Art and Music Day!

Enjoy an Art and Music day! Provide some various center activities with classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart) in the background. Here are some examples of centers: (I'd suggest using about 4-6 centers)

**Basket of Art images (2 of each...Monet, Van Gogh, Rodin, Renoir, Degas...etc) for a matching memory game.
**Box of Kids Art Books
**Watercolor painting table with paints, brushes and watercolor paper
**Box of kids musical instruments on a small rug...drums, maracas, mini harp, triangle
**Matching game with musical note flashcards
**Crossword Puzzle with Art words
**Chalkboard/Whiteboard area for creative drawing
**Floor paper/Washable markers
**Crafty activity/glue and cutting
**Color mixing activity with water and food coloring. Give directions on how to make green with yellow and blue, etc. (might be a good activity for the porch)

Explore Art: Lesson #5

"Mona Lisa"

by Leonardo Da Vinci

Do you know where Leonardo Da Vinci was from?

Do you think the lady in the painting is happy?

Do you think this painting is old or new?

Explore Art: Lesson #4

"Branching Out"

by Stacey Zimmerman

What would you name this painting?

Does this painting make you feel sad or happy?

Do you think the trees have just lost their leaves for winter?

Is this at sunset or sunrise?

Do you think it is cool or warm outside?

Explore Art: Lesson #3

"Warmth"

by Stacey Zimmerman

How many trees do you see?

How many colors are in this painting?

What season do you think this is? Why?

How does this painting make you feel?

Explore Art: Lesson #2

"Roots of Life"

By Stacey Zimmerman

What do you see in this painting?

What season do you think this is?

How many trees are there?

Do you think the trees are dancing? Branches blowing in the wind?

Does this painting make you feel happy?

Explore Art: Lesson #1!

"Floral Delight"

by Stacey Zimmerman

What shapes do you see in this painting?

What do the shapes make in the painting? Flowers?

What season do you think the painting shows?

How many colors can you count?

What does abstract mean?

Auguste Rodin Sculpting Art Lesson for Kids

"I invent nothing, I rediscover."

-Auguste Rodin

Materials: Clay, sculpting tools

By using slabs of clay (modeling) about 1 1/2 inches thick, have the child trace his hand with a tool. Pull away the excess clay cutting out the flat hand. Using their own hands they can mold the fingers into more round finger-like structures...adding small pieces of clay to the knuckle areas and molding together. Smooth out to look more realistic. Each child can be as realistic as they'd like to be!

http://www.ehow.com/video_4458208_designing-layout-clay-hand-sculpture.html

http://www.ehow.com/video_4458211_sculpting-basic-shape-clay-hand.html

Matisse

Matisse Art Lesson

“My curves are not crazy.” –Henri Matisse

Try cutting out curvy shapes of bright colored construction paper or cardstock! Then glue them on white paper. Stack them and layer them to get your uniquie one of kind artwork.  Henri Matisse used paper cutouts for his famous artwork.

Before Matisse started to cut, he observed his subject for a long, long time, studying it very closely. He made many drawings, sometimes working on them for an entire week before ever picking up a pair of scissors. He would concentrate and close his eyes to come up with the perfect shape. Then he'd pick up his pencil and race across the paper at top speed putting the final shape onto colored paper.

In order to get exactly the color he wanted, Matisse made his own colored paper by painting white sheets of paper with paints he mixed himself. Once he had the perfect color, he began to think more like a sculptor than a painter. He'd cut away at his material rather than add it to his creation. His "unnecessary details" fell to the ground with the snips of paper as he created simple forms that were filled with energy.


Biography:

Henri Matisse was born in France in 1864. His father sold seeds and grain and his mother was a dressmaker. At the age of 20 Henri was studying to be a lawyer when he became very ill. He had to have surgery and was bedridden. Henri was very bored just lying around so his mother gave him a box of paints and brushes so he would have something to do. When he recovered he did not want to go back to law school, instead he went straight to art school!

In 1904, Matisse spent the summer in southern France with a few other painters. The colors in the paintings he made were so vibrant that art critics thought Henri and his friends painted like "Fauves" (a French work for wild beasts/men). Critics thought the "Fauvists" would never be successful artists, but they were wrong. Henri Matisse worked on his art for over 60 years and became one of the greatest artists of all time! Throughout his lifetime, he suffered from poor health, but that never stopped him from creating art! Many pictures were painted from his sick bed so they show the inside of his room and a view of the outdoors through an open window, the rooms had patterned wallpaper, curtains, tablecloths and many everyday objects, there was so much to look at in Matisse's pictures! He used rich colors and shapes and loved to paint people too. Henri was also known for trying a new style by painting paper and then cutting it out and pasting it into the painting.

Matisse was married and had three children. He loved to travel and explore other countries and often was influenced by those cultures and their folk art. He died in 1954 he was 85!