Art Projects for Primary School Students by Raquel Redmond
Chroma2 paint, from Chroma Australia has been used in this painting tutorial.
Art Technique
Light transparency and digital image manipulationAge Group
Appropriate for students in grade 4–7Concept
A practical experience to create an artwork built from a number of transparent shapes with the view to further enhance the landscape using digital resources.Sessions
2 sessions with the option for a third session should you wish to further enhance and adjust the landscape digitally.Room arrangement
Materials
- 2 x A4 size, clear plastic sheets per student, available from stationery shops or recycle from home supplies. The kind of plastic usually found in A4 sized folders
- 1 x medium size #6 paint brush per student
- PVA glue, enough for a class of 25
- 1 pair of scissors for each student
- 1 piece of rag per student for cleaning hands and the work area
- Small, clean jars or sturdy plastic containers with lids for coloured glue
- Coloured sheets of cellophane paper cut into A5 sized pieces. Allow enough for 25 students
- Student quality coloured inks to mix with the PVA glue. Inks can be replaced with the cheaper option of food colouring if required
- An overhead projector
Paint notes
Paint spilt on garments will come off when washed by hand. Rinse the garment in cold running water and rub the area where the paint has dried. Soak for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight in a laundry tub or a bucket, add 2 table spoons of laundry detergent and enough water to cover the garment. After soaking, rub off the remaining paint in the sudsy water and hey presto... a clean shirt!
Student examples
What is light projection?
Light projection is great fun for students to do. It provides them with the opportunity to create transparencies involving elements, such as shapes, colour, lines and textures to be projected using an overhead projector and with the use of computers, manipulate the images they have created. This project also deals with the idea of an imaginary or abstract composition which encourages students to think, to plan, to be creative, to discover and to use and apply the principles of design such as balance, repetition and contrast in their art works.
Objective
The project should be approached in an open way allowing students to use their imagination to interpret the work of artists with the view to create a surreal landscape.
Visual References
For visual references teachers can refer to images of abstract landscapes created by artists such as Paul Klee, Roy Jackson and John Peart in the following links below.
What to do: Teacher
Source the cellophane sheets and the A4 clear plastic sheets which are readily available in stationary shops or from home.
Prepare the glue by mixing the colour ink with the glue in different jars so that each group of students will have at least three jars with colourful glue to glue the shapes with and to then create the lines by dripping the coloured glue with their paint brushes.
What to do: Students
Preparation:
Using a sheet of clear plastic as a base
- Cut cellophane paper in to a variety of different shapes
- Plan your composition using different sized shapes of cellophane.
- You should have a variety of big – small – long – short – wide – thin and perhaps even curly and irregular repetition of shapes – refer to examples shown in the student gallery on this page.
- when all the shapes you require have been cut and decisions have been made about the composition – the way you arrange shapes, lines and textures on the plastic sheet – you can then proceed to glue the shapes.
- The coloured PVA glue can be also applied with brushes directly on to the A4 plastic sheet as a background colour.
- When the gluing is done, apply the second sheet on top of the base sheet of plastic. Press the two pieces together with your hands and let it dry for at least 24 hours.
When light collages are ready, project the landscapes using the OHP or display on windows using a piece of sticky tape in each corner to secure them.
Extension: For older students
The light collage can be scanned digitally and manipulated using a computer program like Adobe Photoshop or similar.
Additional Notes
For information on where to buy Chroma2 paint, visit our Brava Art Paint Suppliers and contact the suppliers to get the best prices. For more information on recyclable materials (PDF) or refer to the Teachers Help Page.
