SOMETHING HARD FROM SOMETHING SOFT/ HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS

A few weeks ago, I asked the kids in my art class to make something soft into something hard. I gave them pictures of snowflakes, clouds, feathers, and flowers along with some rocks for reference. We discussed what makes something hard vs. soft. We talked about line- soft vs. hard and light vs. dark. I think it was harder than the kids thought it would be. I decided to draw along side them. This is what I came up with:

I also asked the kids to give something not human, human characteristics. We discussed the Disney movies, such as Cars, Airplanes, and Beauty and the Beast. I gave them pictures of trees and rocks but they could also pull from any of my other picture references. Again, I chose to draw along side them. Here's mine:

A few days later, I decided to add another character to the drawing. I used pen and ink on the girl. The tree is done with a nib. I'm sure you can see the difference.

I sure enjoy my little art class for kids. I like drawing right along side them. It helps me to remember all of the things I have been taught. I'm looking through books that I haven't looked through for some time now. It's great for me to review and to research the things I have learned over the years.

TRUNK OR TREAT

My church held a carnival and a trunk or treat for all the little kids who live in the neighborhoods that surround it. I was asked to come up with a game for the carnival part of the evening. I decided to do a revision of the famous game, "Pin The Tale On The Donkey". I didn't come up with a catchy name for it but, basically, the participant is to put the candy in the monster's bag.

I started with designing my monster. I drew it quite small (on a piece of 8.5"x11" paper). Once I was satisfied with it, I brought a digital file to Kinko's and had them blow it up to a little over 5 feet tall. It took me a day to paint it. I used basic tempura paints. When I was finished, I cut it out and brought it to a local copy shop to get laminated. I think it turned out pretty well. The kids had a great time! I gave each child a piece of candy (from suckers to bubble gum) with double sided tape applied to one side of each piece. The older kids were blindfolded and spun around. The littler ones just had fun putting the candy inside the bag. I thought it was a great success! I still need to come up with a catchy name. "Put The Candy In The Monster's Bag", just doesn't do it for me.