More Zen Doodle Bees and Butterfliesat Sexsmith Elementary! Stay Calm and Doodle On!

The patterns used in zen doodle bees come from folkloric tradition. Many of these are based on patterns found in nature: waves, ripples, leaves, flowers, crystals, etc.

Some are reminiscent of traditional Japanese textiles and papers.

The bee above reminds me of Mexican Folk art.

The bee above and below looks like its influenced by contemporary cartooning.

It's great the way the student has emphasized the actual anatomy of the bee, including the mandibles and ocelli.

The next step is to embellish the design with embroidery, beads, and sequins.

 The kindergarten students also drew some beautiful bees.

 

I love to see spuds in tubs!

Keep calm and doodle on!

Zen Doodle Bees at Sexsmith Elementary

One of the things that thrills me about this residency is that I get to collaborate with Heather Talbot and Erin Udal. Heather and I are tailoring each project to our interests and to the class. Together we came up with a project inspired by the zen doodle craze. It takes extra time to create a project from scratch, but the results are so much fun. Above is Heather's beautiful riff on the idea.

I love teachers who get right in there and participate with the students! It's important that students see art as an intergenerational activity. I like the way zen doodles make art into an everyday activity. In this exercise students are creating their own doodle patterns within three bee silhouettes: honeybee, bumblebee, and mason bee. The outline of a bee helps to identify the species--just as in bird-watching.

 The bees and butterflies start out as black and white and will be embellished with color and texture.

I noticed this poster in the classroom, which is really worth taking in.

We are all connected to bees-- by what we eat, drink, and the air we breathe. We are all connected to pollen, pollinators, nectar, seeds, and above all to bees. We cannot live without bees. So let's plant flowers for bees TODAY!!!!!!