Making an impression in the artroom.

Our school wide "River of Words" project gave my students an opportunity to integrate writing and art in the illustration of the importance of watersheds. To enable students to accomplish the shimmering, vibrating effects of a river, we focused on Impressionism and the world of Claude Monet.

Claude Monet, born in 1840, spent the last ten of his eighty-six years painting scenes of his beloved water garden. His senses were stirred by the soft colors, the changing light, the soft breezes and the sweet smells as he sat in his favorite place.

The Sounds of Nature

To convey that his impressions might have been as he painted, I brought Monet's garden into my artroom with a tape player and some nature sound tapes. I wanted my students to feel the presence of water while they wrote their poetry and drew their pictures.

Sensational Scenes

After discussing the ecological importance of our rivers and streams, I turned off the lights, and turned on the sound of a babbling brook. Our senses took over. I softly suggested what we might see as we walked along the edge of the water--the birds would be singing, the wind blowing softly in the trees, the rocks shimmering in the sun and sparkling brightly as the shadows of the limbs retreat with the breezes. Bullfrogs sit lazily in the edge of the rushing water, content with the mayflies for lunch. Tadpoles wiggle in the shallow pools by the edge. Trout swim over the glistening pebbles at the bottom. The students visualized this scene as they wrote poetry and created their impressionistic pictures in the style of Monet.

Successful Techniques

Impressionism has been the most rewarding painting style to teach, and the most exciting for the students. Simple strokes of pure color with cotton swabs, homemade brushes made with hair, yarn, rubber bands, or even just using fingers work best. The technique of visually mixing color is a little daunting at first, but very liberating when the students realize they are free to dab and splash and dot on color instead of being rigid and controlled.

Other impressionistic approaches might include watercolor washes with salt sprinkled on and allowed to dry (gives a mottled texture), or sprinkling water drops on a watercolor painting to add interest.

Middle schoolers begin their art education believing that if they can't draw realistically, they're failures. When painting in the Impressionist style, everyone is a success.

Kay Bradsher is an art teacher at Rowland Middle School in Rowland, North Carolina.