This Jackson Pollock Art Project is part of my kindergarten curriculum. Because it is very process-oriented it is excellent for young kids who are eager to explore and experiment with new materials.
Famous Artist Series from Kids Art Projects 101
This approach is awesome because it layers art history connections with guided instruction about the elements of art and principles of design. The scripted PowerPoint format can be easily utilized in a variety of settings. In this video I share specific tips and considerations to help you implement the unit with ease.
Watch the video, or read the transcript below if you prefer.
~VIDEO TRANSCRIPT~
Hi Everyone,
I am excited to present to you the sixteenth installation in our famous artist series. This one is all about Jackson Pollock. The purpose of this video is to give you an overview of how to set up the unit, so that, once you start with your kiddos you can hit the ground running. So let’s dive right in.
JACKSON POLLOCK ART PROJECT SESSION 1
This is the first of three sessions. Make note of that. This is three sessions long, ideally 40 minutes each, but you should be able to pick and choose if you want to stretch things out or condense things.
In the first of our three sessions in this unit, you are going to be presenting a digital storybook. The digital storybook has the primary goal of exposing kids to a ton of Jackson Pollock’s work, particularly his action paintings.
I juxtapose his approach to a more conventional approach to try to help kids understand why Jackson Pollock is such a big deal. They get a chance to really think about how he broke the mold and came up with his own unique approach to working bigger and being more expressive in his work.
You’re going to wrap up that digital storybook with a drawing activity. You’ll give them a little preview that they’re going to get a chance to try their own action painting, their own drip painting in Session Two.
As a warm-up activity, you’re going to have them do something on paper. It is designed to get kids thinking about Jackson Pollock’s approach and how messy it might have been. So, this one says Jackson Pollock’s Work Shoes. The prompt is What do you think Jackson Pollock’s Boots might look like after he completed an action painting?
They can do this with crayon, colored pencil, or marker. It’s okay to scribble scrabble in this one. You want them thinking about his process and how his process may have impacted his shoes. They can add some paint around the shoes, on the floor, too.
I even added into the resource, (if you want to encourage them,) if they get done and have a little time to spare, they can flip the paper over and draw what masterpiece was Jackson Pollock working on that caused his boots to look however they have them looking. So this is a fun opportunity to practice some good old-fashioned scribble scrabbling, get them in the act of being expressive and working in an abstract way and really thinking about their feelings rather than trying to illustrate something specific.
That’ll bring you to the end of the first of three sessions.
JACKSON POLLOCK ART PROJECT SESSION 2
Session Introduction: Compare and Contrast
In the second session, we will start off with a compare and contrast discussion where you will see two images juxtaposed. An image of your conventional artist, dressed up, standing at an easel, holding an artist’s palette, painting something very small and very detailed. That is sitting side by side a picture of Jackson Pollock at work where he’s got his canvas sprawled out on the floor, and he is leaning over being real gestural.
Jackson Pollock Video
You are using that comparison to review all that was discussed in Session One and to reframe their thinking. You are then going to prompt kids to watch a video of Jackson Pollock, himself, at work, getting down to it.
I do strongly recommend that you preview this video that you’ll be linked to in the resource. In the video, students may notice that Jackson Pollock is holding a cigarette.
Unfortunately, all the footage I could find of Jackson Pollock has a cigarette involved. It’s part of his image and obviously, it’s not something we, as educators, really want to be glamorizing for little kids. So I recommend you preview that video and just make your own personal call and how you feel about that. How you think your kids will perceive that. How their parents, or, if you’re at a public school, how the administrators may feel about that. It is certainly not the focus of the video. It’s one of those incidentals. I have had kids notice it. Luckily it hasn’t been a problem, so, I choose to incorporate it. But, I just want to give you a heads up on that, in case you feel differently about that.
This is already cut down from a bigger film. It’s just an excerpt. But you can actually shorten the part that you have kids watch. At some point, he flicks the cigarette out of his hand. So if you can cue the video right up to that part and have them watch from that point forward, your call. But I just felt like I should disclose that.
Connect Back to Work Shoes Activity
Now after they watch the video you will ask if they noticed his work shoes because the video definitely shows his shoes. He almost has a Mr. Rogers thing where he takes his regular shoes off and puts his art boots on.
He also mentions being inspired by the sand paintings of the West. So I put in a picture of a sand painting and prompt the kids to reflect on how he was influenced by this. What does his work and this work have in common?
Begin Jackson Pollock Studio Project
Then you will be transitioning into the studio project.
Now I will warn you, this is a very messy one.
