. 
Your house needs a door, but very few windows. Your house needs
at least 10 different patterns on it.  Look at the pictures for ideas!

Materials:

Paper or something to draw on

Pencil

Black marker, crayon or pen

Steps:
1.  Use your pencil to draw a rectangular shape to start your house, add a door, and maybe one or two small windows.

2.  Use your pencil to draw 10 or so lines that go from top to bottom of your house.

3.  Now you have spaces that you've created in between the lines.  Fill each space with an interesting pattern.  It's okay to repeat some patterns.  Think about types of lines (like wavy, zig zag and criss cross).  Think about different shapes to use (circles, diamonds, hearts, etc.). Take your time making your designs and patterns, don't rush!

4.  Use your black marker or crayon to trace your lines.

5.  Add any other details you like, plants, rocks, bushes, clouds, sun, people, animals.

Designer Tree Houses
For Grades 4 and 5

Have you ever constructed a tree house? View the following tree houses and think about these questions. How are the houses sitting in the trees? How do you enter the houses? What details do you notice?

Materials:  Paper, pencil, markers, crayons

1. Use a pencil to draw a large tree on a sheet of paper. Remember the “Y” tree we
made in art class? Start by drawing a block letter “Y” for the trunk. The top part of the
“Y” must be spread further apart to make room for the house.

To make a simpler tree, draw the trunk on one side of the paper, from the top edge to
the bottom. Add a large, flat branch just below the center of the tree, long enough to
fit the house. Add additional branches, and some leaves.

2. Draw your house, inside the “Y” branches or on top of the long, flat branch,
depending on which tree you made. It can be a square house with a triangle roof,
or a rounded house, or some other shape. Add details such as a chimney, a door
and windows.

3. Draw an entrance to your house. This could be a ladder, a rope, or steps attached
to the trunk. Think about other details you could include such as flower pots, a
tire swing, animals and people.

4. Finish with markers and crayons.

Tree with Y trunk

Tree on one side of paper