Fall Leaves

This is a fall project we do most years in our home school. I have done it a couple of years in our homeschool co-op classes too. Here is the original project: http://artteajannell.blogspot.com/2009/10/three-d-watercolor-leaves.html My 4/5/6th classes did it again this year, with a couple of small changes to make the project a bit simpler.


You need:
watercolor paper
flattened leaves or leaf patterns to trace
watercolor paints and brushes
pencils, scissors
wire, wire cutters and needlenose pliers (optional)

1. Trace leaves onto watercolor paper. Show them how to trace leaves at the edges first to get as many out of the paper as possible. Cut out leaves.

2. Have students wet leaves by painting them with clear water before starting with color. We did a bit of paint mixing and demonstration first. I showed them how to make a darker color by mixing their leaf color and a little brown for details. (Veins.) I find kids tend to go for the black when wanting to darken a color. Sometimes I just ban them from using black all together. It is helpful to give each student scratch paper for trying out colors before using them on final product. Some kids wanted to paint before cutting out their leaves, but it is much neater and easier to cut first.

3. I encouraged the kids to make at least two leaves. They copied, cut and painted one, and then left it to dry a bit while doing a second one. Then they could paint the back of the first one and move back to finish the second one.

4. We set up a splatter and glitter station. Those who wanted to could go over and splatter white paint onto their leaves after painting. Sprinkle clear glitter if desired before the paint dries. This gives the leaves a nice finished look.

This year's examples of student art.

5. Finish the leaves with a wire that has been twisted on the end. The change I made in this project is to pierce the base of the leaf in two places with a tack, then thread the wire through the holes and bend the end to hold. (See pictures.) Let dry. Hang.