BEATRIX POTTER 1866-1943 If I have done anything-even a little to help small children on the road to enjoy and appreciate honest, simple pleasures, I have done a bit of good. Beatrix Potter Grades 3-5 PowerPoint Lesson Plan OBJECTIVES HISTORY: Places an artwork in its art historical context. Students will examine how the Victorian conventions of her time prevented Beatrix Potter from becoming a scientific illustrator and led her to becoming the largest selling author of children s books in the world. CRITICISM: Informed talk about art. Students will be able to identify one or more of the physical properties of line as it is used in the works of Beatrix Potter. AESTHETICS: Questions the nature, value and beauty of art. Students will discuss the difference between a scientific illustration and an imaginary illustration. PRODUCTION: Creating art. Students will create an observational drawing that exhibits at least three different line qualities. VOCABULARY Note to volunteers The vocabulary words will be in bold italics throughout the lesson. They will be defined within the text of the lesson and do not need to be presented separately. Illustrator: one who provides pictures or diagrams to help make something clear or attractive. Line: the path of a moving point. Lines have five physical properties. These include: 1 PowerPoint Presentation
measure: Refers to the length and width of a line. Long, short, thick, thin. type: All lines are of a particular type, they can be jagged, curved, straight, zigzag, etc. direction: Line s direction is most important because it controls the movement of our eye while viewing a picture. A line can be a zigzag type but make a generally curved direction. A horizontal line can indicate stability and serenity. Whereas a diagonal line implies agitation and motion. A vertical line can suggest poise and aspiration. location: The placement of the line. It serves to unify or divide, balance or unbalance a pictorial area. A diagonal line can be soaring or plunging depending on if it is high or low on the picture. character: Related to the medium in which the line is created. An example would be the soft, blurred lines of chalk as opposed to the firm and precise lines of pen and ink. Note to volunteers This is a very detailed definition of line for the use of volunteers; to assist in the discussion and identification of line as it is used in Beatrix Potter s art. Volunteers may choose to introduce only a portion of the definition or one that is simplified to make it grade level appropriate. INTRODUCTION I bet a lot of you know the artist that we are studying today. This person was an author and an illustrator of books that many of you have probably read. Does anyone know what an illustrator does? An illustrator is someone who draws the pictures you see in a book. Those pictures are called illustrations. Let s see if you can guess the name of this artist s most famous book. I will give you some clues and when you think you know the name of the book, raise your hand, but don t call it out yet. So, what are you going to do if you think you know the name of the book? Raise our hands. 1. My first clue is that the artist was a woman, who published this book about 100 years ago. 2. She loved to draw pictures of animals, especially sheep and rabbits. 3. The book is about a rabbit. 4. This rabbit wears a blue jacket and doesn t mind his mother. 5. He gets into terrible trouble for eating vegetables in Mr. MacGregor s garden. 6. The rabbit s name starts with the letter P. If you know the name of this book, whisper it into the ear of your neighbor. Now, everyone all together, tell me the name of this book! (Peter Rabbit.) The story of Peter Rabbit was written by a woman named Beatrix Potter. (Have the students 2 PowerPoint Presentation
repeat her name with you). Today we are going to find out how she came to write the story of Peter Rabbit. HISTORY PHOTOGRAPH OF BEATRIX POTTER 1913 This is a photograph of Beatrix when she was 26 years old. She was born to a wealthy family in London, England about 150 years ago. Beatrix grew up during a time known as the Victorian Era. Back then, only boys were sent to school. That meant they went away and lived at their school only coming home for vacations and the summer. (Just like Harry Potter!) Girls were kept at home to learn from a governess or nanny. Beatrix hardly saw other children except for her brother Bertram. Even he went away to school when she was 17. THE TALE OF TOM KITTEN 1907 Does this look like something you remember from a Peter Rabbit story? It is a watercolor painting from one of her books. Beatrix didn t start out drawing animals like this. You might be surprised to see what she drew when she was your age! GROUND BEETLE 1877, PENCIL, PEN AND INK Beatrix was lonely except in the summers when her brother, Bertram, came home from boarding school. Their family rented a house in the country and the children spent all their time outdoors drawing and painting everything they saw and found, like this beetle. Their parents encouraged them to study art and took them to the art museums in London. They collected all kinds of things to observe and draw. Beatrix s pets, which she and her brother kept secret from their parents included snails, mice, rabbits, toads, beetles, caterpillars and all kinds of bugs. THE SIX HEADS OF BENJAMIN BUNNY 1890, PENCIL Two of her favorite live models were her pet rabbits, Peter Piper and Benjamin Bouncer. She used lines to create the soft texture of this rabbit s fur. Did you know lines are made up of 5 different things or characteristics? One of those things is called type. Words that describe types of line would be straight, curved, zigzag or wavy. What types of lines can you see in this drawing of rabbits? (Mostly straight & curved.) 3 PowerPoint Presentation
