Ladder to the Moon

Reach for the moon and melt the hearts of parents. In this lesson, students recreate the famous art piece “Ladder to the Moon” by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Grade Level

Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd

Objective

In this Georgia O’Keeffe Art Lesson, students will create a self-portrait collage inspired by the painting,

“Ladder to the Moon,” by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Time

5 – 30 min lessons

Materials

• 12×18 Watercolor paper – Canson XL Series Watercolor Textured Paper Pad for Paint, Pencil, Ink, Charcoal, Pastel, and Acrylic, Fold Over, 140 Pound, 12 x 18 Inch, 30 Sheets
• Brushes – Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 1 Packs / 10 pcs Nylon Hair Brushes for All Purpose Oil Watercolor Painting Artist Professional Kits
• Liquid Water Colors – Sargent Art 22-6010 10-Count 8-Ounce Watercolor Magic Set
  • Or this mini version for homeschooling – Sargent Art 22-6210 10-Count 4-Ounce Watercolor Magic
• Kleenex for blotting paint
• Black Sharpie Marker – SHARPIE Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black, 2 Ct
• Yellow oil pastels or crayons – Oil pastels – Pentel Arts Oil Pastels, 50 Color Set (PHN-50)
• Gold star stickers – 1056 PCS Metallic Gold Star Shaped Foil Labels Stickers (Each Measures 3/8″ in Diameter)
• Glitter – Sulyn Gold Glitter Jar, 8 Ounces, Non-Toxic, Reusable Jar with Easy to Use Shaker Top, Multiple Slot Openings for Easy Dispensing and Mess Reduction, Gold Glitter, SUL51139
• Popsicle sticks – 200 Pcs Craft Sticks Ice Cream Sticks Natural Wood Popsicle Craft Sticks 4.5 inch Length Treat Sticks Ice Pop Sticks for DIY Crafts
• Coloring sheets of O’Keeffe artwork

Inspiration/Artist

Georgia O’Keeffe – Ladder to the Moon

I got the inspiration for this art lesson from this site…Click Here.

Instruction with Questions

Pre-Art

Photograph each child.  Students face a door, on tiptoe, with one hand at shoulder height flat, on door.  (Place a piece of blue tape out of reach onto door) Other arm reaches up for the blue tape.  Edit these to fill a 4×6 photo.  Print and cut out photo.

Day 1

Read books about Georgia O’Keeffe:

“My Name is Georgia, a Portrait by Jeanette Winter” by Jeanette Winter

“Through Georgia’s Eyes,” by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez

Day 2

Draw a variety of ways to make stars on the white board.  (Crossing through middle, spirals, geometric pointy stars, circles etc.)  Next, demonstrate how to watercolor.  If students have already had this experience, steps are reviewed:

• Using lots of water to spread the color
• Working quickly
• Using the entire page with no white paper showing
• Using a tissue to blot excess water and clean the colors that may bleed in the tray
• Making random areas colored with different colors

Teacher pulls students aside 2 at a time.

Students write their name on the bottom of watercolor paper in sharpie, and add yellow oil pastels or crayon “stars.”

During times when teacher is working in small groups with students, students color pages of Georgia O’Keeffe paintings found on Google images.  Note:  You have the choice of using yellow crayon or oil pastels for this part.  Here are what the results look like using each one.  As you can see, the oil pastel shows through much stronger.

Day 3

Pull students aside 2 at a time while students watercolor on 12×18 watercolor paper (Blue, Turquoise, Violet).

Meanwhile, other students color in a pre-drawn moon with a yellow crayon.  I made three different stars here for examples for you…pretend you saw these earlier in the post 🙂 Click here for a copy of the moon sheet, or you can make your own.  Click Here

Day 4

Pull students aside 2 at a time and students paint glue onto their moon and shake glitter onto it.  Meanwhile, students put star stickers on their sky.

Day 5

Pull students aside 2 at a time and students (with teacher guidance) use liquid glue and Popsicle sticks to make ladder, glue on body, and glue on moon.  Students add star stickers.

One parent loved this project so much that she framed them and put them up in her home!  One has not been hung as of this post.  I thought this was a cool idea!

Here are some finished Georgia O’Keeffe Art pieces!