4th Grade Mandalas with Chalk Pastels

Let me start by saying... the technique I used, wet paper with chalk pastels was borrowed by a great art teacher Phyllis Levine Brown, aka There's a Dragon in my Art Room.  I learned of this great technique in a workshop she presented at NAEA.  Here is the link to her lesson on her blog, (There's a Dragon in My Art Room).

In her workshop, Phyl shared that she would soak "bogus paper" in the sink and have students draw with chalks on top... no chalky mess, the chalks stick to the wet paper.  Several of us had taught at least 15 years.  We all looked at each other and whispered.... "What is BOGUS PAPER???" LOL!  It is grayish thick construction type paper.  I had never noticed it in the catalogs, but YES, it is there! So I ordered a bunch!  It is becoming a new favorite!  It works just like Phyl said it would!

This lesson, I introduced Tibetan Mandalas. Might seem familiar... I used the same powerpoint to  teach the 3rd Grade Radial Designs lesson which follows this blog post.  Two very different looking lessons with similar starting points.  (Mandala Prezi)

This time... I kept the paper square, folded it in fourths like the circle. We started the designs in the center, working out on the folds, the filing in the rest.  But this time with black paint.  I also changed the technique a bit.  Rather than soaking the paper, I had students use water and brushed to apply water then color the area with chalk pastels.  It worked great for this lesson.  Had I soaked the paper, our black tempera would have run.  We finished the project with a layer of Mod Podge, again recommended by Phyl.  The results are great!  I truly love LEARNING a totally new method in my 18th year.... just gets me all excited to try more!