Claude Monet's Pizza Day Assemblage

Lesson Plan Submitted by: Bette Ebel
Art teacher at Antigo Middle School/Antigo Kindergarten Center in Antigo, Wisconsin.
Grades: Kindergarten

 

Procedure:

I just completed a 3 week art activity at the kindergarten center entitled, "CLAUDE MONET'S PIZZA DAY". We started the activity by discussing WHERE WE FIND ART... (not just in museums- it is found in our home designs, in our furniture, in our clothes and even in the food that we prepare and eat.) We looked at the work of the IMPRESSIONISTS and learned to paint using their brush stroke techniques.

 

We used 12" cardboard pizza rounds and painted our "sauce". Next, we added toppings by using brown vinyl automobile seat cover material that had a waffle texture to it. We learned how to "clip corners" to make round pieces of pepperoni from square shapes. We found out what the stop sign (octagon) shape was in the process. This technique of clipping corners keeps the students from starting a spiral cut along one edge and getting progressively smaller until they have only a tiny circular shape remaining. (No one likes a pizza with only tiny bits of pepperoni!).

 

Then we used a tan, smooth buckskin looking vinyl to cut small mushroom pieces in random shapes. We used green fabric binding as green pepper pieces and off white, flimsy fabric edging for onions to add DETAILS. We had a variety of TEXTURES. Next, we used diluted Elmer's glue to paint around our shapes and then adhered wood shavings from the woodworking planer for our mozzarella cheese! (Some of the students told me that they used this in their hamster cages... I told them that I never knew they put mozzarella cheese in the cages!!). Use a large plastic garbage bag to allow the students to reach in and "double cheese" their own pizzas!

 

After we had constructed our "pizzas" we again discussed... is it pizza or is it art?? The final week of the activity involved the local Domino's Pizza. They donated enough pizza boxes for each student to take home their pizza in. We discussed ADVERTISING ART. We were fortunate enough to have the manager of our Domino's come into the kindergarten center and, with all 5 classes together, demonstrated how to toss the pizza dough.

 

We talked about TEXTURES of the dough and the cornmeal. At the end of the demonstration, we served REAL pizza and pop to all the students. I found all the "TOPPINGS" at the local second hand store and Domino's gave us a great deal on the cost of the real pizzas! The students learned a lot about the principles and elements of design and also reviewed cutting, gluing and painting techniques.

 

I have a feeling that this lesson will be remembered every time a frozen pizza is put into the oven!

 

Materials:

• Pictures of Impressionist painters (See Resources below)

• 12" Pizza boxes

• Vinyl pieces

• Elmer's Glue

• White and green Fabric

• Wood shavings

• Plastic garbage bags

Resources

Link: KinderArt's Pizza Collage Lesson

Alternate Lesson: Pop Art as inspiration

 

Prints of Impressionist Painter Monet

Claude Monet Sunflowers 1881 Poster - 24x36 - This is a poster that illustrates Monet's strokes of paint on his sunflowers.

Claude Monet (Water Lilies, 1917-1919) Art Print - Monet was famous for his water lilies. This print is a reasonably priced poster.