This holiday season, I was excited to plan festive lessons for my drawing and painting classes at AL. Last year, I was out on maternity leave, so this year has been fun to transform the classroom into a warm & inviting place. For holiday decor I was Inspired by Cassie Stephen’s art tree. I was eager to create a similar tree for my own space. I ordered the same brand tree & we used art supplies plus some old ornaments from my shop to decorate. Now that I finally have my own classroom, it feels to great to add my own flare. The students were so excited when they entered the room the following day, and their reactions were absolutely heartwarming. Even staff popped in to compliment the uniqueness of the tree. I’m glad it brought joy. I never thought my high school students would be so moved by a simple Christmas tree, but it reinforces my belief that teenagers are not too different from toddlers!
I enlisted the help of students who finished their work early to decorate the tree & the room. They loved it & I will continue this tradition again. This turned out to be a great classroom activity for my kinesthetic learners. I think it gives them a little sense of ownership & pride in the space too. We’ve since added ornaments painted by the students.
Winter Scene Ornaments in Painting Class
I wanted to create ornaments that I remember as a child. I told my students a story about my Mom. She was a hairdresser when I was growing up & made handmade ornaments as gifts for her customers each year. I remember how detailed the acrylic painted ones used to be. She’d create a Santa face out of a piece of bark, painting the eyes with the tiniest detail brush. We started the lesson by drawing inspiration from scene painters such as Peter Bruegel The Elder, Alan Giana, Jennifer Orkin Lewis, and Judith Welk. I showcased a variety of their winter scene paintings. The objective was to paint a winter scene on their ornament. Each student was tasked with creating two thumbnails of their ideas, which they presented to the class using a document camera. We then critiqued the thumbnails together, and I provided suggestions to enhance their winning designs, drawing over some for better understanding.
A student's vacation photo from Mexico served as Inspo for for her ornament.
Most students envisioned fictional winter scenes based on online reference photos. A few surprised me with their depictions of places that held personal significance. One student painted the dog rescue where she works, another portrayed her family’s barn, and our foreign exchange student from Milan sketched the Duomo, Italy’s largest church. These creations turned out to be great conversation pieces for our class. I really got to know my students better with this lesson.
This snow is actually glitter! (hard to tell in the photo)
Building on Artistic Skills in Drawing Class
In my Drawing 1 class, I decided to teach a still life, featuring poinsettias as the subject. We looked at Georgia O’keeffe’s work and observed the style of her still life paintings. I showed a variety from her cityscapes to her pineapple paintings from Hawaii. I wanted them to see that artists styles can change and so can their subjects. Mulhall’s generously donated poinsettias for us to use as reference. I was so grateful because we needed so many. I have 15 tables in my classroom! I emphasize to my students that realistic drawings are typically created from 3D references or objects, as photos can often result in flat representations. I still remember drawing from fresh flowers during an art education course taught by my instructor Caroline Schmitz at UNO. She really inspired me to use real life objects when possible.
Students were able to feel and observe the flowers, and many asked if they were real. Last year, during our flower still life unit, students used reference photos found online. I allowed them to find their favorite flower but this had limitations. Some reference images lacked detail or a range of values. This year, working with real flowers made a significant difference in the quality of their final pieces. Students were required to apply at least four of the oil pastel techniques we learned, select a color scheme that was either complementary or an analogous color scheme, and ensure that their drawings touched all four sides of the paper. If I don’t encourage them to touch all four sides with a line, they typically draw too small and can’t fit detail. Before starting their final pieces, students created three thumbnails, practiced oil pastel techniques, and developed a color wheel. Check out their final pieces below.
If you enjoyed reading this blog, I would appreciate any feedback below! Do you like reading about my teachings in the classroom, my own personal art practice or both? If you’re an art teacher and would like me to share my lesson materials on Teachers Pay Teachers please let me know. This is something I’ve considered in the past.
Thank you for being here & happy Holidays!