I have tried at least 10 different approaches to Jackson Pollock-inspired painting with kids.
They’re all really fun.
All of them are a hit.
Kids love this type of work.
They’re all incredibly messy, so, just brace yourself. If you’re going to do this one, you have to become one with the mess.
Now in this unit I have chosen to include a technique that has emerged as my favorite technique for having kids think about Jackson Pollock’s approach to art making. It’s really focused more on his drip than his flicking of paint. He does both.
I’ve done a ton of flicking and it’s so fun. We’ve gone outside to do it. It gets all over the kid’s clothes. It gets all over the floor. It gets all over the walls. It gets everywhere, which is fun, and if you’re at home and you can hose everything down, have fun with it.
But in the classroom, it does get complicated, especially if you have a class coming right after that class, so I tend to always be thinking about how can I make this manageable for a large group and that’s why I love using Oobleck.
Basically, what you are going to do is have kids add cornstarch to their paint. In doing that, they’re basically making Oobleck. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that word, but it is from Dr. Seuss’s book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, or something like that. I made it a ton with my mom when I was a kid.
But it’s basically cornstarch and water. It becomes this non-Newtonian fluid that has a really nice flow to it when you pick it up with a spoon and drip it. That is why it is so awesome for this project.
I took Oobleck and I added paint to it, so it becomes Oobleck Paint. It has a wonderful drippy quality that just makes it ideal. I want to show you this. This is tempera paint on a spoon. It’s been sitting here for a few minutes but it’s not dry. It doesn’t drip very well. Of course, if I am going to flick it, it’s going to come off that spoon. Kids will figure out a way to get it off that spoon.
When you mix cornstarch and a little bit of water into the paint, you get this really, lovely mix. It has this honey quality to it. Kids just get mesmerized by it. The idea is for them to drip it slowly, not flick. They never make contact between the spoon and their work surface. They just drip the paint on.
It’s almost the same experience, similar in many ways, to making a drip castle. I spend a lot of time at the beach and I just love that quality. That’s what this feels like to me.
They’re basically drizzling color all over. Personally, I recommend making a batch of Oobleck, just plain white. Then make one that’s black. Then let them decide on a third color. But it’s totally up to you.
Decide Whether to Mix the Oobleck Yourself or Engage Students in the Process
The directions prompt the kids to make the Oobleck themselves and stir it all up. You want to be thinking about a ratio of one part cornstarch to two parts water. That’s a good starting point. Then you stir. They’ll know when they hit the sweet spot…when it has that nice drippy quality. You don’t want it to be too runny because it’ll just spread all over the work surface and that’s not good either. You want to hold its shape a little bit but it takes a little finagling. You have to play with it and get the ratio just right.
You know your kids best. If you don’t think they can handle that part, or it’s just going to take too much time or just too much of a mess, you can premix all that stuff for them.
If you’re working with a small group of kids and you’ve got a little bit of flexibility time-wise, let them be a part of that process. It’s a whole fun chunk that has nothing to do with Jackson Pollock. It is just fun to mix and make the paint.
So you’re making the Oobleck Paint, whether you’re doing it, or your kids are doing it. Then you’re going to drizzle it.
Choose Your Work Surface
I recommend picking a work surface like this craft foam. I’ve used cardboard. I’ve used paper, but the paper is not ideal because it absorbs a lot of the moisture which deflates the paint.
Oobleck paint has a real dimensional quality, almost like puffy paint. In fact, you could maybe use puffy paint on a project like this.
You want to preserve that dimensional quality and craft foam is great for that. It’s not great in terms of being archival nor is Oobleck paint.
Paint Like Pollock
I should also disclose that right away. This is not like a framer. This is not a long-term keeper project.
This is more like process art. They really enjoy the experience but the chances of this thing making it home in one piece are not really high.
But that’s okay. You’re not going to have complaints from the kids about that. They’re going to love it.
I would plan to let them drip paint in different colors all over their paper, or whatever their work surface is going to be, for about five or six minutes. That sounds so short but it’s going to feel like a lifetime in your classroom.
Then once time is up have them walk away. Drop the spoons. Drop the Oobleck. Drop their projects. We are just leaving it there.
Bring the Project to a Close
Then have the kids relocate. I always have them relocate to my classroom rug.
Then you’ll see, in the resource, I have a link included to an episode of Maddie and Dada, which is a cute series relating to art history, if you’re not familiar. It’s going to cue you up to an episode of Maddie and Dada that focuses on Jackson Pollock. So, it’s related.
