Fruits and Veggies

Miroco Machiko

 After seeing this project on several other blogs it looked like my kind of project. It is based off of the artist Miroco Machiko and her colorful painting of vegetables. So with this painting as a jumping off point I had the third graders create their own watercolor painting.
First students focused on creating observational drawing while looking at real fruits and vegetables. I had three or four fruits/veggies on each table and gave the students a set amount of time to draw them. After the time was up we rotated fruit, so students had a new set to draw. Students were particularly fascinated by the kiwano aka the horned melon. 

As students drew their fruits/veggies I had them outline each one with crayons and add crayon marks inside each  for texture.

After the drawings were complete the next step was to paint the fruit and veggies. For this we used good old water colors. Once the fruit had dried students simply had to paint the background black, for this we used tempra cakes. . . which I have to say I'm not a big fan of. This final step is what students struggled with the most, as they had a hard time painting around the fruits and vegetables. Overall I have mixed feelings about this one and would definitely change some things for the next go around.