Butterfly Art

Last week my 4/5th art class did a butterfly drawing project. We started with small precut papers (about 4 1/2" by 6") and they folded them in half. A heavier cardstock or watercolor paper will work best. After looking at reference books and sheets about butterflies, each student drew half a butterfly on their folded paper and cut it out. Then they opened them up and colored them. They could use real butterflies or their imaginations to plan their butterfly designs. I let them make 2-4 butterflies each. They could use markers, oil pastels or color crayons. Most students used the oil pastels and got really saturated, beautiful colors. I took their butterflies home and mounted them in frames. I bought thrift store frames for $1 each and removed the glass and backs. I spray painted them with glossy black paint from Wal Mart @ $.96 cents a can. One can did about 10-12 frames. I lightly sanded each frame and wiped it down with a damp rag before painting it. When they dried, I put the backs back in with a cardboard insert fronted with a piece of paper in a neutral color. The butterflies were pinned like specimens through their bodies into the frames. To give them a 3-D look, I scored the back of the butterfly wings along each side of the body, then turned them over and bent the wings up along the score. I gently curved the wings up with my fingers to make them look more realistic. It was fun seeing them look like a museum display.