A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows

Leaf Man flew into my classroom and into the boundless imaginations of my first graders. While reading the beautiful book, we picked out all of the leaf people and leaf animals that we could find. We talked about what details make it what it is? I ask, how can you tell it's a cow, or a turkey? I am always telling my kids that details are what make an artwork special and tell a story. We talked about if a leaf turkey didn't have a wattle(aka: red thing), would it look like a turkey? If a leaf cow didn't have an udder, would it look like a cow? If a leaf duck didn't have a beak and webbed feet, would it still look like a duck?

Even before the book was finished, lots of the kids were asking, "Will we make a Leaf Man!!!??"... Of course we will!

I wanted to keep my demonstration short and open-ended, because I feel this lesson is all about exploration and play.

I talked to the kids about...

-thinking of what details your leaf person or animal has.

-using the right amount of glue.

-beginning with a large leaf for the body and building off of it.

-cutting pieces of leaves in a contrasting color for details.

The results are amazingly beautiful! I love how each 'leaf person' or 'leaf animal' has it's own unique character!

When the kids finished their projects, I had them think of a story that their 'leaf person' or 'leaf animal' is part of. I prompted them to think about:

What could they be doing?

Where could they be?

What is your leaf person or animal like?

They shared there stories with the other kids at their tables.

I so love this book and accompanied lesson, it encourages the kids to see creative possibilities wherever they are and using the humblest of materials.

Check out the whole leaf gang on Artsonia!

Andy Goldsworthy

“What lies below the surface effects the surface” -Andy Goldsworthy

Last week, my 5th graders started to learn about the artist, Andy Goldsworthy(one of my favorites!) A sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist; Andy Goldsworthy creates site-specific land art from natural and found objects. His works are some of the most beautiful, poetic, quiet, moving...(insert about 50 more glowing adjectives...) that I've seen. The kids really love Goldsworthy as well because he makes art that they do all the time. I even had one student tell me he's his new favorite artist!

Using a powerpoint of Goldsworthy's work, we talked about themes and questions that are present in his natural installations.

Why would he make art that would be destroyed?

Why would he choose to only use natural materials?

Why would he make art where such few people would see?

The kids had some really insightful interpretations of his work. I always love hearing what they think of different artworks; they often get to the heart of the meaning so succinctly! When asked about this work, one student said that because the lines look knotted and random, that maybe it represents his thoughts, and the tide that washes away the drawing, untangles his thoughts. Beautiful idea, right!?

We also talked about how Andy Goldsworthy values the process of making art, not just the product.

We spent one day viewing the powerpoint and talking about Goldsworthy, and we also watched some of a documentary of his work called 'Rivers and Tides', a beautiful film of his process. Then I had the kids choose if they wanted to work in pairs or by themselves. They spent the rest of the hour sketching their ideas and deciding how they wanted their artwork to be photographed. They had to decide at what angle to shoot their photograph and if they were including shadows.

The next week we were out the doors!

The kids were fascinated with Goldsworthy's work and had a blast making art outside! I had one student ask if Andy Goldsworthy was 'worthy of gold'...hehe! For the amount of learning, fun, and inspiration that took place- I think so!