Gustav Klimt

This week in my art workshop, we looked at Gustav Klimt. One of my favourite artists. Surprisingly difficult to find a child friendly you tube video about him though. Found a 1 minute one called When Paintings Come To Life by Koyo Do. We mostly looked at images of his work on Pinterest and I asked the children to tell me what shapes they could see and what colours. Given Klimt loved cats, we started creating a cat collage. Have noticed how the kids really enjoy working on the floor. I think it can be very grounding. They sat and used lots of different pieces of coloured and shiny paper as well as pens. I was impressed at how they mimicked Klimt's spirals. Then we looked at his painting 'Tree Of Life' and talked about why it was called that. Then on quite big paper, they chalked their trees and all managed to capture those swirly curly branches. We used metallic paints, mainly gold of course, (Klimt liked a bit of bling!) and various ways to apply it. Using corks and cotton buds dipped in paint, they brought their trees to life. the finishing touch was gold and silver glitter. Glitter always makes my heart sing!