Sand Surrealism and Artist Statements

I wrote about my Surrealistic Sand lesson that I teach to 3rd grade last summer but I just had to share some results from this year. This project can be a challenge for students but it is such a different way of working than they are used to that I love teaching it. The students learn about Surrealism and Masson's Battle of Fishes then use the automatic process of drizzling glue and sprinkling sand on it as the stimulus for their idea.

This student remembered Dali's Swans Reflecting Elephants from my Surrealism PowerPoint and was so excited to show me that his project is a stingray from one direction and an elephant from the other.

Swans Reflecting Elephants via WikiPaintings

Here are a few others:

This year my SMART goal was focused on improving 3rd graders' ability to express ideas in Artist Statements. When my students write Artist Statements, I ask them to answer "What, How, Why, How"- What did you make? How did you make it? Why did you make it (what were we learning about)? and, How do you think it turned out? While I didn't meet my goal, I did see big improvements from the "pre-test" Artist Statements at the beginning of the year that were mostly something like "This is a fish. It's pretty."

I thought it was funny that this student made her project because "number one I did not want to get in trouble"

2nd Grade Cubomania

I wanted to teach my 2nd graders about Surrealism but decided my Surrealism lesson from the past 2 years wasn't developmentally appropriate for them. While researching techniques the Surrealists used, I came across Cubomania. Cubomania is cutting a picture into squares and rearranging them to make a new, confusing picture. This makes sense since the Surrealists were interested in images that were confusing or startling, but if it was really used by THE Surrealists, I can't find any images. Either way, it was kind of interesting to try out.

 I had pulled a big stack of photos from Smithsonian and National Geographic magazines (gotta make sure those naked pictures are gone or deal with sneaky inappropriate giggles) for the students to choose from. After each student chose their image, they handed it to me and I chopped and trimmed with the paper cutter. The students chose a piece of construction paper in a contrasting or coordinating color. I showed the students how they could fold their paper to make dividing lines to cut along thinking it would be faster and easier than using rulers. Silly me thought this lesson could be completed in one 40-minute class period. We had to add a second since most students barely finished cutting by the end of the first. I had to demonstrate how to use a paper clip so their squares would stay with their construction paper until the next class.

In the next class the students were encouraged to try different compositions like arranging from dark to light, sorting by color, or making some sort of pattern, but as long as no two neighboring pieces from the original were put together, it was ok. 

The students could also had to make decisions about borders and space between their pieces. I think both ways look interesting. This was hard for a few students who liked the original picture so much that they didn't want to change it. I explained that the original belonged to another artist and for it to be their artwork, it had to change into something new.

I'm not good at conclusions. I've told you all I have to say and don't have the energy to "wrap it all up". So, I'll just go with "the end." :)

3rd Grade Surrealistic Sand Pictures

Play sand is quickly becoming a favorite art supply for me.  (Check out the Tactile Sand Paintings my 2nd grade students made here.)  I wanted to do a lesson based on my favorite Surrealist painting, one that  hangs out in the shadows of better known paintings like Salvador Dali's the Persistence of Memory. André Masson threw sand onto wet gesso as the means to stimulate an idea.  The shape of the sand suggested an underwater battle scene.  Click on the picture below to read more about Masson's work on MoMA's website.

André Masson, Battle of Fishes, 1926

I showed the students a PowerPoint about Masson and his automatic drawings and sand paintings to start us off. Next, I passed out supplies and demonstrated the process we would be using.  For the first day, we needed tagboard or sturdy paper, bottled glue, cotton swabs, and sand.  

