3rd Grade - Stuart Davis inspired Initials

I found that this project was a really big hit this year. I know one reason being that the kids were able to use sharpies, something they almost never are allowed to use. Also, this project is great for students who struggle with drawing because they are working with a lot of familiar elements.






Materials:
18" x 24" white paper
Pencils
Sharpie
Mr. Sketch markers

I have found that teaching younger children how to following instructions it is best to really break down the steps. Give them an example of the first step and then let them follow.

For this project the first thing I showed them is how to draw their initials. I talked about size, overlapping and balance being very important. I also showed them some examples of how to draw block letters and bubble letters. When I was finished with the example they were to draw their own initials. This gave me a chance to help students with drawing letters and catch those students who drew their letters too small so they could correct their errors.

Even with some students still working, I had everyone pause and began showing them the next step. I added basic shapes into my composition. I again pointed out size, overlapping and balance. I also made sure to talk about repeating shapes like Stuart Davis had in his paintings. When I finished students were to finish their initials and begin adding their shapes.

I continue to break up each step to the project in this way. I had them add repeating lines and even words that explain special interests.

When students finished with drawing the next step is tracing the pencil lines with Sharpie. I laid down some ground rules about the sharpies. No writing or drawing on others, no drawing on ourselves, when not using Sharpie it needs to be closed. That was pretty much it. They did really well because they did not want to get this special privilege taken away.

Finally, COLOR! The best part of course.

After the kids erased all extra pencil lines, they used their markers to color in each shape with a color. Some larger shapes are divided by lines and they are to color each shape a different color. I told the students to stick to 4-5 colors and to repeat those colors like Stuart Davis. I also show them coloring technique, trace around shape and fill with even strokes moving in one direction. You can see from the pictures that the kids were enjoying the project.

One thing I also had to warn students about is making sure there is even light colors and dark colors. It is very easy to get too dark.