Teachers Network

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

"WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES!"

by Lori Langsner, Art Teacher  

Sample student work

AIMS:

 1. Students will create a watercolor flower painting in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe.

 2. Students will respond critically to a variety of  works of art by Georgia O'Keeffe.

 3.  Students will explore Internet resources to view images and read biographical information about the artist.

 

DO NOW:

I. While viewing works of Georgia’s O’Keeffe’s art, students will respond to the following in their notebooks:

1. What subjects did Georgia O’Keeffe paint?

2. How did O’Keeffe look at nature and the environment?

II. After viewing video; "Georgia O'Keeffe" students will answer the following:

1. Why do you think O'Keeffe loved New Mexico so much?

        (landscape, peace & quiet, privacy, felt free, colors)

2. Besides painting, what were her other accomplishments?

       (pottery, book editing and writing, videotape production)

  3. Why did she paint bones, as well as flowers?

         (she enjoyed the shape to the sky, flowers were scarce in the desert)

  4. What inspired her flower paintings?

        (she wanted to fill the space of her canvas in a beautiful way, didn't want to paint like everyone else, really wanted to "see" and "smell" the flowers, to express her many moods)

  5. How did her husband Alfred Steiglitz help her career?

       (showed her work in his gallery, very loving, supportive, caring, and truly interested in her work)

 

HOMEWORK:  “If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see, because I would paint it small like the flower is small.  So I said to myself- I’ll paint what I see- what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it- I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what  I see of flowers.”   Georgia O’Keeffe, 1939

            What do you think about what Georgia O’Keeffe has said about her flower paintings? Explain your thoughts in relation to our class discussions.

 

MATERIALS: sketchpads, pencils, erasers, 9x12 watercolor paper, brushes, watercolor paint sets, newspaper, water cups, flowers, bones, driftwood

 

MOTIVATION: 

 - an insightful look into the woman herself, Georgia O'Keeffe, as she guides us and speaks with us about her life and works in the places that most inspired her.

        MOMA Teacher Info Center, Teacher Resource Center to borrow videos, slides, and books

 

GRADE LEVEL: 7th grade art talent classes, meeting 4 times per week for 40 minutes.

 

TIME ALLOWANCE: One month

 

REFERENCES: 

 “Georgia O’Keeffe  Abstracting From Nature”  Art & Man Magazine, March 1989, Vol. 19, No. 5  (Class Library)

                          

PROCEDURE:

1. Students will review and discuss the artwork of Georgia O’Keeffe.

2. Students will compare O’Keeffe’s flowers with those of Cezanne.

3. Students will understand the term “abstraction” in art.

4. Students will sketch ideas for their paintings using “natural” objects.

5. Students will review and discuss watercolor painting techniques

6. Students will actively engage in the creation of a watercolor painting  exhibiting their knowledge of the art medium.

   

EVALUATION: 

1. Why did Georgia O’Keeffe paint her flowers so large?

     (So people would take the time to really look at a flower.)

  2. How did she abstract her flowers?

     (She moved in closer and drew it larger and larger.)

 3. What constant theme does she use in all her paintings?

      (Looking at the sky through the natural environment.)

  4. Why was O’Keeffe different from artists before her?

       (She had to make flowers express her own strong feelings about nature, life and herself.)

   5. Which paintings do you like best?  Why?

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Georgia O’Keeffe (Portraits of Women Artists for Children) by Robyn Montana Turner, 1993

Getting To Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Georgia O’Keeffe, Chicago: Children’s Press, 1993

http://michelangelo.com/okeeffe/ - Images of O'Keeffe's work, links to purchase books and prints

 http://okeeffemuseum.org  - The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum - great biographical information, but also temporarily "under construction"

  http://moma.org - The Museum of Modern Art

 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:

1. Create Haiku poems based on nature. Language Arts/Art

2. Study the Southwest and New Mexico where O’Keeffe spent much of her life.  Compare with your New York environment and create maps, posters, reports and works of art based on your research.  Social Studies/Art

3. Review and Critique  Georgia O’Keeffe web sites (see above) and http://ellensplace.net/okeeffe1.html   - great biographical information, as well as pictures of her work, plus an additional list of related links.

 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

While learning about Georgia O'Keeffe this past week, many of my students came into class the following day, very excited and proud to say they knew the answer on the TV program, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"  The question was about which artist lived and worked in New Mexico?  The children were very proud they knew it was Georgia O'Keeffe, and so were their parents!      

STUDENT WORK SAMPLES:

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