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Jim Dine's Everyday Objects

Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Learn about artist Jim Dine and turn an everyday object into a work of art.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Jim Dine is an American artist whose work often features ordinary objects of daily life - sometimes literally. For example, his "Shoes Walking on my Brain" has an actual pair of shoes attached to it. Bathrobes and tools are also prominent subjects of his work. Discuss his art and inspiration. The imagery of tools, for instance, is symbolic to him. His family owned a hardware store in Ohio and he saw tools as offering "a link with our past, the human past, the hand."

  • Step 2

    Jim Dine called his work autobiographical and said objects represent "a vocabulary of feelings." Have students think of items with symbolic meaning to them. Then have them create a stylized drawing of the object.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to present their art to the class and talk about what the object they depicted represents and why they chose it.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

SEL: Self-Awareness: Recognize one's strengths, emotions, and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.

SEL: Self-Awareness: Identify personal, cultural, and linguistic assets as well as personal interests that lead to a sense of purpose.

Adaptations

Another of Jim Dine's prominent motifs is a heart. He says he uses it as "...a template for all my emotions. It's a landscape for everything." Have students create a piece of artwork using an outline of a heart and filling it in with colors and images that describe themselves.

Although he says he is not a pop artist, Jim Dine has been associated with the movement because of his portrayal of commonplace objects. Have students learn about this movement and view examples of some noted works such as Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans," Jasper Johns' "Flag," or Keith Haring's "Dog 1985."