Stained Glass Window Art

For our final art class, my partner Robert Stahl and I presented an art lesson that was about Stained Glass artwork. The students’ assignment was to create their own stained glass art using tissue and construction paper.

We began the lesson by stating that our lesson today will be based off from ancient European artwork. Then we went over a PowerPoint containing facts of the origin and use of Stained Glass art in Ancient Europe. As we presented the PowerPoint, students were required to write three facts about Stained Glass Art on a note card that would be presented with their artwork. After we had discussed the important vocabulary of the lesson, we demonstrated to the students how to safely use an X-acto knife and glue the tissue paper onto the construction paper; the students started doing their artwork project.

To begin the assignment, the students first chose one of the four patterns that we had provided for each student. (Since our presentation was near the Christmas holidays, we decided to have students do their artwork based off Christmas items/scenes; such as, candle, bells, nativity scene, and Christmas tree). Once the students had chosen a pattern, we helped them staple the pattern on a piece of construction paper. The students then carefully cut out the inside space of their patterns using an X-acto knife. Once all the inside spaces were removed, the students began to glue tissue paper on their pattern. They were required to use at least two different color schemes (e.g. warm and cool colors). When the artwork was finished, the students wrote their name on the back and handed it in for grading.

The following photo is my example of stained glass art. I used cool colors on one bell and warm colors on the other bell; this naturally also gave my artwork complementary colors.

An extension activity with this stained glass art would be when students learn about the four seasons. The students would choose a scene (this would be provided by the teacher) from each of the season. Depending on the age group, children may be too young to properly use an X-acto knife; as a result, the teacher may have to do the precise cutting. When all the negative spaces are cut out, the children would use tissue paper to create colorful spring, summer, fall and winter scenes. When finished, the artwork would be displayed on the classroom windows.

We displayed the students’ artwork in a lighted glass case in the hallway near the art classroom. We used a Christmas/winter background and decorations to set up our display. The following photos are our stained glass artwork display.

Here is our Stained Glass Art Lesson Plan:

Teachers: Jonathan Stahl, Robert Stahl

Lesson Title: Ancient Europe and Stained Glass Windows Art.

Grade Level: 4^th Grade

Developmental Characteristics: The class has been studying a unit on Ancient European history, specifically culture. To reinforce what they have learned they will create stained glass window art. Another purpose of this lesson is for 4^th graders to create art by arranging various shapes and colors. 4^th graders will typically select and arrange objects to satisfy their compositional design needs. Students will also demonstrate their ability to make precise cuts on tissue and construction paper to create their artwork. 4^th graders typically have improved eye-hand coordination which will help them in this task.

National Visual Art Standards:

Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.

d. Students use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner.

Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and culture.

a. know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various cultures.

Objectives:

Art Production: The students will use an exacto knife in a safe and responsible manner while creating their artwork.

Artistic Perception: The students will be able to identify and list two different color schemes in their own artwork.

Art History: Student will be able list three stained glass window history facts from PowerPoint to display with their artwork.

Art Materials: tissue paper, construction paper, note cards, scissors, glue stick, and exacto knife for each student.

Instructional Resources:

· Stained Glass History PowerPoint

· Examples of stained glass tissue paper artwork

· Grading Rubric

· Color Scheme Handout

Vocabulary (Elements and Principles of Art):

· Organic shapes: Shapes that are not regular or even, using a combination of edges that are curved or angular (often found in nature).

· Geometric shapes: Two-dimensional shapes created by exact mathematical laws; oval, circle, square, triangle, and rectangle.

· Color Schemes: Color is divided into groups based on the way they are placed on the color wheel: warm colors, primary colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, analogous colors, etc.

Procedure:

Anticipatory Set (Motivation): The teachers will show short PowerPoint of the history of stained glass windows. Students will list three facts about the history of stained glass artwork on a piece of paper to display with their artwork.

Step 1. The teachers will show examples of stained glass artwork that was created with construction and tissue paper.

Step 2 (Instructional Input): The teachers will inform students that they need to use at least two different color schemes in their artwork (Ex. Warm colors, cool colors, primary or secondary colors, etc.). The teachers will provide students with a handout that gives a definition of each of the different color schemes.

Discuss organic and geometric shapes and the different color schemes.

