Master Moments: Andy Warhol Activities

It isn't enough to learn about artists like Warhol, Pollock, Picasso and others-classroom projects help bring the art of the master artists alive and make it real for the kids. First, we read about the artist and get a feel for who he or she was....then we look at their art. Then we create our own version of their art. The kids love it!

One of the artists we did this year was Andy Warhol. He was an unusual man with a tremendous talent. The only problem I had was deciding which of his works we should do. I choose two different ones and, I have to say, I think the kids had a lot of fun with them. 

The first one resembles his work with Marilyn Monroe. He took the same picture of her and altered it using different colors. If you have no idea what I am talking about, check out these. 

To make our version, each student received one 8 1/2" by 11" sheet of paper. They drew the picture of their choice with one rule-they had to be able to color it easily. After each picture was done, I copied them on to tag board-four copies of each picture. 

The kids took the pictures and colored each one differently. Once they were finished, we taped the backs together. Most of the students mounted the picture on a large, colorful piece of poster board. I think they came out great. Here are a few of them:

As you can see, the drawing range from very simple to more complex. That makes it an easy project for young kids and older students, too!

On the other project, we tried for our own identity-more Warhol-esque. I took pictures of each of the kids. As I ran them off on tag board, they designed their own stamps from Styrofoam trays. Then they stamped their own picture. Some of them came out pretty neat. Here are a couple: