Design your own Dream Bed

Objectives

1. Students will understand the way that different peoples use mats, pillows and beds for sleeping are related to culture and geography (historical and cultural understanding).

2. Students will learn about what materials were employed and how they were used to create different sleeping structures (perceiving, analyzing and responding).

3. Students will find different solutions in the process of using drawing and painting materials to design a bed that they desire (creating and performing).

Correlation to New Mexico Art Content Standards
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Materials

Watercolor or heavy drawing paper, at least 8 ½" x 11", preferably 11" x 14", pencils, erasers, craypas, watercolors, watercolor brushes, water containers, newspaper to cover tables.

Motivation

1. Initiate a discussion about beds and different sleeping structures by looking at images of beds, pillows and sleeping mats. Have students talk about their own beds at home. What do they look like? What kinds of blankets do they have? What kinds of pillows and blankets do they like?

2. Talk about the difference between sleeping at home and other places, hotel, motels, friends' houses and tents. What are the different types of arrangements in sleep furnishings that they are aware of?

3. Some people put their mattresses on the floor. In Asia people from all walks of life sleep on mats on the floor. Often people use hard pillows to support their necks. Why do students think that people from Asia sleep in mats on the floor and people from Europe sleep high on beds with mattresses and frames?

4. Look at bedding textiles. Ask students why they think that textiles are decorated. What patterns do they like? Do they have any special meaning?

5. Explain that each student will be creating a resist painting and designing a bed of their dreams. They can create an image of their bed at home or make up a new bed design based on the images they have seen and the discussion they have had.

Procedure

1. Explain that students are expected to use the whole page to design their bed. They may want to include their entire bedroom in the picture, windows, curtains, posters, desks, etc.. Explore how patterns and images are created by organizing different types of lines (straight, rounded, smooth and bumpy, just to name a few) into designs and shapes. Students draw their ideas in pencil on the paper.

2. Discuss the use of craypas as the resist material. Craypas are an oil-based drawing material that will not absorb any water based paint, like the watercolors they will be using. Pressing hard with craypas will create the strongest resist, while pressing lightly or using the side of the craypas will have a different effect. Students color over their drawing with the craypas.

3. Demonstrate painting with watercolors, mixing washes and different colors in the box lids or other trays. Students apply watercolors to the craypas drawings, covering the entire page.

4. Let the resist paintings dry.

Evaluation

Have students write or tell about the beds they have created. Then display the paintings with student written-labels. Discuss the differences and similarities in the bed ideas that students created.

Make a series of patterned resist paintings. Create one large or several mini "quilts" by assembling resist paintings into groups. Glue the groups of resist painting together. Name them and display them.

Have students write about dreams that they might have in their imaginary beds. Read them aloud to the class.


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