Sunday, December 1, 2013

From Monet to "Menchies" with Oil Pastels

What do Monet's Haystacks and Menchies frozen yogurt have in common? That is the question 3rd graders  discussed first, before starting this project. 


We talked about how artists often just walk out their front door and spend time looking (and painting) what is around them. I shared how Monet had painted his haystacks in various seasons and times of the day and how the shadows changed. We also noticed how he shaded these cylinder shapes. Monet found these fields in his little town of Giverny, France. And that brings us to the frozen yogurt store directly across the street from our school. If we walk out our front entrance, this is what we see:
And if we walk inside, we see these cups:
Well, OK, you would see real yogurt -- I used a piece of paper towel for my classroom yogurt model. I also projected a Google image of a real Menchies yogurt with all its toppings, spoon, etc.

We reviewed "light source" and how to use tints and shades to create a 3-D look. For the first part of the drawing I modeled how to do this and add shadows to the yogurt as the kids followed along. 
 We started by  lightly sketching the cylinder shape. I had them erase the back part of the top oval (where the yogurt will go). Then we filled in the front of the cylinder with the "main color". I actually mentioned how Fauvists used wild colors for their art instead of realistic color. I did this partly because I didn't want 150 magenta yogurt cups that looked exactly alike and partly because there weren't many purple or magenta oil pastels in my collection and I didn't want kids unhappy that "they didn't get a purple" pastel!! After coloring the main color (not too thick!), we used white pastel on the left, where the light was hitting and black on the right (the shadow). 
 The last step is to go over the whole thing again, with the main color, trying to blend the layers. If the kids wanted the highlight side to look even lighter, they went back and added a little more white to the left side.

When it came to decorating the yogurt everybody was on their own.
 A final step was to add a line to delineate a table top and color a tablecloth and perhaps a background if they liked.
This is one of those pieces of art that I am going to be sad to give back to the kids -- I just LOVE having them in the classroom and displayed in the hallways. They have such a happy look!!




8 comments:

  1. These look Great Christie! They really captured light and shadow.

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    1. Thanks, Mary. These kids are the first group that I have had every year since Kindergarten. It is rewarding to see how much about shading that they have learned (and retained) over that 4 year period!! I really just had to gently remind them about "light source" and they went to town!!

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  2. I couldn't imagine where this post was going by looking at the title! All I could think of was the Yiddish word 'mensch' - a person of integrity. I never heard of that brand of frozen yogurt! Anyhow - I agree with Mary - really nice :)

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    1. Thanks, Phyl. I had never heard of this brand until they moved in across the street from school. When I went on-line to get some photos for my lesson, I was surprised to see how widespread the franchise is!!

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  3. Hi Christie,

    My name is Matt Dahly, I work for Menchie's Global Headquarters. We LOVED the work you did with your 3rd grade class. We would like to send a fun Menchie's gift pack out to your class for the amazing work they have done. Will you please e-mail me at matt.dahly@menchies.com with the number of children in the class and the best address to send a gift package to? Please feel free to call us directly if you have any questions! 818-708-0316 and ask for Matt Dahly.

    I look forward to hearing from you!

    With Smiles,
    Matt Dahly
    Franchise Relations Leader

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    1. How sweet of you to notice!!! I will definitely share your kind thoughts with the kids, and will give you a call!

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  4. I followed a link on Pinterest to your blog and I would just like to say that, even as an adult, I would love to be in your class! I wish I had realized at a younger age that you do not have to be a master artist to enjoy the creativity of the process of making art. I am a terrible artist, but I do love the outlet that creating art provides and it is such a feeling of joy and freedom to get lost in that creativity. Bravo to you for bringing that to so many children. I hope they are wiser than I and do not forget the treasure that art truly is to the soul, no matter your skill level.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. I think our kids really do appreciate the time they spend creating!!

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