Imagine the excitement your students will share when they see Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life mural. Sargent Art has the perfect supplies for your students to create a stunning Tree of Life of their own.

Goal (Terminal Objective):

The students will learn about Gustav Klimt while creating a tree that has spiral branches.

Objective:

The students will create a tree that uses spirals to form the branches like Gustav Klimt did in his mural.

National Standards:

Visual Arts Grades K-­4 Content Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

Visual Arts Grades K­-4 Content Standard 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions

Visual Arts Grades K-­4 Content Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

Visual Arts Grades K-­4 Content Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Visual Arts Grades K-­4 Content Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others

Visual Arts Grades K-­4 Content Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines (History and Geography Cross Curriculum Connection)

Purpose:

Students will review line variations, symmetry, asymmetry and murals while learning about Gustav Klimt.

New Vocabulary:

Gustav Klimt, symmetry, asymmetry, mural, spiral, Art Nouveau

Materials:

#17-5099 16pc. 8 oz. Metallic Tempera Paint

#22-6818 6pk. 4oz. washable Art-Time Tempera Set (Glitter)

#56-6010 10ct. Natural Hair Brush Assortment

#22-1403 Glue Stick

#22-7244 144 ct. Graphic Pencils

#36-1012 36 ct. Pink Eraser Best Buy Pack

#22-0907 Children’s Cushion Grip Scissors

#23-40xx 50 ct. Construction Paper solid color pack black and white

White paper, pencil, eraser, pictures of Gustav Klimt’s work (use Google images Internet search), containers for water, paper towels, scissors, black and white construction paper black marker, gold foil paper or paper painted with Sargent Art Metallic Tempera paints

Optional Materials:

#22-1506 6ct. Metallic Medium Point Peggable Carton markers

#22-1570 10ct. washable Fine Bullet Point Peggable Pouch markers

#22-1565 4ct. Black fine Bullet tip Permanent Markers

Time:

3 or more art periods depending on complexity desired.

Introduction and Motivation (Set):

Ask the students if they can draw a spiral in the air with their finger. Show them a picture of Klimt’s mural with the golden tree. Give a brief biography of Gustav Klimt’s life (1862­1918 Austrian). The artist created few paintings on traditional canvas. He saw himself more as a mural painter and decorative artist. The Art Nouveau movement favored organic lines and contours. Klimt used a lot of gold and silver colors in his art work ­­ certainly a heritage from his father’s profession as a gold and silver engraver. Show the students the example of what they will be doing based on Klimt’s golden Tree of Life.

Instruction:

The 12” x 18” white paper should be used sideways. With a pencil, draw a rectangle that starts at the bottom of the paper and ends about one third of the way up on the paper. Do not draw a line across the top of the rectangle.

Continue the line going out from each side of the rectangle in a curved up and down line off the edge of the paper. Raise the line in the middle up a little before drawing another curved limb off both sides of the paper. Be sure to leave enough room to add the spiral branches later. Continue to add limbs on both sides of the paper until there are three limbs on each side of the trunk of the tree. Close off the top of the limbs into a V­shape.

Paint this tree with Sargent Art gold tempera paint. The branches are then added onto the limb sending them in a spiral. You may want students to paint them on directly without drawing since they may draw them too small to be successfully painted. Paint a ground line using Sargent Art yellow glitter tempera paint. Allow finished tree to dry.
Use construction paper to add details onto the tree. Black markers could also be used instead of black construction paper. Gold foil paper may be used or students may create their own gold paper by painting white construction paper with Sargent Art Metallic tempera paint. You may want students to use Sargent Art metallic markers for small details or if students seem to have trouble painting in the spirals.

Activities:

(1) Guided Practice:

1. Students will draw the rectangle and limbs with a pencil.
2. Use Sargent Art metallic tempera paint to fill in the tree and limbs.
3. Add the branches and twigs using spirals.
4. Paint in the ground with Sargent Art yellow glitter tempera.
5. Add details to the tree using gold, white, and black paper or a black marker.

(2) Independent Practice and Check for Understanding:
The teacher will circulate among the students as they work to make sure that they are staying with the objectives of this composition. They will ask direct question when understanding is not being observed. The teacher will help when necessary and add positive reinforcement as the students work.

(3) Closure:
Students display their work. The teacher will guide a critique to help younger students to learn the process. Point out the strong qualities of successful compositions.

Evaluation:

Teacher will evaluate the works individually based on the following criteria:

Level One- ­­ Completed project captures the movement of the tree and limbs represented in the original painting. The completed composition has only six limbs. The branches are painted in a spiral filling in the spaces between the limbs. The finished tree has many details added with gold paper, construction paper, and marker. Craftsmanship is excellent.

Level Two- ­­ Completed project captures most of the movement of the tree and limbs represented in the original painting. The completed composition has only six limbs but not all of them go to the edges of the paper. The branches are painted in a spiral filling in most of the spaces between the limbs. The finished tree has details added with gold paper, construction paper, and marker. Craftsmanship is good.

Level Three- ­­ Completed project captures some of the movement of the tree and limbs represented in the original painting. The completed composition has more or less than six limbs and not all of them go to the edges of the paper. Some branches are painted in a spiral filling in some of the spaces between the limbs. The finished tree has few details added with gold paper, construction paper, and marker. Craftsmanship is variable.

Level Four- ­­ Completed project does not capture the movement of the tree and limbs represented in the original painting. The finished tree looks more like a realistic tree. The completed composition has more or less than six limbs that do not go to the edges of the paper. Few or none of the branches are painted in a spiral. The finished tree has few or no details added with gold paper, construction paper, and marker. Craftsmanship is poor.

Extensions:

An imaginary bird using spirals could be painted on a separate paper, cut out, and added to the tree. Older students may wish to add one of the figures from the mural.

Resources:

www.artinthepicture.com/paintings/Gustav_Klimt/The­Tree­of­Life/
http://www.artelino.com/articles/gustav_klimt.asp
www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/klimt/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt