As 4th grade's final Renaissance project, they learned how frescoes are created. They watched a video about Giotto and his frescos illustrating St. Francis and his life. Here is an example of one of Giotto's frescoes showing him preaching to the birds.
Frescoes are painted onto freshly laid plaster so the paint and plaster dry at the same time. The painting becomes part of the wall. I had the students cover plates with spackling paste from the hardware store. They used plastic knives and spread it onto the plate like icing on a cake.
I had them sketch drawings while the paste set. I suggested fruit and had some sample photos for them to choose from if they needed a resource photo. I thought this would keep the sketches simple and large enough. Small details would be difficult with the watercolors.
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| Nate drew his grape sketch onto the plaster once it dried. |
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| Maleah drew pears. |
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| Madi is copying her sketch onto the dried plaster. |
Once they finished sketching, they were ready to paint. Here are some works in progress!
