Spectacular Skies
Silhouetted landscapes using marbled paper.
Elementary Studio Lesson
Jessica Nickerson
Where I live in Texas, we have some spectacular sunsets. When I learned a clever
technique to marble paper, the results made me think of using the marbled paper to depict
sunsets and silhouettes. Marbling paper is a favorite activity in many elementary
classrooms and there are numerous ways to do it and use it, but this is the simplest way I
have found.
We began this lesson by looking at and discussing at Oak Tree, Sunset City, California
1932, by Ansel Adams. This photograph is a perfect example of the silhouette effect that
happens in a landscape when the light source is behind the subject matter. In sunsets,
because the sun is at the horizon line, everything in front of it is in beautiful silhouette.
We discussed the science of sunsets and how the days get longer and shorter with the
seasons and also talked about other possibilities for spectacular skies: sunrise, aurora
borealis, Milky Way, and fireworks.
Marbling the Paper
We used two large flat trays (large enough to hold 12” x 18” paper) in two sinks with two
pairs of students at a time (each pair worked as a team to help each other). Each tray
contained water to the depth of ½ - 1 inch. Students wrote their names in pencil on the
back of white drawing paper, chose three compatible colors of chalk from a set of eight,
and scraped chalk dust over the water with the edge of an open pair of scissors.
The first color of chalk spreads across the surface evenly and as more colors are added,
the chalk dust moves across the top as if running from the other colors. When each of the
colors had been added, the students held their papers into a “U” shape, let the middle of
the paper touch the water first and then released it (this technique helps prevent air
bubbles). After letting the paper soak for a few seconds, the students carefully lifted the
paper out of the water by a corner to exclamations of “AHHHH” and a beautifully
marbled sunset sky.
Collage Elements
Because students could not all marble their papers at the same time, they began working
on the collage elements they would add to their marbled backgrounds when the paper
were dry. They drew horizon lines on 12” x 18” pieces of black paper and from there,
started to fill their landscapes with the outlines of objects to become silhouettes in their
scene. The students had to draw outlines clear enough and raised far enough over the
horizon line to be easily recognizable.
Once the students completed their drawings, the excess parts of the silhouettes had to be
cut away. The students used a crayon to draw marks through any part of the black paper
that needed to be cut away, mainly the sky and other negative spaces of the drawing.
After the silhouettes had been cut out, the students glued their landscapes to their marbled
sky and absolutely beautiful artworks emerged.
This was a very successful project. The students enjoyed it. The instructions were
simple but when followed, produced captivating artwork. This lesson was simple yet
elegant and will continue to be a staple in my classroom for years to come.
Objectives sidebar
Students will:

discuss the possibilities for spectacular skies: sunset, sunrise, aurora borealis,
Milky Way, fireworks.

successfully create marbled papers and use them as the background of a sunset
silhouette.
Materials

12” x 18”

white drawing paper shallow pans slightly larger than the size of the chosen paper

shallow plastic trays large enough to hold a 12” x 18” piece of paper (available
from

Prang Ambrite or Freart colored chalk or other brands of chalk (large diameter
chalk, such as sidewalk chalk, works best, but regular chalk will do)

12” x 18” black construction paper

pencils

scissors

white glue
Vocabulary

Marbleized- contains a texture that simulates marble

Landscape- subject matter in which natural scenery is represented

Silhouette- a two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a
cutout drawing, uniformly filled in with black end of sidebar
Jessica Nickerson was a student teacher at W.S. Ryan Elementary School in Denton,
Texas when she taught this lesson. Jessica.nickerson@yahoo.com
Web Link
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silhouette