art education lesson plans
Mary Pratt realism
Designed to inspire children to explore the work of Mary Pratt and motivate them to make art, not discourage them by the limitations of creating a highly realistic painting. We begin with basic colour theory and colour mixing to create a quick gestural painting of the bowl of apples placed in front of them. This painting serves as the back drop for a more highly detailed drawing of the same bowl of apples. Once the painting is complete take a photo of the bowl of apples from each students perspective. The photos are then printed out. Students lay mylar over the printed photo and traced the image with fine tipped black ink pens. Then proceeded to colour the image using coloured pencils. The coloured pencils on mylar create vibrant colours through layering. The finished drawing is then layered over the abstract painting of the same bowl of apples.
For complete lesson plans email tdrahos (at) me (dot) com
design your own house
This art lesson is inspired by the book “Pride of Home” by Joann Latre Mouille, which discusses and illustrates the native architecture of Nova Scotia. The purpose of this project is to highlight and instill the rich history, skilled artisans, and keen visual sensibilities of the people who settled, designed and built the local community. The historic communities we live in are virtual museums of architecture which most of the students walk by every day. This lesson will help bring their attention to the beauty, functionality, and unique designs of the homes that they live in and around.
Along with history and architecture the students will apply math and technical education lessons and skills to create scale plans and models of houses of their own design. This lesson is appropriate for grades five and up.
For complete lesson plans email tdrahos (at) me (dot) com
ephemeral art
Students discuss what is Environmental Art and its impact both on the landscape and as a message about our environment. After a discussion we take a hike looking for locations and materials in preparation for creating our own art installation. At the end of the workshop we tour our newly created outdoor gallery and discuss the artists intention and construction. All art pieces are documented through digital photography.
For complete lesson plans email tdrahos (at) me (dot) com
observational drawing with Georgia O'Keeffe
This project explores the artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe, observational drawing, the elements of art, and abstract vs. representational. The exercise emphasizes looking differently at an object and how scale can transform our interpretation.
For complete lesson plans email tdrahos (at) me (dot) com
Education blogs:
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This project is funded by the Nova Scotia Educational Facilities Society (NSEFS). It is designed to give each student in the seven Horton High School feeder schools an opportunity to work with a professional artist.
Local artist and art educator Terry Drahos will spend 2 to 4 hours with each classroom working with the children on an art project that is age appropriate and fulfills curriculum outcomes.
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The Gaspereau Valley is one of the most picturesque spots in Nova Scotia. The school is unique located in the basin of the valley with a stunning landscape from every vantage point. It is a community of farms and orchards, looking out of every window of the school is a beautiful landscape.
This project will take advantage of the schools uniquely beautiful setting by exploring perspective - linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, point of view, and perception.
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This blog has been created to document the 2011-12 school year at Falmouth Elementary School as part of a visual art project funded by ArtsSmart Nova Scotia.
As part of the this project the grade five and six classrooms will document the activities at Falmouth School through photographs, interviews, gathering of souvenirs, and journalistic writing. All of the documentation will be posted in this blog as a diary.
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Over three weeks students will keep sketch book journals. In their sketchbooks the children will make visual recordings of historic places objects and people. We will explore various drawing exercises and techniques. Several of the activities will take us on a walking field trip to historic sites.