In the Art Room - Hidden Hands

I stole another AWESOME idea from Mini Matisse!!  I think Mrs. Hahn may be new hero!  Anyhoo, my 8th graders loved this project.  We started out by looking at contemporary Chinese artist Liu Bolin and his hidden city series.  I wanted the kids to understand that art is not meant to just be pretty.  Liu's work sends a very heavy message.  They enjoyed his work and I think they appreciated his struggle.  For their own project, they printed an image of a pattern found in nature, painted that pattern on an 8 x 10 sheet with tempera, then the following week, they hid their own hands in the paintings!