Grade:
First
Name:
Abstract Marble Art
Medium: Tempera & Marbles
Curriculum Tie: Balls and Ramps
Lesson: Abstract Expressionist Artwork
Time: 60 minutes
Volunteers: Minimum of 4
Abstract Marble Art – Mark Tobey
Project Overview/Skills
Students will discuss Abstract Expressionism and how this style of artwork is expressed with form and color and does not represent any real objects. They will
create an abstract piece of artwork using balls and marbles dipped in tempera
paint.
Materials and Home Preparation
½ sheet of construction paper per student – Look at ideas in Project section to pick
color, but black, white and yellow work well
Construction paper for mounting finished works
Assorted Balls/ Marbles: Ping-pong balls, marbles, golf balls, super balls (in art
supply room)
Tempera Paint
Bowls for paint
Spoons
Box lids: Shirt boxes and copier paper box lids work well
Project
Have a box lid for each child or have them take turns with fewer lids. They should
have about a 2” depth.
NOTE: Copier paper box lids are the perfect size. Work with the other leads to
collect lids (some are available in the art supply room) and share what you pool together.
The color options for this project are endless. You can use black paper and white
paint (or very light colored paint) to mimic Tobey’s “white writing” style. You can
use white paper and choose, primary colors, complimentary, analogous, warm or cool
colors. You could do black on white or white on black and keep the color choices to
a minimum. Some leads also have used yellow or light blue paper.
Directions:
Note: Ask students and volunteers to wear old clothes for the project because it’s
a messy one! Also, decide whether you will have: 1) one box lid per child; or 2)
several box lids per adult volunteer in stations. Finally, if pressed for time, you
may need to set a time limit on the amount of rolling each child is allowed to do.
Have your chosen colors of tempera in bowls, an assortment of balls/marbles for
each color and a several spoons for dipping them set up at a table. Have the students put their names on their papers and place them, name side down, in a box lid.
Have the kids choose a color of paint and a ball and help them drop it into the
paint, scoop it out with the spoon and place it in their box.
Have the kids “express” themselves with paint by tilting the box so the ball rolls
around their paper. Have the students experiment with different sizes and
weights of balls. Repeat with different colors until the kids are pleased with their
abstract expression. Careful they don’t roll too much or they will end up with a
muddy mess.
Let dry and mount on colored paper.
Discussion/Exploration
Long ago, painters were often hired to make portraits. Remember last year when
we made a royal portrait at the end of the year? How did we do that? We looked
at an actual person and tried to paint an exact copy of what we saw. This is called
REALISM.
What invention can you think of that came along and changed how painters saw
themselves and their role? The camera (now cameras could reproduce what we saw
with a click of a button). Artists began to rethink their role; they became interested in paintings based on ideas, not things.
Ask the students if they know what the work ABSTRACT means. Abstract means
something based on ideas rather than things. Have the students think how this
might be applied to artwork. With abstract art, you aren’t trying to depict something you see, like a person or animal, but instead convey a feeling or idea.
What can a painter use to create a feeling or an idea? Examples: color,
brushstrokes...
Show the students Advance of History by Mark Tobey. Give them a minute to look
at the artwork. Mark Tobey painted in a style called Abstract Expressionism. This
style is when an artist uses form and color to express themselves. It is nonrepresentational, non-objective artwork. This print is an example of “all over” art.
The paint covers the canvas and there is no focal point. It allows your eyes to
move all over the painting without noticing one thing more than the others.
Mark Tobey used paintbrushes to create his work but some other abstract expressionist painters, referred to as action painters, would actually dribble or throw
paint at their canvas. (Jackson Pollack is a great example. In fact, Pollack was influenced by Tobey’s paintings when he went to see them in New York City. Tobey’s
paintings were small in size; Pollack started making paintings that were in the style
of Tobey but on a huge scale).
Show Tobey’s Broadway. This is a great example of his “white writing style.” He
used white or light paint color to paint over a dark background.
Tell the students that they are going to be using something they have been studying to express themselves in a piece of abstract artwork. They are going to be
painting with balls and marbles!
Review process with the students prior to handing out supplies.
About the Artist
Mark Tobey was born in Wisconsin in 1890. He died in Switzerland in 1976 at the
age of 86. He is considered to be an Abstract Expressionist painter and painted in
the “all over” style. He also is famous for his “white writing style” that uses white
or light color paint over a dark background. See his print Broadway for an example
of this style- it was the first of his “white writing” paintings. He traveled exten-
sively in his life to Europe, the Middle East, Japan, China and Mexico. He was very
influenced by Chinese Calligraphy, religion and music.
Print suggestions
#149
#150
Mark Tobey
Mark Tobey
Advance of History
Broadway
Vocabulary
Abstract
Abstract Expressionism
Mark Tobey
Additional Ideas/Variation
The colors of paper and paint for this lesson can be changed to make the results
quite different. Try using black paper instead of white. Paper can be cut to fit
the seasons – pumpkin, leaf, flower…
2/1/2004