Starch & Yarn Line Painting

Submitted by: Pam Stephens
UNIT: Line
Lesson: Starch lines - Manipulatives
Grade Level: Kindergarten- Early Childhood
Adaptation by Kathleen Arola

 

Objectives(s) - Student will:

• Actively explore lines in art

• Intuitively create an art object using an unusual media

Essential Questions

1. What is a line?

2. How do artists use lines in artworks?

Resources & Materials

• Images of masterworks using curved lines

• Vincent Van Gogh - Starry Night

• Joan Miro - People and Dog Under Sun (This poster is pretty expensive. There are others less expensive like Figur Gegen Rote Sonne Ii)

• Mark Tobey -American Artist - many works

• Yarn Assortment cut in 1' (30.5 cm) lengths (alternate - cut into a variety of lengths)

• Paper (any color - Kathleen used black Construction Paper)

• Starch

• Greg Percy - Songs in the Key of Art - "I Draw the Line" (on volume I)

Motivation

1. Display and discuss art images and how artists use lines in art.

2. Ask students to locate types of line in the art room.

Options:

1. Play Greg Percy's "I Draw the Line"

2. Go on a "Line Hunt" around the school

3. Move desks/tables out of the way and form a line of student - make different kinds of lines as a class.

Activities/Sequence

Create a starched yarn picture

1. Distribute materials.

2. Demonstrate how to dip yarn in starch and apply to the paper.

3. Allow time for students to create a line design with two or three pieces of yarn. Encourage overlapping.

4. Reflect.

Assessment Rubric

 

Objective	Novice	Acceptable	Mastery
Actively explore lines in art	Cannot or will not explore lines in art	Explores lines in art using limited skills	Actively explores lines in art with a broad range of approaches
Intuitively create an art object using an unusual media	Cannot or will not create an art object using an unusual media	Approaches creating an art object using an unusual media with hesitation or limited skill	Intuitively creates an art object using an unusual media and applies previous knowledge to contribute to the overall design

 

Student Reflection: (Oral Discussion)

How do artists use lines in art?

How have you used lines in your artwork?

How is your work like an artist's?

 

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Submitted: by Kathleen Arola
UNIT: Line
Lesson: Starch Lines - Manipulative
Grade level: Kindergarten

 

Kathleen has used this lesson with kindergarten and first grade. An extension to this lesson would be to do a Crayons rubbing print (when dry). Paint the negative spaces of the print with Watercolor Paint (crayon resist). Use Kandinsky or Klee for inspiration. The modifications she made are as follows:

1. I skipped showing masterworks during this lesson to save time since it's a messy studio session and needs clean-up time.

2. I found it important to pass out Yarn Assortment and allow exploratory time with students bending the yarn into designs on the table top first (without starch). We talked about making lines go side to side, up and down, across each other and curved.

3. I also selected three cool colored Yarn Assortment and cut each color in a different length for variety. I discussed both of these concepts with the children. We talked about making their cool colored yarns look like water. I think comparing the colors to water made it less of a foreign idea to dip them into the Liquid Starch later. (Maybe use an art print of water with waves as inspiration - See Homer's Gulf Stream). Note: White yarn on black might be a nice choice, too - for contrast.

4. The lesson was written to use two or three pieces of yarn, but I opted for more pieces that were probably shorter than the lesson's author used. Mine were approximately 2", 4", 6" (5, 10, and 15.25 cm).

5. I provided black Construction Paper and told students that if the liquid starch and paper made black marks on their hands that they would wash off later. I also found it important to tell students not to wash hands until I told them the activity was over. Otherwise, there would be students at the sink after each piece of yarn was placed on their paper.

6. Students put their name in yellow Crayons on their papers before starting with the starch (Jeryl Hollingsworth has suggested putting names on the paper for kindergarten students ahead of time since many can not write their names)

7. I showed them how to carefully press down on the yarn, and I also told them if the whole piece of yarn didn't go swimming in the starch, it wouldn't stick to the paper when it dried.

8. For students who finished "early", I had them dip a finger in the starch and "paint" over their lines with a topcoat of starch.

9. Finished pictures were set to dry on a large piece of Kraft Paper on the floor. Initially I tried using Drying Rack, but the weight of the yarn and soggy wet paper made the papers fall and the yarn come off. They dried overnight. The starch dries clear.

Reflections:

This is a process oriented project. They key that really clicked the lesson into place for me and my students was when I added the step of experimenting with yarn lines on the tabletop first before the actual activity. The tabletop became their rough draft sketchbook of ideas, which helped them be more successful and comfortable with the media when they did the final project.