Our first author (and illustrator) of the month is Eric Carle! His colorful collages are recognized around the world and so fun to look at. Studying his work has allowed us to learn some different art techniques, as well as writing skills. In addition to reading Eric Carle’s stories we have been creating so many exciting reader response activities. The first big project we tackled was creating our own class version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? This book was written by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle was the illustrator. We visited Eric Carle’s website and watched slideshows about how he paints his tissue paper and creates his collages. Then we broke into groups to create our own Brown Bear collages with similar techniques.
We began by creating texture (fur, scales, feathers, etc.) using oil pastels on watercolor paper. The students tried to think about what texture their animal would be before they started drawing.
Next they painted the paper, using a watercolor wash.
Once the pages were dry, I cut them into long strips and the students cut them into little tiles.
Once the tiles were cut, the students were given an outline of their animal and they created collages using their colorful tiles. While this is not exactly the same process Eric Carle uses, it is similar, and it allows the kids to work on their fine motor skills.
I was so impressed with the students’ attention to detail and effort in this project- they used such excellent craftsmanship!
The beautiful animal collages were then cut out and mounted on book pages that had the words from the story. We copied these page and made a class book, which we have proudly displayed in our class library. We also scanned them into the computer and used iMovie to make this wonderful audio book. Not only did every child participate in creating the artwork, they each read a portion of the story. Enjoy!
