georgia o'keeffe poppies

I'm going to start this out by admitting I am the worst at capturing pictures of the process. I get too involved in the process, whether it is myself doing the art, or my students. This is something I would really like to get better at, because there are so many successful art projects that I would love to share the step-by-step, and I just prefer pictures (probably the visual in me). This project was inspired from a browse on pinterest (as I feel all projects do, whether you are have a visual arts degree or not), which lead me to the magic that is Painted Paper Art. It is a magical place. I'm a huge fan of Georgia O'keeffe, so these poppies immediately drew my attention. Even though I followed the idea here, what I had in mind was a little different...I was envisioning large, like two posters worth large. After a quick test on my own at home, I had a rough idea of what I wanted. There are some things I would do differently with my kids next year, but see ahead for that.

Ignore the messy carpet and lunch kit, but please notice the poppies!

1. I used 2 pieces of white poster paper, and cut each one into 4 pieces. Every kid should get 8 pieces.

2. Rather than getting them to paint from the middle out, each piece of paper will be a petal, so I encouraged them to paint from the bottom up. I always forget how difficult it is for kids to let go and paint large strokes. A lot of my kids tried to draw small petals and paint within that. Next year I think I will just get them to paint the entire piece of paper with the colours.

3. The eighth paper is for the centre. I recommend they paint a large dot, as it can always be cut smaller.

4. Once the red petals are dry, the petals need to be cut. My kids once again had the tendency to cut them too small, so I ended up cutting a lot of them....which means next year I will have templates for them to trace and cut. I normally am a little freer with cutting and size, however the disappointment from a child is palpable when they see the big poppies and theirs is too small.

5. Cut out the dot, and cut lines into the paper, just as seen on Painted Paper Art.

6. Now comes assembly. This was a bit of a headache. I have not found a perfect solution for the gluing together of these poppies. White glue cracks easily with the weight, and the glue sticks did not stick well. I ended up taping on the back of many. We may have to do a combination of the three next year.

I assembled the petals by overlapping them in a circle and gluing them down. The black circle gets glued down over the hole in the centre.

7. Finally, rip some black tissue paper and glue it in the centre.

I love to get the kids to step back and admire their art. Their excitement about what they have created is amazing! The painted paper curls perfectly while drying, leaving beautiful petals. I am absolutely in love with what the kids did! Now, here's hoping next time I actually get the process in pictures. In the meantime, enjoy the poppies!

Alex