Students listen to instrumental music and use washable paint and oil pastels to show how the music makes them feel. Then they cut out 3 small, 6-pointed snowflakes and glue them to the painting.
Feel the music as you listen to it.
When you are ready choose a colour and brush and start to paint.
Make lines and shapes that show how the music makes you feel.
Let the music speak to you.
View your painting as you listen to the music again.
Add some accent marks with oil pastels.
Follow the instructions to cut out a 6-pointed star. (Downloads - SixPointedStar.pdf).
Keep the star folded and cut into the sides to make a snowflake.
Make 3 snowflakes with different patterns.
Spread glitter glue on the snowflakes.
Fold small pieces of paper (2.5 cm x 2.5 cm) into quarters.
Place the snowflakes on the painting.
Glue the folded paper to the painting under the centre of each snowflake so the snowflakes will be slightly raised from the paper.
Apply a small amount of glue to the back of the centre the snowflakes and press them into place.
Glue parts of the edges of the snowflakes to the painting and let the unglued parts sit out from the paper so they cast a shadow.
Place the finished painting on a clean surface.
Imagine you can hear the music as you view your artwork with fresh eyes.
share their videos with the class.
Download and display the Contrast and Emphasis posters available on this website.
Download the images of Bertram Brooker's painting, Sounds Assembling, 1928, and Wassily Kandinsky's, Yellow, Red, Blue, (1925) from the Internet.
Review or teach dodecagons - 12-sided polygons.
View and discuss the paintings, Sounds Assembling, and Yellow, Red, Blue without sharing the titles.
Create a mixed media abstract artwork inspired by a piece of music.
Follow instructions to cut out a 6-pointed star.
Turn three 6-pointed stars into snowflakes.
Use lines and shapes to create movement.
Encourage students to let the music speak to them.
Discuss and demonstrate how adding colour to some parts of lines and shapes with oil pastels can create the illusion of depth.
Display the completed paintings as a body of work.
Ask students to view the artworks while the music is playing. From time to time stop the music and ask students to show where they see some aspect of the music. Remind them to support their ideas with evidence found in the work. Ask them, "What do you see that makes you say that?"
​- movement – How has the direction and flow of lines created a sense of movement?
- space – How has the use of oil pastel added to the sense of space?
- creativity – How does the composition reflect the uniqueness of the artist?
Ask a few volunteers to share what they learned.
Display the paintings in the classroom for several weeks.
Observe students as they discuss their paintings – active listening, insightful contributions, supporting ideas with evidence found in the artwork and from personal experience.