This week’s drawing is of a SUN & MOON using OIL PASTELS as the medium.
In this picture, your child explored:
- Southwestern symbolism
- Using oil pastels
- Mixing mediums
- Designing a balanced composition
THE DRAWING:
Sun & Moon
This week’s drawing is of a symbolically represented sun and moon. While the sun and moon are symbolically representative of many different things in different cultures, we created this picture using symbols of the southwest. (Elements your child may have used include feathers, cactuses, flowers and fish, as well as many other Native American and even Aztec symbols.)
Interesting Facts About Aztec & Native American Beliefs About the Sun & Moon:
- The Aztecs believed the sun fought the darkness every night and rose in the morning to save mankind.
- They also believed that if they fed the sun blood, it would rise again in the morning.
- The sun god was the Aztecs’ most worshipped god; they believed that without him there would be no world.
- The moon, conversely, was seen as “envious” of the sun, and the loser of the constant battle when the sun rose each morning.
- Many Native Americans celebrated Sundance, a religious festival celebrating renewal, spiritual rebirth, and regeneration of the living Earth with all its components.
- Native Americans saw the sun as the Life giver, creating warmth, growth, and all that is good & well.
THE MEDIUM:
Mixed Media
Mixing mediums (the materials used to create a picture) is a fun technique to create contrast in a picture. Encourage your child to try more multimedia projects at home. Mixing mediums encourages children to think carefully about the effect created by different mediums – the contrast between the texture created by markers and that created by chalk, for example, can be better understood by children when the elements are presented side-by-side.
Oil Pastels
The primary medium used in this project was oil pastels. Oil pastels look similar to crayons and are made from pigment mixed with oil and wax. The most high quality brands are quite soft, and can yield stunning results when used carefully.
Oil pastels can be a difficult medium; they require patience and perseverance. Oil pastels should be applied in layers and carefully blended with a finger tip or q-tip between each layer. If you are interested in experimenting with oil pastels with your child, there are many different brands available both online and in most art and craft supply stores. You can read more helpful tips for using oil pastels here and in last week’s post.
We also experimented with using texture plates to add dimension and interest to the picture.
Ask Your Child:
· To describe the composition he created; ask about creative choices such as color, balance and symbols included.
· Talk to your child about Aztec and Native American symbolism in art.