Jackson Pollock for Elementary Education

I recently discovered a fantastic way to teach elementary education about Jackson Pollock. In case you do not know, he was an Abstract Expressionist artist. Pollock is very famous for his giant paint -splattered canvases. There is a website called jacksonpollock.org where you can create your own Jackson Pollock on your computer. You move the paint around with your computer mouse. Every time you click he mouse, the color of the paint will change. If you move your mouse around quickly, you will get thinner lines. If you move slowly, the lines will be thicker. That is also how you get globs of paint.

Even though this is not the same as throwing actual paint onto a canvas, it is rather enjoyable! This program is even better to use with elementary education because then there is no mess with paint. Plus, there will be more time to create and less time spent on cleaning up. There will be no worries of children eating paint either. Even if the young students do not remember Jackson Pollock, they will get the chance to learn about colors, patterns, and self expression. This program will work on any electronic device. Laptops, smart phones, iPads, even the smart board….Think of the possibilities for them to work on the smart board as a huge canvas! You could make one Jackson Pollock with the entire class that way, too. To present these little masterpieces, you could set them up in a slideshow or print them out and mount them.

This program has a lot of potential. I have used it when I substitute teach. Sometimes if the students are finished with an assignment, I will let them go on the computer to make their own Pollock paintings. I found that it keeps them engaged and under control. This is a program that I highly encourage. It is student friendly, keeps students entertained, and above all else...no mess!
Here is the website: http://www.jacksonpollock.org/