Don't forget Father's Day - Brief Article

Arts & Activities, June, 2001 by Peter Hiller

Mother's Day arrives in the midst of the school year, so it is easy to make time for students to create projects that they can give as gifts to their mothers in celebration and thanks for their constant love and care. Be it painted flower bouquets, Mother's Day collages or cards constructed from student-made paper, mothers are remembered.

But what about fathers? Our school's summer vacation always begins before Father's Day rolls around. Who knows why this calendar discrepancy dawned on me, but when it did, it was easy to address with my first-grade art students. Students would paint portraits of their fathers (or the significant male in their life), sneak them home, hide them away and give them as gifts on Father's Day.

I begin by asking the class to pretend to be detectives and go home and secretly look at their fathers. What color are Dad's hair, eyes and skin? Does he have facial hair or any hair at all? This deliberate looking is different from the normal day-to-day looking at their dads that they hopefully do.

With this in mind, we talk about portraits and view examples of classics. We discuss the placement of facial features on an adult. We then experiment with mixing the paint to create skin tones.

Using large 18" x 24" paper, we start by painting the oval shape of a face and adding slightly different tones for the ears and neck. After this dries, the facial features and hair are added. Finally shirts and backgrounds are painted.

During the last week of school, we roll the paintings up and secure them with a yarn tie. We discuss taking them home and hiding them so that their fathers won't notice until the big surprise on Father's Day.

Peter Hiller teaches grade 1-8 art at All Saints' Episcopal Day School in Carmel, California, and is a Contributing Editor for Arts & Activities.