Wag Your Tail for William Wegman

Every year my 5th graders create awesome collages based on the work of Romare Bearden. It is usually the hit project. This year because of our "Wild" theme I decide to do the same lesson with a different artist. 

Introducing: 

WILLIAM WEGMAN!!

Why do we love him? 

Because he takes pictures of DOGS!! What kids don't love dogs? Not many..

We discussed photography and how a photographer was also an artist. We also talked about Wegman's work where he creates scenes with his weimaraners in costume. 

Objective: To create a William Wegman collage by drawing, using magazine cutouts, and painting. The main focus was to find animal heads and paste them onto human bodies. The bodies could be drawn or cut from the magazines. 

My wonderful librarian saves magazines for me at the end of each year and I hold on to them for various projects. Especially this one. 

I placed the magazines on my demo table. Animal magazines were in one box, then I had a pile of "boyish" magazines and "girlish" magazines. Tables could get 6 animal magazines at a time and one other magazine for each person. When I announce "Trade Time" students could swap out magazines as they pleased.  

First, students could either draw a background in pencil or find their animal/human hybrids.

Students had some great finds!

 Pictures were then glued into place and drawings were traced with black permanent marker. (Don't forget to put a mat under your paper!)

Finally our collages were made complete with watercolors. 

 I love their imaginations!

More pictures to come.