Step 3 (Modeling): The teachers will model how to cut with an exacto knife in a safe and responsible manner.

Step 4 (Guided Practice): The teachers will show students how to create stained glass tissue paper artwork.

1. Begin by having students staple their pattern onto a piece of construction paper of their choice.

2. Cut out pattern with exacto knife and/or scissors.

3. Using a glue stick, glue tissue paper on the back of stained glass construction paper pattern.

Step 5: The students will create their own stained glass artwork with construction and tissue paper.

Step 6 (Display): The stained glass tissue paper artwork will be displayed in a lighted, glass artcase. Each student’s stained glass history fact note card will be displayed alongside their artwork. The lighted artcase will give the artwork a stained glass look. A Christmas theme border will be used to give the case a finished look.

Check for Understanding: The teachers will review the rubric and grading procedures to help students understand what is expected of them.

Closure: Ask students to volunteer to show their stained glass artwork and point out the color schemes, organic or geometric shapes used.

Clean Up: The students are responsible to clean their own work area.

Student Evaluation: Students will evaluate their own artwork by comparing it to the criteria on a rubric.

Integration: This art project could be used in a science project specifically when studying why leaves change color. They could create stained glass artwork of colorful autumn leaves.

Teacher evaluation:

· Did students use at least two of the nine color schemes in their artwork?

· Could students identify two color schemes in their artwork and list them on a rubric?

· Students included three stained glass facts from the PowerPoint (on a piece of paper) which will be displayed with their artwork.

· Did students use scissors and exacto knife in a responsible manner?

Cave Art Comes Alive

For art class this week our assignment was to create cave art using a crumpled brown paper bag and mud paint to produce our paintings. The teachers began the lesson by explaining that many years ago people drew paintings on the walls of their caves to tell stories from their lives. This led to a discussion of how people in ancient times recorded stories by drawing and painting with natural products such as berries for coloring and mud as the medium. Our art project would be based off this ancient concept.

To begin the art project, each student was provided with a crumpled paper bag and red, green, blue, brown, black, and yellow mud paint. Then we were told think of one of our favorite childhood memories and sketch a scene of that memory on the paper bag using finger painting to create the scene. We were required to create texture in our work and apply one other natural element such as real grass, leaves, pine needles etc. to our painting.

The following photo is a scene from one of my favorite childhood memories. One of my favorite memories is gathering straw bales after wheat harvest. Even though, I was sweating and itching from the hot August sun and the straw dust, I enjoyed the work very much. The lone tree in the background is a typical scene in South Dakota farm fields.

An extension activity with this cave art lesson would be in science when students learn about different animals and their natural environments. For example, for beavers, the students would paint a lake with a beaver dam and the beavers lodge; for bears and wolves they would paint a cave; for birds and other wild animals, they would paint a woodlands etc. The paintings would correlate with nature because students use natural products to create them. When finished, the paintings would be displayed on a bulletin board.

Print Making

Our second assignment for this week’s art class was to create a nature scene on a piece of construction paper using foam paper and paint. After reviewing the vocabulary of the lesson, the teachers showed us some examples of their art and several visuals on a PowerPoint that we could use to create our own art projects. Then the teachers demonstrated how to create a scene on a piece of foam paper using the end of a paintbrush.

The following photo is my nature scene; I have a butterfly and bee flying around a flower in the warm spring sun.

To begin our art project, we used a blank sheet of paper to practice sketching the scene we wanted on our foam paper. Once we were comfortable with sketching the scene, we started engraving it on a piece of foam paper using various line patterns. When the desired scene was completed, we chose a paint color that we wanted and used a sponge roller to cover the entire area of the foam paper. Then we turned the foam upside down and pressed it onto a bigger piece of construction paper; preferably, one with a complementary color of the paint we used, such as yellow and purple. When the foam had been firmly pressed against the construction paper, we carefully removed it to reveal a mirror image or the scene we had engraved on the foam paper.

An extension activity with this foam paper art would be in language arts after students’ summer break when they return to school. Students would engrave a scene that represents an activity that they really enjoyed doing during the summer (such as swimming, camping outside, going on a picnic, etc.). When the students are finished with the art, they would write a story that explains their art. Then the students’ art would be displayed along with their short story.