just in time for valentine's day...

i remember as a child learning about the true meaning of valentine's day. it all started with a saint, saint valentine. according to the catholic faith, st. valentine was a priest during the roman era. he was martyred for marrying christian couples. he was stoned, beatened, and eventually beheaded. graphic stuff for an elementary kid. maybe this is why we just focus on hearts in art class!

for class this past wednesday, my students at griffin elementary made some pretty spectacular valentine hearts in the style of jim dine. i think they turned out pretty good! we used white lace decorative paper to create texture on the heart. the background was created by making a collage from water color paper and painting it with acrylic in a very free manner. the students were instructed not to mix their paint on their palettes. instead, they created swirls and funky colors by mixing on the actual art work. pretty impressive for 5-8 year olds!