For my mini-unit in art, I chose to focus on abstract expressionism and the artist Jackson Pollock. Last week I introduced the artist to the chidlren during line time. I had printed out several pictures of the artist working in his studio to pass around. I told a story about Jackson Pollock and how he discovered his special type of action painting. Then we looked at several of his famous paintings in a large book I checked out from the library. After that, I showed the children several canvases of abstract action paintings that I have made over the years with other students and my own children. I asked the children to describes what they saw and there were some interesting answers. Most of the children described the colors they saw, some children described lines versus squiggles. The most interesting answer was from MG who said the paintings all looked dirty!
Today, we introduced the first Jackson Pollock style project in our series. By rolling a marble dipped into paint over a paper, the children were able to create abstract patterns that are similar Pollock’s style. We placed five small plates with paint and one marble in each next to their work space. The children were able to go at their own pace and choose the colors in any order and amount that they chose. The children were very deliberate in their color choices and calm in their motions. It seemed to be almost meditative to some of the children!
