We began our "Wonder Women of Art" unit by studying the Mother of Modern Painting, Georgia O'Keeffe. I love that her first name is also the first name of our school (Georgia Academy for the Blind). I also love that even though O'Keeffe lost her sight at the end of her life, she never stopped making art. It's nice to be able to offer a role model for my visually impaired students.
It's cold outside but we were dreaming of spring while drawing flowers. My students learned how to enlarge images using the grid system, and create large oil pastels. We didn't use O'Keeffe's medium, but we did use one of her favorite motif.
Enlarging an image using a grid isn't cheating, it's just a tool. And teaching how to use a grid is also an effective way to teach math and art at the same time. For my students who are totally blind, they used a ruler and Wiki Stix to make grid out the small and large paper with the same number of small and large squares. I had hot glued the image they selected from the computer based on my description the flower of their choice. Then they transferred the flower shape, square by square, with more Wiki Stix. I traced their images with hot glue so we could remove the grid and they could use oil pastels to add color while retaining the tactile quality of the image.
Some of my students claimed it their favorite project yet. "Doing this makes me so happy," one high schooler declared. It makes me happy too.
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