Matisse/McKeen Block Prints–5th Grade
In this lesson, my fifth graders learn about a controversial historical artist, Henri Matisse. We briefly learn about his pioneering in Fauvism before we learn about his “second life” making organically-shaped paper cutouts. Then we fast-forward to contemporary artist Allison McKeen and combine their styles together in this printmaking activity.
It was the holiday season, and for this project, students made huge sheets of hand-printed wrapping paper to take home.
I think every art teacher should tie in art history to a lesson when possible, but I also think it’s important to marry the subject to contemporary artists as well: it shows students that “being an artist” isn’t just for hobbyists, but can also be an actual career where you can find success. Alongside Matisse, I showed students artist Allison McKeen, a printmaker who is making art right now! I even showed them Reels from her Instagram, which was really engaging for them. Finally, it was time for artmaking!
Time to cut!
The first step of this project: a student cuts organic shapes out of paper–just like Matisse!
In fifth grade, I took a bit of a gamble and introduced relief printmaking. No matter what grade, I go over gouge safety a hundred times, and to my relief (pun definitely intended) my fifth graders were honestly the best at following directions out of all of my middle schoolers. Learning how to carve was definitely made easier when students followed along with my instructional video–I’ve found that students of all ages pay attention better watching on the classroom TV as opposed to crowding around a table to watch me to a demo.
After tracing and then carving out their organic shapes, we talked color: each student made their wrapping paper have an analogous color scheme. Several students excelled at mixing their colors on their slabs, and the papers turned out beautifully! I also had quite a few kids come up to me and tell me this was their favorite art project they’d ever done. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to hear that!
Lesson plan, state standards, and instruction can be found here, and my Google Slides presentation can be found here! I hope your students have as much fun with this lesson as we did :)
