Wash and wax

Teaching Pre K-8, May 2001 by daSilva, Karen Ernst

Karen Ernst daSilva on Art in Your Curriculum

Crayon resist captures the unearthly beauty of outer space.

In the artists workshop, many students chose to make pictures of outer space, inspired by research they were doing in the classroom or out of personal interest. They would reach for pencil or marker and draw a picture that showed planets, comets or the moon, and the picture was white and flat. What about the beauty we see in photographs in science journals, where the colors of light are depicted in blues, oranges, yellows and white against a black sky? Using a different material, such as crayon resist, can help us to see outer space with different eyes, and be able to depict what we know or have researched about a particular planet. While you work, make sure you're thinking about what you know, what you wonder and what these swirling colors remind you of.

Cosmic colors

Find a picture of a planet or comet -- whatever your interest or research calls for. "Read" the picture by sketching it lightly using a crayon. This first sketch will help you to fit the image on the page. Think about drawing only a portion of the planet, the way Georgia O'Keeffe painted flowers so large that she couldn't fit the whole flower on the page.

Now "read" the colors in the picture. Use the crayons and press very hard to add the colors where you see them. Sometimes I go over the color a second time to make sure there is a thick layer of wax on the paper.

Step away from your picture. Look at it from a distance and think more about what you know about this planet. Make notes so you'll remember your thinking. Add what feels right, or add something that you know, which isn't obvious in the picture from which you're copying.

Wash up

Once you're satisfied with the bold, thick colors of the crayon, dip a brush into water. Make sure there is plenty of water on the brush. I test the watercolor on a corner of my picture. The black watercolor should "wash" over the crayon, turning the background sky black and letting the color and white show through. If your test spot doesn't show this, make the crayon colors thicker.

Crayon resist lets your picture reveal the mystery and beauty of outer space in a way that the line of a pencil cannot. It can be the depiction, the demonstration of what you know and have learned about aspects of outer space. Write your thoughts after you've finished your picture. Perhaps the writing will lead you to a poem or notes that inform others about the planet, comet or other celestial body in your picture.

Karen Ernst daSilva is a Resource Teacher in Westport, CT and a Teaching Editor of Teaching K-8. E-mail: karen_ernst@westport.k12.ct.us