1st & 2nd Grade Eric Carle Collages

We are learning about the phenomenal artist and author Eric Carle in second and first grade art class! We read some of his books, including "Mister Seahorse," "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," and "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" We discussed how Eric Carle created his own papers by painting them and scratching textures into the wet paint.  After the papers dried, he would then cut them out to create the beautiful animals in his books.

Students painted their papers first.  This was a FUN day!  Students rotated around the table and painted six or seven different colors onto their construction paper.  Before the paint dried, students used tools to scratch lines into the wet paint, just like Eric Carle.

The papers were dry for the next class, and students traced shapes on the back to create their animals, as well as added fun things such as sequins, pompoms, glitter, and oil pastel details.  Some classes made butterflies:

Other classes created tropical birds:

 And still other classes made seahorses.  They are all so lovely!  Look for first grade classes' artwork to be displayed in April for the School-wide Art Show!