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Teach young students about texture by having them create their own crackle paintings. To prepare for the art project, mix one half part paint with a half part water. Do that ahead of time, before your students start their projects. You will also need white paper, crayons, paintbrushes and white glue.
To introduce the project, show your students an example of pottery with a crackled glaze. Showing your students examples will help them understand what a crackled glaze looks like and will inspire them to create their own pieces of crackled art. Next, give each student a piece of paper and crayons and have them create their own drawings. Once your students are finished coloring, have them crinkle up their drawings. Then, have them un-crinkle their drawings and lay them out on their desks. Then, ask your students to paint their drawings with the paint and water mixture you prepared earlier. Allow to dry.
Once the art is dry, have your students apply a thin layer of glue onto their artwork. When the paintings are dry, they should have a crackled look that is commonly found on pottery. Encourage your students to show off their work by displaying it on the classroom wall. -
While elementary school is a time for students to freely experiment with color and texture, middle-school students are mature enough to learn about past civilizations and other cultures through art. For example, you can each your students about primitive rock art by having them create their own rock art drawings.
To introduce your students to Native American cave art, allow them to explore the Rock Art Foundation website. The website contains several photographs of rock art found in the southwestern United States. Have a class discussion about the rock art and the people who created it. Then, explain to your students that you would like them to create their own rock art using the pictures as inspiration. Provide your students with construction paper, chalk, colored pencils. Allow students to use whatever medium they would like to create their art, but encourage them to emulate the rock art. When students are finished, have them present their artwork to the rest of the class. - Introduce high-school students to photography by having them create photo diaries of their lives. Ask each student to take pictures of things that are important to them. That can include people, pets, nature, hangouts, books or anything else that has meaning in each student's life. If your school has a darkroom, students can develop their own photographs from film; however, digital photography today is much more affordable and requires less technical ability to process images. If you have access to a computer lab with desktop publishing and photo editing software, allow your students to use the programs to lay out their photo diaries and edit their photos.
