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Greek vases
In this project, 2nd grade created Greek inspired vases using their heroes from video games, movies, cartoons/anime, books, and movies. Some students even used mascots from football teams as their hero as well (Cocky from Gamecocks was very popular - go cocks!!)
This project used color pencils and crayons to draw their artwork and added details and lines using Sharpies and some markers. The project took about three weeks in all.
Students first started our lesson with an introduction of Ancient Greece and their art history - we went over the architecture and sculpture, how their cities and streets looked and functioned, and who the Ancient Greek people were/how they lived their lives (especially the artists).
We then looked at different Greek pottery from the time, specifically focusing on their vases and the depictions of Greek Gods and myths.
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We watched this song from Disney's Hercules to look at how these heroes were viewed in Ancient Greece and how they would put the hero's stories on vases and pots to show homage to them :)
We then went into looking at vases that had artwork about Hercules and other Greek Gods and heroes. As a class, they identified what was happening, who was painted on the vase, the colors used, the designs and patterns, and why the vase was probably made.
We then went over the project:
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Students will be picking a character from a video game, show, movie, book, or another type of media that they regard as their hero. Students will then draw this hero, along with Greek inspired patterns, onto a vase template. They will use pencil, color pencil, and some markers such as Sharpie to create their work of art.
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I printed the template on yellow cardstock to mimic the yellow clay of the pots.
Press on the template picture to get a PDF if you'd like to use it!
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This project was inspired by the art of Saskia Janssen from Amsterdam. Her art is below!
After drawing their hero and patterns, students cut their vase out and glued it to a black construction paper with their name on it!
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I found that most students worked better with references, so I had a PowerPoint slide dedicated to characters from media that would help them. Others I allowed to either use their Chromebooks or I pulled up photos for them to look at.
