We started off lesson 11 painting the paper mache sculptures. We mixed up the tempera paint we had to get the closest shade to flesh tones and got the above shade. (not too great, but workable)(This post is part of the art class series)
We had started the paper mache sculptures by having them create aluminum foil sculptures, and manipulate them into various positions so I decided to take it further.
Gesture drawing, is usually something done with older kids and adults to teach how people move and how to draw them in various positions.
I created a sheet of stick figures in various positions and hung it up.
We then talked about what each figure was doing in each position. Even though they are only stick figures,you can still see clearly what they are doing.
I gave them cut up pieces to be able to recreate any of the positions they wanted to by using these collage pieces. Squares for the head, long rectangles for the bodies and smaller, thinner rectangles for arms and legs.
I also introduced a Wooden Human Mannequin 
In this case they were collaging the positions. (some children tried drawing some of the positions as well)
There were a number of children that did not have an interest in doing those drawings so I gave them people collages to make.
I also did this activity with one of the classes I teach in school and got very different results. I see that materials are what determines the outcome.
With the class in school I gave them a template. (seen below). With this class I had them create their own heads even though, I did encourage them to make them large enough to work on.
I had some more stuff in school that suggested hair so that is what many of them used.
I originally thought the image below was Picasso like with no form, until I noticed the button face features.
As some of the class was working on their people collages I offered others some more copying to work on.
I am still working on figuring out the best way to teach them to copy pictures and I came up with this idea that I wanted to try.
I took 3 pictures I had and copied pieces of the pictures into boxes. I wanted to see if the children correctly reproduce all of the shapes of a picture, would that help them reproduce the picture better.
I chose simple pictures. A flower, an elephant and a bicycle.
This was one child’s attempt at reproduction. I realized that this was way beyond her capabilities.
Another child who tried it was much more successful, but then again her copying skills are above average.
She was actually able to go from the copying above to making a completed bicycle below.
This is a first grade child and the results are quite unusual.
I am not sure,if it was the technique that allowed her to do this or just her copying skills.
I think the children need a whole slew of image copying exercises to keep getting progressively harder.
These may have been too hard and too big of a jump for most of the kids that tried it.
Stay tuned as I figure out the best way to do this.
