Pop Art Andy Warhol Style !

Grade Level : 5th graders ( but it can easily be adapted to any grade level ! )

Objectives : Students will take a brief look at Pop Art through the eyes of Andy Warhol and then they will make their own interpretation of pop art .

Materials : * Index cards

* 9 x 11' white paper with four identical rectangles on them

* one HB pencil

* color pencils or crayons

* scissors


Resources : * juvenile book : Andy Warhol by Linda Bolton (publisher :Franklin Watts , 2002 .
* websites : factmonster.com , cybermuse.gallery.com
Biography : * Andy Warhol was born in Pennsylvania in 1928 .
* He studied art at the Canergie Institute of Technology , where he graduate in June 1949 .
* After moving to New York , he quickly became a successful commercial artist . He created advertisements for magazines , window displays for department stores , illustrations for record companies , ...During that time , he won several awards for his designs .
* Towards the end of the 1950s he decided to become a serious artist , not just a commercial artist . He started painting things that were popular at the time and that were important to him . He painted dollar bills over and over , as well as canned soups , famous people (like Marilyn Monroe ) bottles of soda ,...
* Warhol used a method of silk screening used in commercial art . It allowed him to produce and reproduce his work , using different colors .
* He died unexpectedly in New York following surgery for a routine gallbladder operation . He was 58 .

Motivation : Show different painting from Andy Warhol and ask questions about them . I personally chose those ones :
* Canned soup
* Bottle of coke
*Four Pandas
* Four monkeys
* Cars
* Marilyn Monroe
All those paintings show how Warhol chose simple and popular subjects and made several prints of them using different colors .

Vocabulary : Pop Art / Contrast / Color wheel / Silk-screen printing .

Activity : 1. Tell the students to choose a simple popular object (or item) .For example an ice cream , a snowman , a toy , a guitar , etc.
2. The student will draw the item (without the details ) on an index card .
3. They will cut around the item , drawn on the index card.
4. The students will trace around the cut index card to transfer the item four time (once on each rectangle ) on the white paper . They will now have four identical drawing (one on each rectangle ).
5. The students will add details on the object .
6. Color the four items in four different colors using contrast.

Examples :

How it all started !

How did this blog get started ? It's easy ! I LOVE ART ! Everywhere you look ...you see art ! I love to look at art pieces and of course I love to create art ! I am a self-taught artist . I shared my passion for art with my son before he started school . I became an art docent in his class when he was in elementary school . Now that he is going to start middle school I am creating this blog to share my love for art with you as a parent , a teacher or an art docent .

With budget cuts increasing so rapidly in our elementary schools , art lessons are being hit really hard ! To me it is sad , as I have kept such wonderful memories of my art lessons a kid ! I remember the clay hedgehog , the clay house , the masks (one made out of an egg box and one out of papier mâché) , the bags , the pillow , the stuffed animal , the cowboy hat , etc. I want our kids to have the same wonderful memories . As I work as an art docent , the art supplies were pretty limited , and unfortunately it went worse the last two years . I often ended up buying my own supply . That was my treat to the kids and it was all worth it when I saw the smile on their faces ! Now it is time for me to share my art projects with you .I will try to post one art project a month as I am pretty busy . You are more than welcome to use them for non-profit . If you are a parent , share them with your kids and if you are an art docent or a teacher , share them with your class ! Happy hunting and have fun !