Pointillism

1. Explore the style of art called Pointillism. Artists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac are very well known for their contributions to the Pointillism movement. They combined tiny dots of color to create a painting. From a distance, the dots blend together to form a picture! What examples of their works can you find? How do these artists use paintbrushes and colors in unique ways? Organize a variety of text and electronic resources for students to use during their research.
2. Ask students what other materials can be used to create a pointillist picture? Experiment with a variety of products like Crayola Washable Markers, Crayola Slick Stix™, and even Crayola Model Magic®!
3. To use Markers and Slick Stix, gently press down onto paper to create colorful dots. Slick Stix contain pigments that may stain clothing, fabrics and other household surfaces. Wear a smock to protect clothing and cover your work surface with newspaper. Blend colors by placing dots close together to give the illusion of another color. For example, dots of blue and yellow near each other will appear green from far away!
4. Flatten a small amount of Model Magic on a hard surface like a table. Press a Crayola Marker cap firmly into the flattened Model Magic. Remove the Model Magic and roll it into a small ball. Model Magic that is fresh from the pack will stick to itself. Dried pieces can be glued together. You may need some glue to stick Model Magic dots to the paper. Combine a variety of different colored dots to create interesting Pointillism effects!
5. On a sheet of heavy white paper or oak tag, design your own Pointillism picture. Choose a bright, colorful subject, like a sunny apple orchard you’ve visited or your favorite sporting event. You may wish you sketch out your drawing with colored pencils or crayons first and plan where each dot color will go.
6. Students choose any of the Markers, Slick Stix, or Model Magic to make the dots for drawings, or combine all the materials for a really intriguing image!
7. Students share their artwork with small groups of classmates. As they present their work, encourage them to incorporate information from research into their talks.

LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

LA: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.

SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.

SS: Identify and describe ways family, groups, and community influence the individual's daily life and personal choices.

VA: Select media, techniques, an processes; analyze what makes them effective or not effective in communicating ideas; and reflect upon the effectiveness of choices.

VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.

VA: Describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.

VA: Analyze contemporary and historic meanings in specific artworks through cultural and aesthetic inquiry.

Students may wish to research the art of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac and explore Pointillism. Organize research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.

Challenge students to use the colors of nature to inspire them. Seurat and Signac often featured landscapes in their paintings. Organize a school yard field trip for a study of light, shadow, and colors. Have students work individually or in teams of two to create a Pointillism landscape.

Challenge students to use warm and cool colors when creating highlights and shadows. How does this make the drawing more realistic?

Pointillism artists drew their inspiration from another style of art called Impressionism, which uses loose brushstrokes of color to create movement in paintings. Swirl and blend colors of Crayola Model Magic to give an Impressionist style to Presto Dots before adding them to the drawing.

Students collaborate in small groups to create one art piece. Prior to beginning the work, students brainstorm what they envision for their collaborative art piece. Write a summary paragraph describing the team's effort to create their artwork.

Students use this technique to create a portrait of an important historical personality that they are currently studying or have recently studied. Accompanying the Pointillism portrait is a summary of research on the historic personality.