The challenge of this project was in the process. Usually in a painting you paint the large areas first, then add details at the end. This project challenged students to do the opposite. The 5th graders actually painted their plexiglass from the underside (back), so in order to have details, they had to be painted first. The look of our painted animals was inspired by the works of Amy Cordova, illustrator of the book Dream Carver. I was fortunate enough to take a class this past fall with Ms. Cordova as the instructor, and then applied what I learned to teach Sheridan 5th graders how to paint their own "dream animals" on 8x8 inch pieces of plexiglass. (Tip: If you want to paint a perfect dot, use the rounded flat edge of a of a wall nail. It works wonderfully!)
