Starry Night Lesson Plan

 (The bottom of this project was cut off a little bit, because all of it wouldn't fit onto my scanner,)


About four years ago I made a post on this blog about a Starry Night Lesson plan that my student teacher at the time, Heather, and I designed for the students at the elementary school that I taught at.  I've had quite a bit of interest in the project recently, so I thought I was include the actual lesson plan I used to help out anyone interested. 


Starry Night Lesson Plan (Grades 2-3)

Materials:
White drawing paper, or white water color paper - 9 x12 or whatever size you are comfortable with
Black, Purple and Blue Construction Paper (Could be other colors if you choose) - Cut in wide strips to layer
Tempera paint (blue/white, orange/yellow) or acrylic paint if you are brave  ;-)
Drawing Chalk in a variety of colors
Plain chalk
Glue
Scissors
Pencils
Erasers

Directions:
Day 1 -
Show students examples of Van Gogh's paintings, and discuss his painting style and technique. 

Start on the white paper with pencils to lightly draw small circles in the top half of the paper where the stars will be in the sky and a moon if the students want.  Once their stars and moon are drawn where they choose, show them how to use light dashes circling around the stars and radiating out.  Students will use these guide lines to create brush strokes mimicking Van Gogh's painting style to make their Starry Night sky.  This should take about one 45 min. class period.

Day 2-
Have construction paper pre-cut to the width of the white paper out for students to choose colors for their project.  Two different colors for the forground and middle ground and onedark color for the cypress tree in the front of the composition.

Students can use plain chalk to draw on the construction paper to get the shape of their cypress tree, and the shape of the hills, etc.  Students then glue construction paper pieces down to the white paper.

Students use chalk to add texture to the tree, landscape and even a village. 


I've taught this lesson a lot and they turn out awesome everytime!  Good luck everyone. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Misty

Faeries in Austin

This past weekend I did a little volunteer work at Zilker Botanical Gardens to help with their Faery Garden Plants event.  While there and dressed as a faerie, I enjoyed sharing my own knowledge about faery lore and plants, but also enjoyed meeting people of all ages and soaking up their enthusiasm for the event.  The public seemed to love it.  I heard quite of few adults say they were worried about wanting to come to all the events even though they didn't have children.  I reassured them, that there was no reason for them to not enjoy the event for themselves and that they were not alone.  There was a scavenger hunt and flower seed planting activity too.  I admit, even at my age, that the little faery homes placed around the grounds were delightful to discover.  I'm looking forward to the Faerie Trail By Starlight event coming up on March 15th.  I decided to go ahead and sign up to build my own faerie structure to put on display.  I can't wait to see all of the faerie home designs people come up with and what I end up with.  How fun! ;-)

DISCOVERY

Come out to The Belmont to see my paintings on display, as well as artwork by other local artists, photographers, fashion designers, and more for the RAW:Artist showcase "Discovery!" The venue is beautiful, so prepare yourself for a great evening out! I need to sell at least 20 tickets by Friday, February 15th to cover the production costs for my showcase. Even if you are unable to make the event, please consider buying a ticket to help me out or making a PayPal donation. Any amount will be appreciated. If buying tickets in advance for $15, make sure to choose my name from the drop down box in order to support me, at the following link: http://www.rawartists.org/austin/discovery Hope to see you all there! :-) - Misty

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PayPal donations can be made at:

Getting ready for RAW

Here is a detail from a painting that I am currently working on for the show:

If you are in the Austin area, my paintings will be featured in the upcoming RAWartists showcase, "Discovery" on Thursday, February 21at The Belmont on 6th Street from 8pm - 2am! Please support me and my artwork by buying a $15 ticket to the show. (Make sure to choose my name from the drop-down menu.) Cheers! http://www.rawartists.org/mistypoe

Tiger Movies!!

I created a YouTube page for videos of my little Tigerbear. 

 Here's the first post.  Tiger was a little sleepy when I filmed this, but she's always kissy.  :-)

Enjoy!

RAW

My paintings will be featured in the upcoming RAWartists showcase, "Discovery" on Thursday, February 21at The Belmont on 6th Street from 8pm - 2am!

 

If you'd like to come out and support me at this showcase, I'd love to see each and every one of you! MAKE SURE TO CHOOSE MY NAME FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU in order to support me when purchasing a ticket for the show! Kisses!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Upsidedown Autumn

Well, I guess it's been quite a while since I've checked in. For the past 8 weeks, I've been settling in to my new job.  Things are getting better, and I'm really enjoying my students, but boy have I been worn out. This is my first teaching job that I've had to almost beg students to turn in late work.  It's no fun having to give zeros to students that just choose not to do their work.  I'd rather all of my students get an A, and have a blast being creative, but...  Anyway, I'm getting my room put together, and my student's are making amazing artwork as usual. I took this (above) pic of myself with my work phone on a Friday evening.  For some reason I really like the image upside down, instead of sideways.

I'm looking forward to attending the TAEA Conference in San Antonio in November.  I'm excited that I will be getting hands on professional development for high school and middle school art. (yay!)

 

Today, I went to Nature's Treasures for their truck sale and got a pretty little geode book end pair for my classroom, and a ring. I guess the ring is kind of big, but it didn't cost very much and I thought it was cool and fun for the price. 

 

For my next post, I'll put up some photos of the work my classes are doing.  Now, I'm going to get some sleep and enjoy the rest of my weekend and this amazing October weather.  Happy Autumn!