Picasso

We found out about an art class in our town kind of last minute.  We lucked into a couple of open spots in a class Thursday night for the boys.  I am so excited about it.  A lady in town calls it "art in my backyard and holds art sessions at her house.  In the summer the sessions are outside literally in her backyard.  In the winter she has a small building in her yard that looks like a large playhouse with tables inside.  (The next two photos are from Ashley's blog-we arrived when it was dark so I couldn't take any pics then)

 

Ms. Ashley has a theme for each class for her fall art schedule.  The theme for Thursday was Pablo Picasso.  I had no idea how she was going to teach a little history lesson on Pablo Picasso to a dozen kids.  The class we found a space in was for 4-6 year olds...and she has another class for 7-9 year olds.  But it is the same theme and she said she ends up with both ages in both classes.  There was even a 3-year old in the class.  The kids were completely silent and listened well the whole time Ashley was teaching and instructing.  She showed a couple of slides on Picasso and talked about him on a really basic level.  Then she put this picture up:

They used oil pastels.  She then took the kids step by step through different shapes and techniques first using a pencil.  Then she showed different techniques on layering colors, outlining the drawings, using white, noticing specific details on the rooster, etc.  Jack's rooster is on the left and Wyatt's is on the right.

I love seeing how they each view the rooster.  The are similar but really different.  They talked about the "comb" on the rooster's head and the sharp spurs on the rooster's legs.  Ashley urged them to press hard with the pastels even if they would break.  She told them they could have the beak open or closed.  They could add a tongue or leave it out.  The boys seemed to really enjoy it.  As soon as it was over they said they liked it and wanted to go back.   I have really missed the great art they brought home from preschool (their preschool teacher was an art major) so they did some really creative projects.  They haven't done too much art in kindergarten and first grade so far.  Finding this class was like discovering gold!  Yay!