1. Nancy Burrill Birch Trees
Presentation modified and prepared by Alice Finch 2012
1st Grade Art Project
West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

3. Nancy Burrill, Teacher Extraordinaire
Allison Yoshida, the Art Enrichment Coordinator for many years, did this lesson with her daughter’s first grade class. Nancy saw the display in the hallway and asked if the art program would adopt it into a lesson for all of first grade. The next year all first graders did the lesson because Nancy loved it and wanted all the kids to have an opportunity to do the interesting masking technique. After her death in the fall of 2014, we dedicated this lesson in her honor.

4. Birches Robert Frost Forest by Gustav Klimt
“When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.” What does the poet mean?

5. Watercolor background Salt texture
Today’s Project
Birch tree bark
Masking
Watercolor background
Salt texture
This project works best if you explain and do the steps in stages (don’t try to explain the entire project and then have them do it all at once).

6. Birch Tree Bark

7. Step 1- How to make a mask

8. Step 2- Trees in Perspective
Give each student a 9x12 sheet of watercolor paper.
Students can tear their own strips of painter’s tape, but it saves time and frustration if the parent volunteers have some tape pre-torn for them.
Tape can be distributed a few pieces at a time so that they don’t get stuck together
The uneven edges are then combined on the paper to make the trunks- uneven edges on the outside
If the tape tears unevenly, it’s okay! That’s what makes the trees look realistic.
For the first row of trees, all of the pieces of tape should hang over the bottom of the paper.
Next, explain distance and perspective—how objects appear smaller the farther away they are, while things that are big will appear closer.
On this project, the longer pieces of tape will look closer while the shorter pieces will appear farther away.
To get this effect, have the students end the bottom pieces at varying heights (and they can tear off the bottom to get this effect, if necessary).
Varying the height of the trunks will give the picture the illusion of depth.
Press all the “trees” down firmly.
Check that both sides of the tape are torn as that is what makes the irregular shape.
Close trees = bigger
Farther away trees = smaller 

9. Step 3- Painting the Land

10. Step 4- Painting the Sky

11. Step 5- Salt the sky

12. Step 6- Peeling up the mask
Carefully peel away the tape to reveal the white trees.

13. Step 7- Painting the shadows & highlights

14. Step 8- Sponge in shrubs