Henna hands

 You need:

1. white drawing sheet
2. colored sheet
3. Indian ink or fine black marker 
4. glue
5. scissors 
   
   

Henna art is making temporary decorations on the skin using dye from dried henna leaves. Henna decorations are applied during festive occasions in North-African and Asian countries. Used symbols are those of strength, luck, fertility and protection. Patterns and symbols vary per country.  

Trace your hand on a white sheet. Decorate with patterns. Cut oud and stick on a colored sheet. Cut the hand again with an edge of approximately 1/2 cm. 

Dutch canal houses: indian ink and soft pastels

You need: 

1. drawing sheets
2. pencil
3. ruler
4. indian ink
5. dip pen
6. soft pastels

Dutch canal houses are famous for their facades: stepped gable, neck gable, bell gable, clock gable or spout gable. Show pictures of those five gables and discuss them. Show photographs from canal houses and discuss the other features of canal houses: the stairs, symmetry, windows, ornaments, shutters. 

Students draw a line on their sheet about 5 cm from below. This is the canal. At the end you can glue all drawings together to get a long street full of canal houses. Sketch the houses lightly with a grey pencil. Indicate the places of windows, stairs, doors and shutters. Draw small boats in the canal. Draw the houses with indian ink and color them with soft pastels.

by students of grade  6

Rembrandt's Cabinet of Curiosities

You need:

1. drawing sheet 12 by 12 cm


2. indian ink


3. dip pen


4. pencil


5. black construction paper


6. glue


7. various shells

Rembrandt was a painter, etcher and draftsman, but also an art dealer. In 1656 he went bankrupt and to pay the creditors his possessions had to be sold. An official made a list of all the things that were in Rembrandt's house. There was, for example, a large collection of objects from various continents in the art chamber, also known as 'cabinet of curiosities'.



In the room were dried animals, shells, spears from Indonesi, glass from Venice, a lion's skin and a box with coins and tokens. Sailors of the VOC often took the objects with them to the Netherlands as souvenir.

Etching of a shell, Rembrandt, 1650 (Rijksmuseum)

Discuss how ethings are made. Why does an etching make more money then a painting or drawing? Why does the artist have to scratch his signature in reverse on an etching?  

View etchings by Rembrandt. What stands out? 

• very detailed


• there are just lines


• shading for dark areas


• lifelike


• black and white

First let students practice in using indian ink. How do you make thick or thin lines? How do you make light or dark areas? What is hatching? 

Students draw a shell like Rembrandt did.  Draw with pencil, trace it wiht ink. Make hatch lines for the dark area's.



Paste all student art works together on a black construction sheet: Rembrandt's Cabinet of Curiosities. 

Moon behind tree

Made by a student of grade 6

You need:

1. white drawing sheet 


2. charcoal


3. chalk pastels 


4. indian ink


5. brush 

Use a saucer to draw a moon in the center of the sheet. Colour it with yellow chalk pastel. Colour the rest of the sheet grey using charcoal: around the moon it's brighter than further away.

Draw a branch and paint it with Indian ink.

Veggies

Made by a student of grade 3

You need:

1. veggies


2. white drawing sheet


3. liquid watercolour paint


4. crayons


5. indian ink


6. brushes


7. jar with water

Talk about veggies and why we all have to eat them. Show several veggies.



Use crayons to draw several veggies on your sheet. No overlapping.  Just draw the outlines, don't colour them with crayons.

Colour with liquid watercolour paint. Use two colours to make the paint bleed.

Paint the background dark grey with dilluted indian ink.