1. Have students get their glue bottles ready to squirt: give it a shake, lid open, hold it up in the air over the paper, but do NOT squirt yet.
2. Prepare the students.  Tell them they will have 2 seconds to drizzle glue over their paper.  This should be like an automatic drawing.  It works best when the bottle is held over the paper instead of the tip touching like I usually suggest.  The best results come when the glue has an irregular shape- spread out but not just swirls over the whole surface.
3. Drizzle the glue.  Seriously, about 2 seconds is all you need and some students get WAAAY too much glue even in that little time.
4. Put the glue bottles away, no adding to it.
5. Use a cotton swab to gently smear the drizzled glue.  The glue should still look white.  If the glue is spread too thin, the sand will not stick very well and the shape will turn into a giant blob.
6. Sprinkle sand on the wet glue.  Dump extra sand back into sand cups.
7. Let dry.

If students had extra time after cleaning up, I gave them free draw paper for automatic drawing.  If you have never done automatic drawing before, it's pretty simple and a good way to practice skills needed for the second part of this project.  Fill a paper with kind of "scribbled" lines then go back and look for shapes that suggest images.  The students just used pencil for the first part of the automatic drawing and to add details to define their images.

TIP: I use a recycled gallon ice cream tub to hold most of my sand and have found the easiest way to distribute sand is to have a cup at each table.

On day 2, I passed out projects and encouraged the students to try turning their paper different directions to look for pictures that jumped out at them from their sand splotches.  They were allowed to use the whole shape of the sand or part of it, the positive space or negative space.  We used black tempera paint and thin paint brushes to add lines and shapes to create the picture.  As long as the image was informed by the shape of the sand, that was the most important part.  We talked about how things don't always make sense in Surrealism so they were encouraged to keep that in mind.  We had a lot of "_______ in Space"!  After enough detail was added with paint to make the picture clear, I gave the students black sharpie markers to write a title on the front.  I love the titles the students think of on projects like this.

I also had students with extra time write artist statements on the back of their papers.  I wish I could find the exact wording that one of my students used to give his very honest opinion.  To paraphrase it was basically: I hated this project.  I didn't like the sand and glue to make a picture.  Most students really enjoyed it once they let go of it being "perfect" and just had fun.  I will warn you that I had a couple students very close to tears at the beginning of day one.  I made a big deal of telling the class that they were smart enough and creative enough and imaginative enough to "find" their own pictures in their artwork.  (This is where the automatic drawing practice comes in handy.)  I said that the pictures didn't have to look realistic and if they couldn't think of something right away, keep trying or turn it into some sort of made up creature or machine.  When I had 3rd grade boys close to tears, I did offer a little more help.  The other students at the table and I helped point out a few ideas.

Take a look at some more examples below or check out the Artsonia exhibit!

2nd Grade Surreal Paintings

Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory from 1921 stands out to me as a dominant painting from the Surrealist movement.  I have always found the clocks really interesting and thought it would be a perfect way to introduce my 2nd grade students to Surrealism.  I started with a PowerPoint with images of Dali's painting and information about the movement before introducing the assignment.  We discussed the paintings, especially the Persistence of Memory.  I pointed out that parts of the painting are realistic and parts don't make sense (the best way I could put Surrealism in 2nd grade terms!)  

For the assignment, I asked students to think of something they could draw that had a circular shape in it.  The whole object could be shaped like a circle or just part of it, like the iris/pupil in your eye or the center of a flower.  I explained that they would draw everything realistically, except replace the circular shape with a drawing of a clock to make the artwork surreal and pay homage to Dali.  This was a two class project.  The first day was about art history, discussion, and drawing.  I had a variety of cardboard tubes and rings for students to trace if they wanted help making a circle.  The second class was spent painting the artwork with tempera.

The most confusing part about the assignment for the students was giving enough visual information to tell what the clock was really supposed to be.  For example, if they said a tennis ball is shaped like a circle, they needed to give clues so we KNEW it was supposed to be a tennis ball and not just a clock.  I tried to get the students to visualize the circular shape they were going to draw before I mentioned the clock- obviously since the shape was being replaced with a clock, a clock would not be a good choice!

Clock= Tennis Ball

Clock= Face

Clock= Candy?

Clock= Nostril, haha!

