I was so excited to begin this project with 4th graders. I LOVe Pop Art! I did somethign similar last year but wanted to put a little twist on it for this year. Students learned all about the gestural work of Keith Haring and the repetition of Andy Warhol. They decided that the best way to combine the two inspirations of the artists would be to do multiple prints of gestures. We talked about pop art and how it features something that is popular at the time. Students included their own personal “pop art” in their designs withe everything from sports to video games.
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We began by sketching each other which was a really fun day. (One of those days that remind me why being an art teacher is so much fun!)
Students paid particular attention to the positive and negative space that their poses created. They chose one of their favorites to trace onto a piece of styrofoam for printing. The pop-art connection came in when students added something from pop culture to their design. Ideas ranged from hobbies to video games to shopping.
4th graders printed using complementary colors. While some students printed, others worked on an op-art hand. (Step-by-step lesson HERE)
The prints came out pretty neat and provided the 4th graders with great exposure to printmaking, Pop Art, and personal expression.
Once all students had finished, we had a small critique. Students wrote comments on sticky notes and left them on each other’s artwork. They really enjoyed getting to see each other’s artwork and talking to their friends about the process and product.
