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Integrating art into a literature class has several pitfalls that I'm working to overcome.
One of the main issues is scaffolding the art and literature together in a way that makes sense, doesn't take up too much time, and doesn't involve a ton supplies.
In this very brief visual tutorial, I teach students to look for colors and images in the poem "The Flower School" by Rabindranath Tagore and then create a simple, fast background.
The colors I chose for the background are blues and greens for the rain and the explosion of color after the rain.
The flowers are pink, white, and yellow with a bright green mixed in.
I did a second background that focused more on the pinks and greens with some hints of yellow/orange and white.
Supplies:
1. Acrylic paint
2. Mixed media paper
3. Brayer or old gift card
4. Flower stencil
Step 1: Put dots of paint all around the paper.
Step 2: Use the brayer or card to spread the color around. Add more color if you want to emphasize a color.
Step 3: Place the stencil on top of the wet paint. Put dots of the flower colors on top of the stencil.
Step 4: Brayer or scrape the color across the stencil
Step 5: Gently remove the stencil and let the background dry
I teach this technique in my online courses for homeschoolers and in my freshman English I class at NEXT High School in Greenville, SC.