Clean Up Tips
It kept the kids’ attention and it pulls them away from their supplies so that you have time to run around cleaning up.
As you’re cleaning up, do not use a rag that you’re going to rinse in the sink. Cornstarch is not fantastic for pipes.
Use a paper towel so you can clean everything up and dump it in the trash. Your leftover containers are the same thing. Scoop it into the trash. Do not run it down the sink, it is not great for pipes.
Now, you’re going to have to put their projects all over somewhere to dry but they dry pretty fast. You want to keep them out of the way until you guys meet for Session 3.
JACKSON POLLOCK ART PROJECT SESSION 3
This is the final session. First we will do a couple of quick fun facts and then a lesson review. I put in some review prompts but if you want, you can customize those. I put in blank templates for that purpose.
Art Show Discussion
Then you’re going to have an art show.
You’re going to have the kids spread out all their projects.
I put in some discussion questions. They may not need any guidance. They may just spontaneously start chatting about what they’re looking at. But I put in a couple of questions to help a conversation get going if it’s not naturally progressing.
Then the idea there is just to have them look at their work and talk about other people’s work and notice different techniques.
Did this one maybe have a little more water than that one?
How did that color turn out?
Look at the layers in this one.
Just have them talking about art. Learning how to talk about art is a life skill.
Decide What to Do with the Oobleck Paintings
You will notice during this part that some of the projects are going to start the process of breaking down. Basically, what I mean is the Oobleck itself will come off in chunks. That’s because it’s not binding to the surface of that craft foam in any kind of permanent way. That’s okay.
Now if you want to, you can have the show.
You can take pictures of the kids with their project and that’s the end of that. Then chuck everything.
You could, if you’re feeling determined, slide them all into Ziploc bags and seal them up real good and send them with the kids. Just warn the kids they have to be so super delicate. I mean the projects are so delicate and fragile that they have to be very very careful on the way home if they want to show Mom and Dad. But even once they show Mom and Dad, they’re probably going to end up in the trash because these are not meant to be long-term keeper-type projects.
Self-Assessment
There’s a self-assessment after the art show if you’re interested. It just has kids thinking about the different steps of the studio project.
I made Oobleck.
I added color to my Oobleck. Now if you did that for them, obviously, you have to glide right past those two statements.
But I dripped layers of Oobleck to make a drip painting.
The last statement says I used my materials carefully and tried my best on my project.
Now there’s a little spot for Teacher comments.
If you want to print one of these out, you could take this and the Boots Page and the kiddos Oobleck project, and put them all in a ziplock bag, and send that home. That is your all choice.
If printing is an issue, in your workspace, then you could also project that self-assessment and walk kids through the statements and have them rate themselves in a way other than writing it down.
Either by thumbs up or not too good, really good, fantastic, or just a smile on their face.
There are tons of ways to do that without printing. So always remember that.
That will get you to the end of the project. I just love this stuff. You can sit down after the kiddos leave and just play with it yourself!
If you have another approach to working in a Jackson Pollock-inspired way, I would love to hear about it. If you’re willing to take pictures, share with us your questions, your successes, your message, I would love to hear from you!
That is it! So I hope that you and your kiddos have fun with this one!
More About the Jackson Pollock Art Unit
Introduce children to famous artworks and details about Jackson Pollock in this series of three elementary art lessons. Use the done-for-you digital storybook to look at his famous artworks and introduce students to a brief history of Jackson Pollock and abstract art. Then use the digital presentation with step-by-step art project directions to guide young artists as they play and experiment with action painting and create a Pollock-inspired drip painting studio art project.
Inside the unit you’ll find a 23-page PDF unit guide full of information and tips for teaching this series of art lessons to students in preschool through grade 2.
✨You don’t need a lot of background knowledge of the artist or art curriculum, and you don’t have to do any extra research to teach these art lessons. I’ve included all the details here for you to open and go. Think of how much time you’ll save on planning!
The unit is broken down into three 40-minute sessions.
For each session there is a guided digital presentation that has already been prepared for you and can be used via Google Slides or PowerPoint. The presentation also introduces and guides you through completion of a studio project and follow-up activity.
The 95-page combined PDF and Google Slides full resource includes:
- An original digital storybook designed to expose students to famous artworks and details about Jackson Pollock
- A printable “Jackson Pollock’s Work Shoes” Activity
- A Compare & Contrast discussion
- A step-by-step studio project guide with clear directions, supply lists, and work sample photos
- Quick fun facts
- A digital lesson review
- An art show prompt with guided questions
- A printable self-assessment
- Early finisher suggestions
- Blank slide templates