Imaginary X-Ray

Arts & Activities, Feb, 2005 by Shelley Phillips

Everyone take a deep breath. Where does the air go? What do the lungs remind us of?

Who here has ever cut themselves? Where does the blood come from? What does the heart remind us of? What carries the blood? What do veins and arteries remind us of?

Who here has ever had an X-Ray? What is it?

These questions are part of a discussion my students and I have. The kids love answering the questions sharing all they know about their bodies. After our lively discussion, I tell them that doctors know exactly what we look like inside, but we are going to draw what we imagine we look like. In other words, we're going to create the most colorful, exciting "X-Ray" we can!

This is a fun lesson that the students love! It holds their interest week after week because each step provides a new thought process and new materials. I generally do this project with third- or fourth-graders, and it takes about four to five 45-minute sessions.

The first week, we draw the outline of a person on 18" x 24" white paper. To begin, students pinch their paper in half to find the center. This becomes the waistline. We work up from there, drawing the body, neck and head, arms, then down to the legs. Body shape, how the limbs are attached to the body, and proportion all come into play.

When the large body is complete, they cut it out. The cut-out person will be stapled (by me) onto another sheet of white paper, the same size as the first sheet. I point out that any mistakes or erasures won't show, as the figure will be turned over and clean side will face up.

The second week, we trace around our cut-out person onto the background paper with a permanent black marker, taking care not to move the cut-out while tracing. The top figure may now be lifted up and the imaginary X-Ray can be drawn onto the bottom figure. Using color and fluorescent markers, crayons and color pencils, our fantasy X-Rays gradually appear. They can highlight the skeletal bone structure, or perhaps some of the major internal organs.

The third week, we "dress" the top person, using collage materials. The kids are motivated by my asking such questions as "How many of you select your own clothes in the morning? What sort of things do you consider?"

I tell them that we will now become fashion designers and design outfits for our people. We discuss various possibilities, such as dresses, shorts, long pants, bathing suit, vest or suit and tie. We also talk about color coordination, matching prints with solids, layering and so on.

I then demonstrate that by sliding their choice of construction paper, wall paper or wrapping paper under the figure and tracing along the parts of the body, they can create clothing: long or short-sleeved shirts, long pants or shorts, a skirt, and so on. The papers are then pulled out from under the top figure and all gaps are connected (no belly shirts allowed!). Now is the time to cut a neckline for the shirts and, finally, glue the clothing onto the top figure.

At last we draw in the face and color all skin areas not covered by clothing and add accessories such as hats or caps that bend forward, ties or bow ties, pockets that really work, brief cases, umbrellas, jewelry, pocketbooks and more. Some fun materials to use include buttons, fabric trim, yarn, cotton, feathers and pompoms.

We are now ready to create the background for our person. Scenery possibilities are discussed. Is the person indoors or outdoors? (i.e. beach scene, on stage, sports event, on a boat, standing in front of a house or car, ice-cream shop, etc.) Plain grass and sky are discouraged. The background should help tell a story. After pencilling in the background, permanent markers can be used to clarify lines and objects. Then, color all.

When they have completed their picture, they can lift up their person and see their exciting, colorful "X-Ray" underneath!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* discuss what an X-Ray is and become more aware of how our bodies work.

* create imaginative X-Rays, opting to resemble real bone structure or create more of an internal fantasy.

* make a connection between visual arts and fashion design, being thoughtful of color coordination, matching prints and solids, etc., when selecting figure's clothing.

* follow steps/directions to "dress" paper figure. integrate various art techniques and materials to create the whole.

* learn to visually tell a story through their artwork by their choice of background and clothing style.

MATERIALS

* 18" x 24" or 12" x 18" white paper

* Pencils and erasers

* Scissors

* Permanent back markers

* Fluorescent and other colored markers

* Crayons

* Wallpaper samples, construction paper, wrapping paper

* White glue and glue sticks

Shelley Phillips is the art teacher for grades 1-5 at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison, New Jersey.