Weather or Not...

Make a weather mood collage using colorful papers you create yourself using cool new mixed media techniques and your favorite Crayola® supplies.

• 1.

  Look at different weather conditions in your own environment, and in books, photographs, and videos. What do you notice about the appearance of the sun in each kind of weather? How do the clouds change? How does the wind play a role in how weather feels? What forms does water come in for different kinds of weather?

• 2.

  Discover how artists depict weather. Some to study include: Charles Burchfield's <i>September Wind and Rain</i>, Katsushika Hokusai's <i>A Shower Below the Summit</i>, Francisco de Goya's <i>Spring (or The Flower Girls)</i>, Louisa Chase's <i>Cloudburst</i>, and Maurice Prendergast's <i>Sunset and Sea Fog</i>. How do artists use art materials and techniques to show weather moods? How does weather affect your mood?

• 3.

  Cover the work area with recycled newspaper. On watercolor paper, make a variety of papers to use for a Weather or Not collage. Try several of the media and techniques described here. <li><i>Watercolor</i>: Paint with Crayola® Watercolors and Paint Brushes on dry paper. For a dry brush effect, remove most of the color from the brush and then brush energetically to produce hairy or scratchy-looking lines. <li><i>Crayon resist</i>: Color heavily with Crayola Crayons. Paint over the crayon with watercolor. <li><i>Textured paper</i>: Scratch the paper surface with the end of an open paper clip to create texture. Or crumple the paper and flatten. Paint with watercolor. <li><i>Wet paper</i>: Wet the paper with clean water. Paint or dot with wet watercolor. Sprinkle salt into the paint if desired. Brush away the salt when it dries. <li><i>Tints</i>: Draw with Crayola Washable Markers. Color with crayon. Brush with clean water to produce tints.

• 4.

  Press wet papers between the pages of a recycled telephone book. Dry thoroughly.

• 5.

  Choose one painted paper for the background. Cut with Crayola Scissors and tear pieces of other papers to make shapes for clouds and various weather elements.

• 6.

  Create more shapes for terrain, vegetation, buildings, and inhabitants which appear in the middle ground and foreground.

• 7.

  Glue the shapes to the background paper with Crayola School Glue.</font>

Benefits

• By observing many types of weather conditions, children become more aware of variations in sunlight, clouds, wind, and forms of moisture.
• Students discover the techniques, brush strokes, and colors that artists such as Charles Burchfield, Katsushika Hokusai, Francisco Jose‚ De Goya, Louisa Chase, and Maurice Prendergast used to depict weather moods.
• Young artists experiment with mixed media techniques to create a variety of papers. Weather collages are created to convey mood, time of day, and season.

Adaptations

• Find other ways to use these watercolored papers: covers for books, cut into strips to weave (try alternating warm and cool colors), or use them to create additional collages, such as self-portraits.
• Keep charts or journals about the weather. Sketch cloud formations on different days. Watch how shadows change with the sun.
• Write a poem to accompany the Weather or Not collage.
• Younger children and special needs students may benefit from short sessions focusing on one technique at a time. Store children's dry designed papers in labeled grocery bags turned sideways and stacked flat until used for final collage artwork.