I passed out Summer Art Challenge Sheets at the end of the school
year last year. Any of the students could participate in it over the
summer and then turn in their artwork at the beginning of this year. It is kind of like a summer reading program, where you record what you've read and get prizes.
Here are the basic parameters of the challenge:
"Welcome to
the Summer Art Challenge! You are
invited to play along and stretch your creativity this summer.
These
challenges are designed to keep the creative part of your brain playing over
the summer. They might be fun for
a rainy day or a family outing. Some
of these may require adult supervision or help. Your mission if you choose to accept it is to complete as
many of the challenges listed below.
Level
1: Complete 5 challenges in any
order.
Level
2: Complete 10 challenges
Level
3: Complete 15 or more challenges!
Documentation
is important. All challenges
should be recorded with things such as a photograph, writing, a computer print out
or an actual artwork. Some of the
finished work will be put on a bulletin board in the fall. Use a folder to gather items.
Turn in your
challenges when you return to school in the fall.
Small prizes
will be given to those students who move up the levels.
Good luck! Marcia"
At the bottom of this post are all the challenges.
 |
| Students brought in pictures of what they had made or the actual artworks. |
 |
| This is a FAERIE HOUSE! |
 |
| Glass fusing! |
I did not get a lot of participants, but the ones who did participate did a FABULOUS job! I would do it again, because now that some of the kids participated others were saying they wished they had done it too. I could repeat the same challenges and it wouldn't involve much work on my part.
The official challenges:
1. Art Outing: Visit an art museum while on vacation or in Madison (The Chazen
Museum of Art or the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art). Documentation possibilities: a photograph of you at the art museum,
a postcard from the gift shop or a sketch you drew of a favorite artwork.
2. “Me” Collage: Use magazines, photos and your own drawings
to create an “About Me” collage. If you need inspiration, go to google
images and search for “collage artist”.
Documentation: a photo of
your collage or the actual collage
3. Read a graphic novel or comic: Go to
your library and check out a book with images or comics. For older kids, two good suggestions
are The Invention of Hugo Cabret or Wonderstruck by Brian
Selcznick. For younger kids,
Garfield and Walt Disney classic comics and stories would be enjoyable. Ask your librarian for suggestions! Documentation: Write a short description of the book
you read or create a bookmark for the book.
4. Play with an online drawing
game. Print out your results. Here are some ideas:
5. Take an art class or summer
workshop. Visit the Madison Art
Cart (the schedule is in the summer program guide at the mscr.org website) or
make something in the art studio at the Madison Children’s Museum. Documentation: Your finished artwork or a photo of you
making your artwork.
6. Recycled Art: Find discarded objects around the house
(old junk mail, pieces of wood scraps, random toys or old stickers you don’t
want anymore) and create a new inspiring collage or sculpture.
7. Environmental Art: Use leaves, rocks and other natural
objects to make a piece of art.
Look up the art of Andy Goldsworthy for ideas. Documentation:
Take a photo of your finished artwork.
8. Photomontage: Take lots of photos. With permission from your parents, cut
out faces or parts of the pictures and combine them to create an interesting
photomontage. Look up the
photomontages of David Hockney if you need ideas. Documentation:
Turn in the original artwork.
9. Collaborative Artwork: Collaborate with a friend or family
member and make a work of art together!
Documentation: Photo of the
two of you working or the finished artwork.
10. Sidewalk Chalk Masterpiece: Use sidewalk chalk in a creative way to make a
masterpiece. Take a photo of your
finished work.
11. Comic Art: Draw a comic about something that happened to you this summer. Documentation: Turn in the original comic.
12. Fashion:
Decorate a t-shirt or sew a piece of clothing! Ideas: tie-dye,
stencils, sew something on it, paint pens or fabric paint. Documentation: Bring in the item of clothing or a
photo.
13. Jewelry: Make something to wear. Ideas:
friendship bracelets, glass (go to Fire It Up Pottery!), beads. Documentation: Bring in the jewelry or a photo.
14. Rock Painting: Find the perfect rock outside. Decorate it with paints and anything
else you’d like. Documentation: Photograph it or bring in the actual
rock.
15. Sculpture: Design an artwork to hang from a branch of a tree. Take a photograph of the sculpture in
the tree.
16. Musical Instrument: Create a musical instrument using
materials around your house. Documentation: photograph or bring in the instrument.
17. Building: Using Legos,
blocks or other building materials, spend an hour or so designing a unique
construction. Take a photograph of
your masterpiece.
18. Make a piñata using paper mache. Break it with some friends! Take pictures.
19. Create edible art: Play with your
food and turn it into an artwork.
Or, decorate a cake. Take a
photo and then eat it!
20. YOUR CHOICE: Come up with a creative activity to do
by yourself or with your family.
A great project to begin the year is a DOT project. The kindergartners read the book The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. I love this book!
. These are also fun for toddlers to use!
This book is chock-full of fun ideas. If I have a student that is way ahead of the others in terms of project completion, I will often pull out this book (and the Keys to Drawing with Imagination) for them to pick out an activity for independent study.
This book is full of beautiful, colorful examples of ways to teach children about painting. There are guided activities to teach techniques and allow the students to express themselves in their own way. I love it!
