Sunday, April 13, 2014

Watercolor Pastel Self Portraits 1st Grade

To Trace or Not to Trace

Even the most accomplished artists envy the inhibited raw and spirited mark making of young learners. Likewise, paintings in museums seem effortlessly created by confident genius', but just because a ballerina avoids a grimaced expression doesn’t mean her feet don’t hurt.  Clichés come from somewhere and most artists struggle.  Luckily, artists have many tools at hand otherwise we’d still be sharpening coal with our teeth.  Tracing takes skill, coordinating two hands for separate purposes. The act of following a guide cements the fine motor memory of creating an ellipse in scale.  Children crave instruction as I bookmark Ehow.

Closing their eyes students meditated on the shape of their own heads, imagining an egg as they explored their face, features and cranium with their hands.  What makes you unique? Students had the option of using the oval tracers and but recreating all the nuances in their appearances was the real joy.


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