Awesome Octopuses

Yesterday was class 2 of the June Art Mega-Session. The Fathers Day project is completed, but the pictures to show off their projects will have to wait until after this Sunday. 

After we finished the Fathers Day stuff, we began Awesome Octopuses. 

What better way to conquer the summer then start with "cool colors". Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself!

Here are some examples from the original lesson plan. It is from Grade 3-5 students in Wisconsin. The beauty of a mixed-media project like this is it can be modified for younger and older students.  The students start with pencil and then waterproof black ink pens to draw their 8-legged creatures. Then, the background is embellished with watercolor paint of cool colors such as purples and blues.

And as detailed below (and the first picture on this entry) is 12 year old Brooke's completed Octopus. I permitted some green to be added to the cool color palette as green can go either way. A green with blues and purples gives it a cool effect, and green with yellow and orange sends it more warm on the color wheel. 

 And just like green can go either way, so can its opposite color:Red. If you use red with the blues and purples it gives off the cool appearance as opposed to using it with oranges and yellows.

The other kids are still working on their Octopuses, which is just fine. We have plenty of time to finish them. We're not on a time crunch like the Fathers Day project that we started with. 

Sharpies are great for these kind of projects because the watercolor doesn't react to the ink and causes it to bleed or anything.

As for the home front outside of the art classes, not much is going on because we were in the 112 degree range this week. It is hard to get out and do anything, let alone want to do anything. However, Mikelle is getting ready for Girls Camp in a few weeks (her first year!) and I of course try to throw in my aerobics or treadmill session at least 5 days a week for that therapy. 

Also, one of the hosts of the yearly Halloween party commissioned me to do some artwork for his parents. Therefore, I'm also working on that. As all artworks, I'll post it when it's completed and given to the customer.

X-Man with Mom's Glasses!

The other night, however, Mikelle and I captured Alexander in his genius and comical glory once again. 

And seriously...after all the knowledge about vertical videos, Mikelle committed that transgression with this one. Oh well. The cuteness still works.

Click HERE to view!