Scratch Art birds

8 year old

I've decided that birds and Scratch Art are a great way to teach students about line. This discovery was quickly made during the "Birds of a Feather" spring break camp at North Vancouver Community Arts Council when I had the kids create these beautiful birds.

To be truthful, I figured this would be a project the kids flew through based on their age. It was a very young camp, over half the class was 7 and under years of age.

7 year old

I could not of been more wrong. They LOVED the scratch art and asked to do more once they finished the first. This project ended up keeping the kids engrossed for almost two hours! It probably helped that there was a hidden surprise that I didn't even know about at first. The papers revealed a variety of different color underneath.

7 year old

I used one package of paper containing ten sheets for a class of twelve students. I cut each paper in fourths, thinking the smaller size would be less intimidating to fill with line and also result in a finished work. (when thinking they would probably not spend much time creating the art)

7 year old

9 year old

9 year old

Although they surprised me with the level of engagement they had with this project, I'm still glad I had cut the paper into fourths so I had plenty for each child to create several birds.

Each child had access to a lot of reference material on birds. I asked them to pick one that caught their fancy and really study the many directions of the birds' feathers and then record that on their paper using a bamboo skewer.

7 year old

6 year old

6 year old

I also highlighted the different shape of line that they could utilize to create texture and direction. Then really my only job became to make sure each child got a new sheet of paper when needed and that they put their names on the finished pieces.

As you can see I did not always succeed at my one and only job, getting their names on the paper, as I have no idea who created the beautiful green bird.......

6 year old

5 year old

How sweet are the wings created by this five year old? I love the way he interpreted line to create his bird.

7 year old

One thing we did learn however was greasy hands from snack time did not mix well with the paper. A few of the kids had to go and give their hands another washing and start with a new piece of paper as dirty finger marks seemed to hinder getting the scratch marks to reveal the underneath color.

6 year old

I love when projects pleasantly surprise me. I love when the kids get so involved in a project that you can just sit back and watch them excitedly share what they are learning with one another. 

9 year old

The kids were so proud of their works that I promptly took them back to my studio and spent the evening mounting each one for them to take home. It seemed only appropriate that the works look their best after the artists had such a wonderful time creating them.

8 year old

At the end of this project, I was so pleased with the entire process that I promptly went out and filled my own studio with packages of this paper for future projects.

8 year old

Who could blame me?