“In the Style of Matisse” by Vaughan
[Art] is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence. –Henri Matisse
By now, you know that there’s a special place in my heart for children’s art and art created for children, so as promised, I’m back with another dose of fourth grade goodness.
About a month ago, Mrs. Johnson, my son’s fourth grade teacher, introduced the students to the art of French artist Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse. Matisse, whose work spanned many decades, worked with various styles and media. Mrs. Johnson’s art lesson focused on a technique Matisse mastered late in his career after illness and surgery left him physically unable to paint and sculpt–collages made from brightly colored paper cut in various shapes and sizes. I’m sure the students loved playing with construction paper, glue, and scissors to create their own masterpieces à la Matisse!
My little one created the one above. These (below) were created by the other students in the class. [Click on an image for a closer look].
Sixteen little Matisses. The bold colors and unique shapes are mesmerizing. It is obvious that the children enjoyed creating the collages. I wonder if they felt as “mysterious” and “adventurous” as some of these pieces feel.
I’m no art expert, but as far as I’m concerned, children’s art–even when it is imitative–is always fresh and always bears a stroke of originality and innocence.
To find out more about Matisse’s life and career, check him out here: Matisse: Life and Painting.
The weekend is here: Why not take some time to create something with construction paper, scissors, and a little glue?
Pics and Posts 
Kyemoriah has created a Halloween themed one – cat (the tail), sweets and some stars as you go trick and treating at night ..
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Yes! I love how we “see” things in their art. I wonder what her intention was. When my little one was younger we would cut construction paper and glue and just sort of let the images “become” with no plan in mind. I assume this was the case with the kids’ images here.
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I am with you that Kyemoriah has not planned it. It just reminds me of it. There is even pumpkin silhouette ..
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These are so awesome, and they look so good in a collection!
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They are and they do! That was exactly my thought when I passed them on the wall outside their classroom! Thanks for dropping by, and I need to take a “stroll” over to your blog and see what you’ve been up to!
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So fun to see these again 😉
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For me too! But wait till you see the Picassos…going to blog them next week–hopefully.
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