1st grade Frida Kahlo still life collage

1st grade Frida Kahlo Still  life Collage

I found a similar lesson like this from https://www.deepspacesparkle.com/mexican-unit-fruit-crate-art-project/

I changed it a bit to fit with my students introduction to Frida Kahlo.

On the first day we watched a couple short videos on Frida Kahlo. I found two  that are very short and school friendly. You can find them here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfbLR15Bh74

and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkq_Ikaa40

We examined her many still life paintings and then got to work. 

1st graders were to think of the  kind of fruit or vegetables they wanted to have in their still life paintings. They were provided with 4, 6" x 9" pieces of multi-media paper, tempera paint and various tools to create textures in their paintings. 

Students were to paint the entire papers with the colors they wanted and then create a texture in the paint using various supplies such as paint combs, bottle stoppers and kitchen scrubbers. 

This took one, fifty minute class period (and we were rushing). 

For the next class we discussed the shapes of various fruits and vegetables and how to draw to save paper.

I provided patterns for students to trace to make a basket and step by step directions on how to make the weaving pattern on the board.

Students could share their painted papers if they decided they wanted a different color of fruit or vegetable.

This actually took two, fifty  minute class periods. 

I love how they turned out!

Frida Kahlo still life 1st grade

Frida Kahlo Still Life in 1st grade 

There are so many artists that have had fascinating lives, one being Frida Kahlo's. I started off by telling the story of how Frida Kahlo was in an accident when she was young and how she suffered from pain for the rest of her life. I found a short video about her for children on YouTube called "The Magic of Discovery", Frida Kahlo. It is only 2 1/2 minutes long and talks briefly about the accident and her life. I then proceeded to show the students her self portraits and still lifes. Much discussion took place about her self portraits, birds and monkeys.
I displayed on the board her still life painting titled "Still Life with Parrot" .

I gave direct instruction on how to draw the still life, breaking down each object into a basic shape. Many students needed help drawing the watermelon, but after that they were on their own. 

We discussed foreground, middle ground and back ground and overlapping. 

Students then traced their still life with a black permanent marker. 

On the next class (our classes are 50 minutes), students got to work on painting. We reviewed what a "shade" and "tint" were and how to create the two. Each student was given their own paper plate with both colors and then they got to work on painting. 

This project took to my surprise three class periods. One day to draw and two days to paint.