Doodlebug Dabblings: Breaking the rules with Picasso

This is the final project I am going to share from the "Art Yourself" camp at North Vancouver Community Arts Council. Unfortunately I just did not get great photos of the clay head bust the kids did which is so disappointing because they were darling.

I find the last day of camp a bit challenging as I need a project that doesn't need time to dry since the kids need to be able to take it home at the end of the three hours. While trying to decide what project to introduce, I remembered a project I did years ago when my children (who are now in University and their last year of high school) were in elementary school outside of Seattle, Washington.

I was the Art Docent Chairperson for our school and discovered this Picasso project in the handbook. I was not completely sold that it was great but I needed something quick for a teacher who needed me to come in at the last minute. By the end of the 45 minutes, I was more than sold as the kids had a great time, learned a bit about Picasso's cubist work, and the teacher had an amazing display to show the parents at Open House. Win, win, win.

I have always wanted to revisit it and with a camp focused on self portrait work, this seemed like the perfect time.

The kids were "all in" when it came to breaking the rules after the fun they had the day before with the Modigliani inspired portraits. At first I think they might of been a bit disappointed we weren't working with the pastel chalks again, but I try hard to introduce the students to a wide variety of different mediums during the week and at this point had not done anything with the oil pastels.

So I showed them a few of Picasso's cubist portraits and asked them what they saw that made it different and interesting.

Then they pulled out the photos their parents took of their side profile and the forward facing head shot. I quickly showed them that the oils were much more interesting when you layered lots of color instead of just using them like a crayon. I even showed them that when they layered lots of color, the pastel did all the blending work for them and they didn't even need to use their finger very much to rub things together.

Next I handed them a black piece of pastel paper and I asked them to draw the shape of their head on the paper with the black oil pastel.

Then using the blind contour drawing skills they learned earlier in the week, minus the paper plate, I asked them to add their profile through the middle of the face they had drawn. Every. single. child. was eager to try, even the ones who had shed a few tears in frustration earlier in the week. With a better understanding of the outcome, their fears had been alleviated.

Hallelujah!

I then asked them to draw one eye face forward. Then we discussed what looked different about their eye in the profile picture and I asked them to add this to the page too. I told them it did not need to be in the same place nor the same size. Whatever made them happy was great.

We talked about all the angles we saw in Picasso's work and they to draw a nose that pleased them.

After that, the lips. Some did part of the lip in profile and the other face front, others just a front view. Their choice.

Then they added color and WOW!

Look at the results!!

A great project years ago and a great project now.