Clock= Apple

Clock= Mouse face

Clock= Hole in a key

3rd Grade Exquisite Corpse Drawings

I was trying to get all my classes back on the same schedule before Spring Break.  That meant coming up with a 1 day project for my 3rd grade students to do, 2 days for my Tuesday classes that were ahead of schedule due to snow days.  I did a quick, modified exquisite corpse to kind of help students brainstorm imaginary animals when I was student teaching and had always wanted to do a regular exquisite corpse project.  I decided it was the perfect time!

I gave the students a VERY quick introduction to Surrealism.  I showed them Salvador Dali's "The Persistence of Memory" because I figured if they were familiar with any Surrealist art, it would be that painting.  Next, I showed them the Exquisite Corpse website that has a great picture of the artists involved, artwork, and interesting information about the drawing style.  I never knew, or forgot if I did know at one point, that Exquisite Corpse started out as writing!  Here is an excerpt from the website.

Among Surrealist techniques exploiting the mystique of accident was a kind of collective collage of words or images called the cadavre exquis (exquisite corpse). Based on an old parlor game, it was played by several people, each of whom would write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold the paper to conceal part of it, and pass it on to the next player for his contribution.

 I told the class that we were going to make exquisite corpse drawings working with the group of students at their table.  To make it easier, I made sure that each table had the same number of students.  In a couple classes, I participated to make things even.  I passed out 9x12 inch drawing paper and we folded it to achieve one section for each person at the table.  I found out that it is very hard for 3rd grade students to fold a paper into 5 sections.  I kept trying a different approach with the next class to make it easier but at the end of my 5th class, I still had students who went a little crazy and ended up with about 10 sections.  I told the students that the sections did not need to be exactly the same size we just wanted to have the right number.  I modeled measuring with my fingers to get about the right size and then counting as I folded, 4 creases = 5 sections.  I made sure they knew to count as they folded and the students who listened carefully didn't have any trouble.  I asked the students who got confused or carried away with their folding to combine smaller sections into one and draw dividing lines.  As long as you have one section for each student, it will work!

Folding the paper was the hardest part of the project. I calculated how much time we had to work after folding the paper and divided that by the number of students at each table.  I said when to start and when to rotate so that every section would be filled and the original student would get their drawing back.  It averaged about 2-3 minutes for drawing on each section.  Some students drew something in about 30 seconds and thought they were done so I encouraged them to keep adding details.  This is how the drawing process worked:

1. Each student writes their name on the back of the paper they folded.
2. Time starts and each student draws something, anything school appropriate, the more random the better, in the top section of their paper.  They make a tiny part of the drawing overlap the crease.
3. When time is up, the first section is folded backwards so only blank paper and the tiny overlapping part is visible.*  Rotate.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the next section, moving down the paper.  No peaking at what the previous student drew! Students can use the tiny visible part of the drawing to influence their drawings.
5. When the paper returns to the original artist, unfold and admire the artwork!

*Tip: I tried to get the students to kind of open the paper when they folded each section back so there were only 2 layers of paper to draw on.  If you don't suggest this, you'll likely end up with papers folded like an accordion and not so easy to draw on.

When the students unfolded their papers, it was like opening a present on Christmas morning!  They really enjoyed seeing how the artwork came together and finding "their" section on the other students' drawings.  Most of the students really enjoyed the process of the project but I had one or two perfectionists that didn't really buy into the collaborative process.  I guess other students just don't live up to their standards! :)  I told the students that even though we worked together, the paper with their name on the back would be their artwork.  My Tuesday class had an extra period to work on the papers so they added color.  I really like the colorful artwork, the pencil line drawings don't photograph very well.  I would definitely do this project again.

Another project I started was a whole class Exquisite Corpse drawing.  I put out a long roll of paper on the floor and called one student at a time to add to it.  I decided to use the number order in place in their classroom for organization.  We'll work on the drawing a little at a time (if we have extra class time) until the paper is filled.

Check out the artwork below and feel free to visit my students' Exquisite Corpse drawings in our Artsonia exhibit!