School Outreach :: Outsider Art Lesson Plans
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Objectives:

1. Students will create imaginary clay creatures.
2. Students will use texture to show how their creatures feel.
3. Students will decorate safe spaces for their creatures to live.
4. Students will write stories answering specific questions about their creations.
5. Students will look at animal pictures as well as the work of outsider artists for idea generating purposes.

State Goals: (IL)
This lesson meets goal 25.A.1d - identifying and implementing texture and pattern as well as spatial qualities (their creature must fit into a specific sized container). Goal 26.A.1e will be met through the identification and use of ceramics tools in a safe and proper manner. Goal 26.B.1d will be met through the construction and manipulation of clay, the use of eye-hand coordination and actually building creatures using their imaginations. Students will also learn goal 27.B.1 because their created creatures will evoke stories, both written and visual. Therefore, art will be seen as a form of communication.

Vocabulary:
Texture: The feel of an object, its roughness, smoothness, hardness… Can be visual or physical.

Outsider: Someone who is not on the inside, included in a place or group.

Outsider art: Art created by untrained people not influenced by famous artists and artwork.

Scoring: Marking two pieces of clay with many tiny scratches in order to adhere them together in a more stable manner, like a zipper.

Pattern: The repetition of any thing such as shapes, lines, or colors.

Instructional Teaching Sequence:

Day 1: (10-15min) Show the students the artwork of Levi Fisher Ames and Henry Darger
These artists created imaginary creatures to tell stories. Ames carved real and make-believe animals to tell stories about what they did and where they lived. Look at Ames' images. Ask, what do you see? Ask what textures they see. Tell students texture is how an object feels. Could you touch these carvings and feel the texture? That is called actual texture. Talk about the names of the animals. Ask students to speculate where the animals might live and what they might do.

Next show two Darger images. Ask students what they see. Can they describe the texture? These are drawings, could they feel the texture? Darger used patterns, lines and shapes used over and over again to make it look like the creatures have texture even though you can’t feel it. Where do you think these animals might live? What might they do?

Tell students that these artists are different from other artists because they did not go to art school to learn to draw and carve. They did it all from their own minds. Because they did not get ideas from other artists or learn from other artists, they are called outsiders. They were not part of the art world. What does the word outsider mean to them? Sometimes it can refer to people who are not part of a group, or those who are left out. Do they ever feel like outsiders? It is very important to include others so no one feels left out.

Students will be told that they will create their own make believe creatures out of clay. Then they will write stories about them and create a safe space for the creatures to live so they feel comfortable and not like outsiders because they are different. The teacher should bring lots of animal books from the library or other sources so that the students can get ideas about what kinds of creatures they want to make. For the rest of the class students will draw a picture of their creatures and write stories about them if there is time.

Write the final story, with corrections, on a note card to display (20-25min).

Day 2/3: Show students an example of a made up clay creature.
(5 min) If students want to join two pieces of clay together make little marks on them where they will attach. This is called scoring. Put slip/mud on them, and press the two pieces together. Smooth the clay so you do not see the two edges anymore and it looks like one piece. Demonstrate.

Give students clay to work with and have them reference their drawings. When students are finished, mark their initials and room number on the bottom. If students do not finish in one period, store in Tupperware containers (Cool Whip containers work well). Have students write their name on the outside for easy distribution the next class period.

(Note: Allow time for drying and firing of clay. The teacher may put a clear glaze on the creatures or add an extra day for students to glaze. Terra Cotta clay has a nice red finish. If clay is not available, students can simply draw & write about their creatures.)

Questions for writing the creature stories
Students should write a paragraph about their creatures (they should use full sentences) using the following questions:

1. What is my creature’s name?
2. What does it look like?
3. Where does it live?
4. How does it feel?
5. What does it do?

Day 3/4: (35 min) Have students finish their stories (if not already done) and show them how to decorate their safe space. It could be day or night, by the color paper or felt used in the box. They can also have drawings or paper cut-outs to glue on. Then the teacher can hot glue their clay creatures into the boxes or safe spaces.

- The teacher can display by cutting holes in foam core, or a display board for the boxes to fit into (facing outwards). The teacher or students can glue their stories next to their creatures.

Activity population: This lesson can be taught to 2 nd-5 th graders. It could also be boosted to include scientific classification or anatomy of animals for 6-8 th graders minus the safe spaces.

Timeline: (4 days)
Day 1: Introduction to artists (10-15 min)
Discussion of assignment, drawing and story writing (20 min)
Clean-up (5min)
Day 2/3: Scoring demonstration (5 min)
(25-30 min) creating creatures
(5 min) cleanup
Allow time for drying and 1-2 firings of clay.
Day 3/4: Decorate safe spaces, glue or place creatures inside, finish stories (35-40 min).

Materials and Supplies
Clay, slip, paper, pencils, small boxes or food containers, construction paper, glue or rubber cement, display board or foam core.

Supplementary Materials
www.artlex.com

Levi Fisher Ames, Menageri published by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center 2001
Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal. By John M. MacGregor. Pages 356-357.

Conceptual Framework
This lesson allows students to view the work of outsider artists and address the concepts of being different and even excluded. They will also discuss the importance of including others and creating safe spaces for each other and their creatures.

Arts Integration
This lesson would work well in conjunction with a science lesson discussing the classification and preservation of insects. One could discuss scientific versus common names of animals and what scientists learn from studying animals.