Picasso's Blue Period... Meets Guitar... Meets Collage

My second graders were introduced to Pablo Picasso and his famous "Blue Period". We looked at a couple examples of Picasso artwork during the Blue Period, especially the "Old Guitarist." I got this idea from the blog Dalismustache (Thank You!). The lesson gave me a great opportunity to work with the concept of collage. The students started out with a large 24in x 10in piece of paper. We used tempera paint to paint the entire paper blue ( I gave the students blue and white paint to allow students to mix their own color blue). The next class, the students were given multiple colors of blue paper, white paper, black paper, blue burlap, newspaper, and blue and white wallpaper. The only directions I gave the students, was to be creative, use as many materials as possible, and not do the same thing as the person next to you. Once the students got to the point they didn't want to add anymore, then they were given a black sharpie to add designs. Once finished, the students cut the guitar out and added strings if they wished. I plan to have a jam session on the last class before I hang the artwork in the hallway... I love how fun and educational this job can be!