Nature as Inspiration to Create Art Work
Lesson Overview
Students will deepen their understanding and relationship with nature. They will explore this concept through nature walks and use observation, documentation, and reflection to see the natural phenomena that surrounds them. This study of nature will be used as inspiration to create expressive art work.
Big Ideas
The natural phenomena of the earth, including cycles of season and weather, relationships between nature and built environment, flora, and fauna can be used to inspire art work.
Essential Questions
How can we renew our sensibility to nature and be inspired by what we see everyday in our environments?
How have artists used nature as a theme for inspired artworks?
How can I document my interpretations and responses to nature to create inspired art works?
Evidence of Understanding
Students will record what they see, feel, think, and wonder about nature in a variety of ways.
Students will create a process-oriented visual arts journal with sketches from nature walks.
They will use collected items in their visual arts journals to create an artifact that represents nature.
Instructional Learning Experience Number One
Students will take a short nature walk with a purpose to specifically use their five senses and record their observations. For example, what colors are in the environment? what is the terrain like? What kind of foliage? animals? smells? sounds? what kind of weather is outside? Students will come back to the classroom and write in their journal about three things they remember noticing on the walk. They will then share these thoughts with their table-mates in a short think-pair-share.
Instructional Experience Number Two
Students will take a second walk on a different day and document experiences in their journal by sketching, print-making, rubbings, etc. They may also use digital cameras, or other recording devices to capture what they see. Using a double entry two-column log in their journals, they will reflect on their observations to note connections about how they feel, think, and wonder.
Instructional Experience Number Three
Students will look at the work of Paul Klee to see how he uses nature to inspire his art work. Content of Klee's paintings will be analyzed for representation of nature and patterns in his style of interpretation. Students will reflect on their understandings in journal entries.
The natural phenomena of the earth, including cycles of season and weather, relationships between nature and built environment, flora, and fauna can be used to inspire art work.
Essential Questions
How can we renew our sensibility to nature and be inspired by what we see everyday in our environments?
How have artists used nature as a theme for inspired artworks?
How can I document my interpretations and responses to nature to create inspired art works?
Evidence of Understanding
Students will record what they see, feel, think, and wonder about nature in a variety of ways.
Students will create a process-oriented visual arts journal with sketches from nature walks.
They will use collected items in their visual arts journals to create an artifact that represents nature.
Instructional Learning Experience Number One
Students will take a short nature walk with a purpose to specifically use their five senses and record their observations. For example, what colors are in the environment? what is the terrain like? What kind of foliage? animals? smells? sounds? what kind of weather is outside? Students will come back to the classroom and write in their journal about three things they remember noticing on the walk. They will then share these thoughts with their table-mates in a short think-pair-share.
Instructional Experience Number Two
Students will take a second walk on a different day and document experiences in their journal by sketching, print-making, rubbings, etc. They may also use digital cameras, or other recording devices to capture what they see. Using a double entry two-column log in their journals, they will reflect on their observations to note connections about how they feel, think, and wonder.
Instructional Experience Number Three
Students will look at the work of Paul Klee to see how he uses nature to inspire his art work. Content of Klee's paintings will be analyzed for representation of nature and patterns in his style of interpretation. Students will reflect on their understandings in journal entries.
Instructional Experience Number Four
Students will create a design using images and words, and inspiration from items collected on walks. Repetetive patterns in a style of their own following the work of Klee, or as in the examples below.
Students will create a design using images and words, and inspiration from items collected on walks. Repetetive patterns in a style of their own following the work of Klee, or as in the examples below.
Assessment
Journals entries will be used to write reflections on thinking and descriptions of imagery using the 5 W's +H as a guide
Post-it notes will used for noting comments to journal entries on a regular basis
Oral reflections will also be used in peer-sharing, or think-pair-share activities
Rubric for final piece will address creativity, presentation, and quality
Materials
Visual Art Journal, made with loose paper in a pocketed folder, or sketchbook with pockets
Camera for documenting
Pencils for drawing/recording thoughts
Crayons or oil pastels for rubbings and resist with watercolor
Watercolor paint
Brushes
Watercolor Paper (hot press)
Computer to view art work of Paul Klee:
http://www.abcgallery.com/K/klee/klee-2.html