Mary Cassatt and All That

So on weeks when we don't have our "Art Class" with friends, we ideally, copy a work of art by our term's artist. This term was Mary Cassatt, we had already read a couple children's biographies and watched a film about her. For today's project, "Young Mother Sewing" was the voice of the people.

 

 I pulled out oil pastels and chalk pastels, pushed back sleeves, and gave strict orders to stay at the table until completion; in that order.

Earlier we had played the memory game where I hide the picture and ask them "what color is the mom's hair?" or "can you see her needle?" and "can you see the dragon out the window?" so they had really looked at it carefully before this.

We just briefly talked about the focal point, major dividing lines in the picture, and the tone of our cardboard (we're big spenders around here) compared to the lightest/darkest values in the picture. Then I noticed their eyes glaze over and went to do dishes and leave them in peace.

And what a peace it was--silence for the better part of an hour working on these:



 

by 9y/o Bowery Bird

 

by 7y/o Mockingbird

 

Then we have a 4y/o boy's interpretation of "Young Mother Sewing."


by 4y/o Kingfisher

It was smeary, but fun. I think the tactile nature and vibrant color of chalks really appeals to children, and I'm going to have to pull them out more often.