Jasper Johns Layered Numbers

Jasper Johns is one of those golden artists that elementary art teachers gravitate towards. His works can be used across grade levels, at varying depths, to great success. For me, his work is great for introducing primary colors, color mixing, abstract art, and Pop art. I've taught several variations on his work over the years and I wanted to try something new with the tiny humans. 

My other lessons are here: Primary Color Numbers, Jasper Johns Number Grid

Materials:
- Canvas panels
- Sharpies
- Jasper Johns stencils
- Primary color acrylic paints

The first step is to create a stencil- which I posted here. These stencils are sturdy and have been used for years. Beginning with a demonstration on how to hold the stencil for successful tracing, I showed the tiny humans how to use a sharpie to slowly trace one number at a time. We went straight for the sharpie so that they would be forced to work slowly. 

Choosing one number at a time, they laid the stencil down, traced it with the sharpie, and then repeated the process three more times. I thought that layering would derail some of them, but no, it went great! Resist fixing those upside down and backwards numbers. The character and the value of those mistakes is worth it.

The tables were already set with buckets of water, so all we had to do for the next step was switch out the sharpies for primary colored acrylic paint and brushes. These were prepped and ready off to the side so the transition was relatively seamless. Students had the option of leaving the colors as they were or mixing them. I circulated to make sure too much brown wasn't being made, but I didn't completely stop it from happening because trial and error is a large part of proper color mixing.

This took a one hour class and about 20 minutes of another. Most students finished within the first class. I had them start with just the numbers and they would paint around them if they chose, but no one took me up on that idea. They're really stunning and I'm very happy with the decision to trace the numbers in layers!