"John James Audubon (1785–1851) was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter and painter whose name is synonymous with the study and preservation of American wildlife. His masterpiece, The Birds of Americafolio, and his lifetime of written journals stand as an unsurpassed contribution to the world of fine art, natural science and American history and literature."
As a follow-up to the Mobile Museum of Art field trip our future elementary teachers took, they each produced a bird of their choice using only white drawing paper and traditional crayons. We wanted to create vibrant images for a display with impact using materials all elementary teachers could realistically possess, even under budget cuts and lack of support for the arts. We also wanted to connect with the natural sciences as a springboard for ornithology.
Students were given the following directions for the crayon bird drawing activity:
- Study Audubon's work and other images of birds.
- Choose a bird and environment you wish to create.
- Complete the Bird Nature Study Observation Worksheet.
- Sketch the bird on 9 X 12 white drawing paper.
- Use only crayons to create your art.
- Emphasize the main subject through SIZE, PLACEMENT, and CONTRAST.
- Overlap to show FOREGROUND, MIDDLEGROUND, and BACKGROUND.
- With a light color crayon or pencil, sketch lightly to block-in your composition.
- Do not draw details until you begin using actual colors.
- All colors must be SATURATED - bear down hard on the crayon so that all the drawing surface is covered with color that stands out.
- Leave no lightly colored areas. Leave no white spots.
- Blend colors, tints, shades.
- You may use a paper clip or other tool to scratch through colors to make lines, textures, patterns.
Internet Resources: John James Audubon's Birds
"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children." ~John James Audubon
Birds of America - Check out the list of State Birds with images of Audubon's art! http://web4.audubon.org/bird/boa/boa_index.html
National Audubon Society http://web4.audubon.org/john-james-audubon/
4 comments:
Hello. My name is Ashlea Leytham and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently enrolled in EDM 310 where we have an active class blog that is full of information. I am summarizing your posts, as well as my responding comment, to my personal blog page on February 12, 2012. I think this assignment is a great idea. I actually remember doing a project very similar to this when I was younger and in elementary school. I think a great thing about an assignment like this is that you can tie in a science lesson, or any subject for that matter, with an art project. I do not think that our students do not have enough opportunities to participate in art, so I am on board with any chance to throw in some extra art time. The best part of your entire post is that you said this can be done with materials that are realistically accessible. Those two words are what we as teachers will always have to deal with. I find great art projects all the time but the materials needed would never be available to all the students in the classroom. Thank you for listing the directions to the assignment. I would love to do this with my students in the future!
Hello!
My name is Kate Fail and I am an elementary education major at The University of South Alabama,a school in which you are obviously quite familiar with! I am enrolled in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class this semester and am happy to have been assigned to you this month for our comments for teachers assignment.
I really enjoyed this post. What a great and creative way to help students apply what they have learned through art. Not only are they learning about state birds, but they are also getting to express themselves artistically. Thank you for including the directions for the assignment you had your students do. I am so happy to see that it is an affordable project as so many projects and activities I come across require many materials which a school's budget does not always allow for. I enjoyed exploring the rest of your blog and look forward to commenting on it again. I am also enjoying learning about the huge world of blogging and also have a blog for EDM 310, Kate Fail's Blog.
Thanks,
Kate Fail
Hello!
I am currently enrolled in EDM 310 at South. I have been assigned your blog this week and everything that I have seen on here so far has been really great! I will be taking your class next semester, and seeing what your students have done so far makes me very excited. This project that was assigned seems really fun but challenging. It was a good way for the students to learn about the state birds, but also show that they've learned by creating the image through art. I am artistic to an extent, but unfortunately drawing isn't my forte. Some of the terms that the students have to follow in the directions were over my head! But I know I will learn when I get to your class. All of the pictures that the students drew were really good drawings. It makes me nervous for what I will have to create, but I know I will be fine!
Well, I really enjoyed your post and blog overall. Enjoy the rest of your school year.
Hello Ms. Paige,
My name is James Dunnam , I am a Secondary Education Student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. Thank you for letting me read your blog. I really enjoyed reading about your follow-up to the Mobile Museum of Art field trip. I visited the museum last year while taking an Art Appreciation class. I thought the museum was very interesting and informative. I believe that I really appreciated the visit more because of what I had learned while taking the art class.
I think that you gave your students an excellent assignment and they all did a very good job. I think your post was great. You included a complete list of directions given to your students. I also enjoyed looking at the links that you included. I am an avid hunter and enjoy the great outdoors. I really like the works of John James Audubon. Most of all, I thought your photo album with all the student's drawing were really exceptional. I look forward to reading more of your blog.
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