Innovative Insects

Every spring for the past three years, Iʼve been asked by the Friends of Playa Parent Booster Club at Playa del Rey Elementary School to create a special art program for UTK/TK to fifth-grade students. As in many schools, our art program only exists because of the parent booster clubs, and I am truly grateful for their support. Hopefully, school districts will reassess the tremendous need and value of art education and bring it back into classrooms.

A Subject of Interest
Insects fascinate, frighten, and ignite curiosity. This is why I chose to build a bridge between reality and imagination through an innovative approach to insect art. Students waited anxiously to learn what insect challenge would be assigned to their grade level. Grade assignments were as follows: UTK/TK: ladybugs; kindergarten: bees; first grade: ants; second grade: spiders and spiderwebs; third grade: butterflies and moths; fourth grade: dragonflies; fourth and fifth grades: dragonflies and beetles; fifth grade: beetles. Every Monday for fifteen weeks, four different classrooms met with me for one-hour classes.

Unit Overview
In past years, students concentrated on one major artwork. Because I knew studentsʼ potential and they trusted me, I asked them to complete three challenges.

The first challenge focused on learning about the insect’s anatomy, characteristics, roles, habitat, and fun facts and sketching it realistically based on observation.

The next step was the innovative challenge. I invited students to focus on their insect, expand their imaginations, and create an original species. Size, shape, and color could be modified, and appendages increased as long as their version included a thorax, head, and abdomen.

The third challenge involved morphing. We discussed the meaning of this term and how it could be accomplished. I asked students to recall their favorite superhero, videogame, and animation characters and pointed out that many of these figures (including Pokémon) are combinations of human, animal, or insect parts. This triggered their enthusiasm and lively conversations. Students were given the freedom to take their assigned insect and morph it with parts of one or more insects of their choice. An assortment of insect photographs were posted on the walls and on their tables, and the room quickly filled with electrifying energy. I was even more thrilled when teachers told me that upon returning to class, students asked if they could write stories about their insect creations.

Kindergarten Bees
Kindergartners were assigned the theme “busy bees.” After students created a realistic drawing, we discussed the duties of the workers, drones, and queen bees, also known as VIP bees—very important pollinators. After choosing one of these hive members, students were challenged to imagine an original species and color it with black permanent and colored markers.

Next, students used watercolor paints to make a garden for their bee. I introduced effective ways to use water, brushes, and watercolor paints. After practicing techniques to paint grass, leaves, flowers, and trees, they painted their garden adventure on watercolor paper.

For the background, students chose their favorite color construction paper. Next, they brushed gold and silver paints over Bubble wrap, turned the Bubble wrap over and pressed it firmly onto their construction paper to create the illusion of honeycombs. Their final artworks were such a happy, positive combination of materials and techniques that you could practically hear them buzz.

First-Grade Ants
First-graders were tasked with creating a new species of ant and an ant colony. When I showed them images of ants from all over the world, students were amazed at the wide range of colors and body shapes. When they found out that one little ant can carry fifty times its body weight, students knew they had a huge job ahead! Once they drew a realistic version, their original ant was morphed with the insects of their choice. They created fantastic and highly imaginative ants with the help of gel and glitter pens and metallic and permanent markers.

The last step was to create their own ant colony and sky. To pique their interest, I showed them photographs of real ant colonies and discussed their function. To my delight, studentsʼ colonies were unusual, impressive, and highly innovative. There were bowling alleys, party rooms, trampolines, swimming pools, basketball courts, playgrounds, nurseries, schools, kitchens, dance studios, gardens, and more.

Second-Grade Spiders
Students in second grade created spiders and spiderwebs. (As you know, spiders are not insects; they are classified as arachnids. When I first asked students what insects they would like to create, spiders were one of the most popular responses, so this was a wonderful learning opportunity.)

After drawing a realistic spider, students were challenged to morph their spiders with insects and explain their unusual characteristics. The spiders were rendered on construction paper with metallic pens, colored pencils, and permanent markers—and their legs were not limited to eight!

Prior to designing their innovative webs, I showed students a vast array of web types, inspiring them to create intricate, elaborate designs. Some webs even looked like stained glass. Students drew their webs on black construction paper using metallic pens and colored pencils. When the spiderwebs were mounted with their magnificent spiders, a whole new spider world emerged.

Conclusion
Students were completely immersed in this unit from start to finish. They benefited from learning how to recognize and observe lines, forms, and shapes. Morphing proved to be an exciting challenge, and fun facts like how many bees make one jar of honey and that spiders can produce seven different types of silk increased their curiosity and appreciation for these tiny creatures.