This art project is designed to introduce students to the tradition of self-portraits and self-portraiture in art history. Students then create their own self-portrait that uses positive words incorporated into the design to describe themselves, an exercise meant to promote healthy self-esteem. This project has been designed to be completed in 2-3, 30-minute art periods and emphasizes the use of line while drawing.
Tools you will need:
- Mirrors (I chose light-weight, acrylic mirrors that are inexpensive and unbreakable.)
- Newsprint
- Good paper
- Pen, pencil, or paint brush pen
- Kool-Aid powder, unsweetened
- Foam brushes
- Water
Art History Self Portraits
Introduce the project to students by showing a small slide show of artists from art history who have created self-portraits. I include the self portraits of Frida Kahlo, Judith Leyster, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Gustave Courbet, and M. C. Escher. Let students know each artist's country of origin and an approximate time range of when they worked.
When showing the slide show ask students the following questions:
Why might artists create a self-portrait? What does the self-portrait tell us about the artist? What tools do artists need to create self portraits? What clues to the self portrait does the artist give us in the title or in the background of the portrait? For the younger kids, a good way to start the conversation is to ask, 'Does this artist look happy or sad?' And, "What clues does the face show us about how this artist feels?'
Focus on the Face
Take students through the project, showing students what a completed project might look like. Talk about the sketching process, how artists use a pencil to think about how they want to have their drawings look. Talk about using the eraser as a powerful drawing tool. Talk about how the face is mostly symmetrical and how to divide up the oval shape that makes up the face. For smaller kids, this is not as crucial. Just getting them to look at themselves and to attempt drawing themselves is enough.
Pass out mirrors, one to each student. Ask the students to not mark up the mirror with their fingerprints. Have the students begin with a vertical oval drawn on the page to represent their face. Have students practice drawing or sketching their face on newsprint before they get a better sheet of paper to begin the final portrait. The mirrors have an amazing power to hold the attention of kids. Ask them to look at their face and to examine their facial expressions when happy, sad, surprised, and serious.
Positive Adjectives
Older students may choose positive adjectives to describe themselves. Ask younger kids to choose from a menu of positive words such as: awesome, smart, funny, kind, sweet, sunny, cool, and unique. Have the students create a border for their self-portrait using the words that they have chosen to describe themselves. I had pre-cut-out words for the Kindergarteners to use and let them choose as I went through a bag of adjectives that I had created using a variety of fun fonts.
For the final self-portrait, have students tint a piece of better quality drawing paper using a warm color of Kool-Aid such as orange, red, or yellow. (The cooler Kool-Aid colors are muddy and not as attractive.) Mixing the unsweetened Kool-Aid with water, have students use a foam brush to cover the entire surface of paper with the colored Kool-Aid and then hang the paper to dry. Make sure the Kool-Aid is diluted so that it doesn't stain hands or clothing. I found that 2-3 tablespoons of water per paper package of Kool-Aid was just about right for tinting. The paper is to be lightly tinted, not soaked in color. Have paper towels ready for sopping up extra Kool-Aid from papers. Dabbing with paper towels on top of the tinted and still-wet paper also cretaed an interesting and pleasing texture.
Help students measure out an appropriate border width depending on the size of the paper. Have students write their words around the border using printing for the younger kids, or cursive for the older kids. For Kindergarteners, I printed out some positive adjectives for them to cut and paste onto their self-portraits. I used words such as: cool, kind, awesome, funny, fun, silly, serious, smart, loyal, honest.
Learning to Sketch
Then have students use a pencil to sketch in their face based on what they see in the mirror and the facial measurements learned during the demonstration. Encourage kids to use this project as a way of expressing themselves and their emotions. How can a drawing talk about who you are? How can the descriptive words compliment how you have chosen to draw yourself on the page? Talk about how a sketch is an artist's practice drawing for a more finished work of art.
After the portrait is sketched in with pencil, have kids use a pen or pen brush to follow the pencil lines to create the finished self-portrait. Encourage the use of line to show the direction of their hair, or how to use line to follow the form of your face.
For many students, especially the younger ones, there is little or no expectation that their final drawings will resemble their appearance in a photographic manner. This self-portrait project is meant to teach expression, line, facial proportion, and positive self-esteem.
Some of the vocabulary words that can be repeated and enforced:
- symmetry
- line
- composition
- self-portrait
- sketch
When projects are completed take the time to put these self-portraits up in a prominent place in the school. Also have students sign their name and date the project.
Note: Another purpose of this art project is to promote facial expression recognition skills.
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
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