Cross and Crown Art

My practice/example sheets.

I developed this project after seeing an art piece on the cover of our church devotional. It is called Blood of My Lord by Korean artist Byong Hwa Son. The crown of thorns struck me and I wanted to figure out a meaningful Easter project featuring it. This was very exciting and successful project for me and my classes.

Here is the process. You need:

black paper

white glue

chalk pastels

The first week we used glue to "draw" a crown of thorns at the top third of the page and let it dry. Because our class periods are short, I pre-drew circles (butter/margarine tub sized) for each student. (I used white pencil here for clarity.)

In class I showed them how to draw a wavy line following the penciled-in circle. Another wavy line was drawn over the first, weaving in and out. Lines should wave gently and stay separated from each other a little so the glue lines will not run into each other when "drawn" on. (Still in white pencil below.)

Using the tip of a glue bottle like a pencil (touching the paper) and pulling bottle away from the line of glue, draw over the wavy lines with a thin bead of glue. (Leave the original guide circle plain.) Add thorns randomly to the vine lines by pulling the glue out from the lines or adding more glue with the glue bottle tip.I did this project with 4-6th graders, but you could make the crown of thorns ahead of time yourself for younger kids.

The second week, (after the glue dried) we sketched a cross across the crown of thorns with chalk pastels and colored in. I offered the kids some copies of clip-art cross styles for reference. I made them use only pastels for drawing, no pencils. When instructing the class in drawing their crosses, I showed them how to draw a "skeleton" (one vertical line and one horizontal line) of the cross before filling it in and shaping it. This helps with correct placement and size on the paper before committing to a lot of drawing details. The kids should put down major colors first in the cross and background and then add details.

We worked on light source and shading for the crosses, highlighting one side with a lighter color and shading the opposite side with a darker color. The shining rays behind the cross need at least three colors; the main color chosen, then one lighter and one darker color. This gives depth and definition. Most kids did the "rays", but some went in their own design direction. (See earlier post.)

Draw right over the dried glue. When drawing is done, gently clean the crown of thorns a bit by wiping lightly with a finger or tissue. We sprayed the finished projects with hair spray as a fixative.

Classroom tips for using chalk pastels:

Push up sleeves. Use paint shirts if desired.

Cover tables for easy clean-up
Kids should not blow chalk dust-carry it to the garbage and gently dump extra chalk off.

Do not dump chalk dust on the floor or tables.

Blend with fingers or tissue.

Wet rags at each table aid in keeping hands clean(er)