Jim Dine Decorated (paper) Sugar Cookies

Jim Dine was our inspiration for these freshly baked "paper" sugar cookies! I found a bunch of aging manilla paper and cut it in half to form a 6x12 pieces and had seen an art lesson like this on Artsonia a while back. We discussed and looked at heart art by Jim Dine. For this lesson I really wanted to keep the creativity open so I simply gave them the criteria and order of supplies to be used and brainstormed with them.

First students traced hearts (4, 2 on each sheet of 6x12. This cut down on time and frustration of trying to fit 4 hearts on a 12x12) with pencil. Then cut out. This is the sugar cookie dough!

Meanwhile, paint with either pink or red on the ribbed outside edge of the plate. That's the only part that will show because of the lace doily and cookies overlaping on top. While the paint is drying. I tell students to trace their sugar cookie heart on the colored 'icing' or colored construction paper. I had lots of different pinks and red out of cut construction paper. Then fold in half to trim the outter edge all the way around to make it smaller so when you glue it on, you'll still see the sugar cookie edge. I told students to think about adding sprinkles and pattern by drawing it on or coloring it in with oil pastels.



some students came up with the creative concept to make it look more like
a true cookie by making it look like a bite was taken out of it



After icing and detail is added, I told students to glue the hearts to the doily incase your plate with paint on it is still drying. If ready and slightly wet, you can still glue on the doily, just be careful. Then, for the best for last. I had out white shiny Tulip fabric paint with some red glitter, pink glitter, and silver glitter fabric paints. I said it gives it the detail and effect of piped frosting! Neato. Oh and it gets better. I had a 'crystal sugar' (clear crystal glitter, not real sugar) station that you can sprinkle on if desired for the crystal sugar effect and it sticks to the fabric paint. The key is to keeping the small container of glitter in a box, putting the plate in the box, sprinkling the glitter, shaking it and then removing it. This conserves the glitter and the mess. It's easy to take the leftover glitter in the box and pour it back in the glitter container to be used again, and there's no real big mess everywhere either for our custodian!

supply table



student work. Look a heart arrow and glitter piped frosting!



good enough to eat!

Showin' LOVE for Jim Dine Hearts

4th grade Jim Dine "Confetti Hearts"

Jim Dine's "Confetti Heart"



Oil pastel Warm & Cool Hearts

 Just finished our Jim Dine hearts with all my classes. I kind of a got into Jim Dine-mania and ended up showing our homage to the 'king of hearts' himself. Oh Jim, you're so inspiring:) As I previously posted, we did warm and cool color family oil pastel hearts with a watered down tempera background/resist. But then I started to think of other ways to tie in the heart theme!

For 4th grade our take was on the "Confetti" heart (pictured at top). First we used an open (negative) heart template to trace with pencil. Then used different colors of marker to do small 'chunks' or thick scribbles of color until we filled the entire 4x6(?)" sheet of paper. Afer that we replaced our template on top of where the penciled in heart was, and traced around the inside of the stencil again this time with black oil pastel. Holding the stencil in place, use 1 finger to blend around the edge the black oil pastel ( I recomended that the students use the side of the black oil pastel). Then take the stencil away and refer to Jim Dine's shaded black edge around the paper. Also pay attention to the added shading elsewhere with in the heart. I started thinking about 5th grade and how we could tie in texture since we had been studying Grant Wood and his texture landscapes.

5th Grade used texture plates in making their Jim Dine hearts. We took black paper, folded it into fourths. Used a texture plate underneath 1 square and rubbed over the top of the paper with bright construction paper crayons to pick up the texture from the plate underneath the paper. Each square should be a different color with a different texture. Then using a (negative) heart template, the student would find a colored chalk pastel and trace around the template, then while holding the template still, smooth with a paper towel around the edge, leaving the middle of the heart open so you can see the texture. Finally, with a white oil pastel, practice different types of line and pattern.





I thought about how we used line and started thinking about printmaking and using white printing ink/paint on red and pink papers. Again folding the paper into 4ths and printing in each. Then using different types of line (again with white oil pastel) to make boarders around each print giving each it's own personality.

My own version of Jim Dine's 'Circus' that I worked on while the students
worked on their 'Confetti' hearts. They were amazed and I had a great time
'playing with paint!'

Oh Jim Dine, the possibilities:)

Jim Dine Cool/Warm Hearts!

Cool and Warm tone Jim Dine Hearts.

 We're studying Jim Dine and his famous heart themed art and compositions. I also thought it would be a great opportunity to incorporate our knowledge of warm and cool color families.


Jim Dine's Hearts

 First we took a long 12x18 white sheet of paper and folded it in half and then in half again to section it into 4ths. Then traced a heart into each of the 4 sections. Then pick 2 hearts to color in the heart with cool colors and the other 2 hearts will be warm colors. I show the students to color in with oil pastels and then can try smoothing with their finger and then coloring over the top again and layering colors as well. Then after the hearts are colored in use either watered down tempera (you get a smoother effect and it's already in the mixed medium for students to use) or watercolors and encourage students to choose a warm color to paint behind the warm hearts, and a cool color to paint behind the cool hearts. However, it really doesn't matter but just seems to tie it together nicely and review what colors are cool and warm.

Jim Dine's gestural coloring qualities

Jim Dine Bulletin Board



Heart Trees

Kindergarten is making these really neat trees along with a few other classes. We simply had different paint stations at different tables. Light baby pink, medium pink, and red paint with big chubby brushes. First we got a white sheet of paper, used a brown marker to make the trunk, traced around the heart template, then went from table to table tabbing on the dots of paint of that color (I encourage light color-dark color) to fill in the heart. Before putting the painting away in the drying rack to dry, we sprinkled on some pink glitter. I also talked about Jim Dine has a lot of heart-themed art and referred to my bulliten board and how I like to tie it into the month of February.