Masterpiece: Surprised! Storm in the Forest

Artist: Henri Rousseau (On-ree Roo-so)

Art Lesson

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Concept: Mixed Media

Lesson: Jungle Scene andLeaf Stamping

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Objectives:

  • Create a wild and exciting jungle art piece
  • Mix real objects with imaginary ones
  • Creativity—drawing from imagination

Vocabulary: Color, Texture, Form, Imagination

Materials: Green, blue, yellow Block-Printing Ink and Leaf Stamps, 2-4 plastic spoons, 8” x 11” white construction paper, crayons to draw jungle scene, animal stencils (stencils are available and you can cut out animals for tracing from the die rack/using card stock), newspaper, foam brushes or rubber brayers, foil or plastic trays to spread inks, green 9” x 12” construction paper to mount when completed.Use ink stamp cleaner to periodically clean the stamps to minimize smearing.

** Please Note **

Artist’s biography can be glued to back of green construction paper ahead of time. **Green tempera paint may be used as an alternate instead of the ink**

** Troubleshooting Thoughts **

Set up a couple of centers for the stamping process. This is the area where you will need the newspaper. This center needs to be adult supervised to make sure they are not using too much ink. A couple of stations or centers would work best. Adults can spread the ink in foil trays with the brayers. If you like, you can mix the inks on the trays to make extra shades of yellow-green or blue-green as a contrast to the plain green. Children will be done with their drawings at different times. When they are done with their drawings, they are ready for stamping. Give them a coloring book sheet to color at their desk when they are done stamping to keep them busy.

Process:

  1. Give each student a piece of white drawing paper and crayons.
  2. Distribute stencils and animal cutouts for the kids to use to draw their jungle animals.
  3. Have them draw a jungle animal with crayons encourage them to add other details, such as whether it is raining in the forest or not. They may also draw more than one animal—it’s up to their imagination!
  4. When they have finished drawing their jungle scene, they can proceed to the stamping station(s).
  5. Have them use the leaf stamps available at the stations and brush on the ink with a foam brush or a brayer. They may press down on their paper a couple of times. Then choose another leaf stamp and repeat this process. Layering the stamps creates depth to the picture.
  6. Make sure they have their name on their artwork and encourage them to title their art.
  7. When they are done stamping, place in an area to dry.
  8. Give them a coloring book page and have them go back to their desk.
  9. Once the artwork is dry, mount to the green construction paper and hang outside classroom.