Nancy Burrill Birch Trees Presentation modified and prepared by Alice Finch 2012 1st Grade Art Project West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

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Lesson Overview Lesson: Masking/Perspective/Color/Shadow Name: Birch Trees Time: 60 minutes Medium: Watercolor Volunteers: Recommend 5 to help Students will use masking tape and watercolors to create a beautiful picture of birch tree trunks. Using a small sea sponge, they can add bushes and/or use salt to create a lacy effect. Vocabulary: Masking, Perspective, Depth Print Suggestions: 227, Gustav Klimt: The Forest Additional Resource: Birches, by Robert Frost (great pictures, although poem too advanced for this age) book is stored with lessons

Birch Trees Materials Needed 8 color Watercolor sets Watercolor Paper (9x12) painting masking tape (1 ½ in. blue) Volunteers can rip in half during lesson prep Paintbrushes (large and small) Sea Sponges (damp but not soaking wet) Cups for water for rinsing brushes Table salt (not kosher)

Nancy Burrill, Teacher Extraordinaire Allison Yoshida, the Art Enrichment Coordinator for many years, did this lesson with her daughter’s first grade class. Nancy saw the display in the hallway and asked if the art program would adopt it into a lesson for all of first grade. The next year all first graders did the lesson because Nancy loved it and wanted all the kids to have an opportunity to do the interesting masking technique. After her death in the fall of 2014, we have dedicated this lesson in her honor.

Birches Robert Frost Forest by Gustav Klimt “When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.” What does the poet mean?

Watercolor background Salt texture Today’s Project Birch tree bark Masking Watercolor background Salt texture This project works best if you explain and do the steps in stages (don’t try to explain the entire project and then have them do it all at once).

Birch Tree Bark

Instructions 1 Begin by discussing birch trees and their appearance: show pictures (samples w/ lesson) and Klimt print. Also, if weather and teacher permit, take them for a walking tour outside: there is a stand of birch trees at Homestead Field (very close to the bathrooms, just south of the tennis courts). Note how the trees are bumpy, knobby, uneven, leaning (encourage them to help describe the trees). Can also contrast the shape with Douglas Fir, which are very different—they tend to be very straight and even. Three points: 1) white trunks; 2) brown bark showing through the white (where the white bark peels off); and 3) not perfectly straight (leaning, crooked, etc.).

Step 1- How to make a mask

Instructions 2 In art, masking protects an area from change. They will use the tape to create the tree trunks, and will paint over and around the tape. When the tape is peeled off, it will leave the white trunks where the paint couldn’t reach. Here we are using torn masking tape to replicate the rough bark of birch trees

Step 2- Trees in Perspective Give each student a 9x12 sheet of watercolor paper. Students can tear their own strips of painter’s tape, but it saves time and frustration if the parent volunteers have some tape pre-torn for them. Tape can be distributed a few pieces at a time so that they don’t get stuck together The uneven edges are then combined on the paper to make the trunks- uneven edges on the outside If the tape tears unevenly, it’s okay! That’s what makes the trees look realistic. For the first row of trees, all of the pieces of tape should hang over the bottom of the paper. Next, explain distance and perspective—how objects appear smaller the farther away they are, while things that are big will appear closer. On this project, the longer pieces of tape will look closer while the shorter pieces will appear farther away. To get this effect, have the students end the bottom pieces at varying heights (and they can tear off the bottom to get this effect, if necessary). Varying the height of the trunks will give the picture the illusion of depth. Press all the “trees” down firmly. Check that both sides of the tape are torn as that is what makes the irregular shape. Close trees = bigger Farther away trees = smaller 

Step 3- Painting the Land  

Instructions 3 When the students have applied the tape pieces correctly, it’s time to paint. First remind them not to use too much water or the tape will be hard to remove. Use the larger of the 2 paintbrushes for the land and sky Have the students think about a time of day for their picture: dawn, twilight, sunset, sunrise, daytime, night etc. Students should paint the bottom half of the picture first, making sure to cover all the bottoms of the trees so none of the tree trunks appears to be “floating.” Color choice is up to them: some might like greens (they can mix different greens, if desired); others might use yellows or browns.

Step 4- Painting the Sky

Instructions 4 After the bottom half is painted, they should move to the top half and paint colors depending upon the time of day they have selected (oranges and reds for sunset, for example).

Step 5- Salt the sky

Instructions 5 At this point, some students may want to LIGHTLY sprinkle a small amount of salt on their paper (this creates a lacy, starry effect). It’s recommended that a few adults walk around with small cups of salt and allow the students to “pinch out” a small amount.

Step 6- Peeling up the mask Carefully peel away the tape to reveal the white trees.

Step 7- Painting the shadows & highlights  

Instructions 7&8 Use the smaller of the paintbrushes for this Have the students use light (thinned) black OR brown paint Repeat on all trees, making sure to keep the shadow on the SAME side of the tree. To complete the trees, the students should take the black (or brown /black watercolor) paint and make several horizontal dashes and dots on each tree. Each tree needs just a few. When painting with a sponge, you need to dab, not smear use the sponges (slightly damp) dipped in the green or black paint to create bushes. This is a good time to revisit the idea of balance- if you put a bush on one side, consider one on the other to create a balance of color

Step 8- Sponge in shrubs