THE RABBIT S CHRISTMAS PARTY, THE GUESTS GOING HOME 1892, pen & ink, watercolor Sometimes in her illustrations Beatrix would add an apron or hat to the animals she was drawing. She was very good at mixing make believe with her realistic drawings. FLY AGARIC, WITH POLYPODY FERN, BEECH LEAVES, MOSSES AND LICHENS C.1890 Beatrix was shy and didn t like to meet new people or go to dances and parties. She spent long hours sketching and began to think about becoming a scientific illustrator. Her drawings of plants were perfectly realistic. She learned all she knew by careful observation and trying to show every detail. She sent several of her drawings of mushrooms to plant experts in London, but they sent them back to her. They returned them, not because they weren t good, they were wonderful. But 100 years ago, only men were allowed to be experts in science. Beatrix was hurt because she felt she knew more about mushrooms than almost anyone in England and she did! Since she couldn t be a scientist, she turned her attention to writing and illustrating her little books for children. FYI The information contained in a box in this lesson is added for the adult volunteer s enrichment (think of it as a giant parenthesis in the middle of the lesson). Generally, the information is not intended for inclusion in the classroom presentation. However, if appropriate, you may wish to present some of this information to the students. Her fungi are mostly shown in their natural settings, nestling among pine-needles and leaves, squatting in lichen and moss, or among stiff grasses, in the tradition of Durer s THE GREAT PIECE OF TURF. The funguses generated more than 300 watercolors. It took two generations for her botanical illustrations to be valued as they deserved, and her pioneering discoveries were not acknowledged for 60 years. She was the first in Britain to succeed in sprouting the spores of agarics, and one of the first to realize the symbiotic nature of lichens. Today, leading mycologists have at last begun to appraise both her discoveries and drawings. CRITICISM RABBITS POTTING SHED 1891, PENCIL, PEN & INK Take a minute to look at this drawing. Pay attention to the lines of this drawing. See if you can find different types of lines, different lengths and widths, lines that go in different directions. Look for some lines that are clear and sharp; others that are soft or blurred. 4 PowerPoint Presentation
Sensory Properties: What do you see? 1. Where do you see some different types of lines? Remember, types of lines are curved, jagged, straight, zigzag. (Straight lines in building, fur, tools Curves in water can, rabbits, flowers, pots Wiggly lines in flower leaves ) 2. Artists use different lines to make a picture interesting. Do you see any lines that are short and wide? How about one that is short and fat? Do you see any that are long and thin? 3. Who can point out the direction that some of these lines are going? Formal Properties: How is it arranged? 1. The location or where an artist puts a line can do different things. Do you notice any lines that the artist used to lead our eye to the doorway where the two rabbits are standing? (Doorway itself, vertical posts on the left, the diagonal post on the ceiling, the lines which frame the doorway.) 2. Why would that be important? (To lead your eye to the most important part of the drawing.) Technical Properties: What media, tools and techniques were used? 1. Do you see any lines that look soft and blurred? Where do you see lines that are sharp and clear? What different kinds of art materials or media do you think she used to make these lines have different character? (Different media produce different effects. Pen and ink create firm, precise line, watercolor creates a softer, blurred effect.) Expressive Properties: What mood or idea does it express? 1. What do you think Beatrix wanted us to think these two rabbits were doing? AESTHETICS Note to volunteers These questions are meant to be open-ended; there is no right or wrong answer. COMMON NEWT 1886, pencil and watercolor Beatrix drew this illustration of the life cycle of a newt because she enjoyed doing it. It shows us details of what a newt actually looks like just like a scientist may use. ILLUSTRATION FROM THREE LITTLE MICE This illustration from her book Three Little Mice was made to add to our enjoyment of her storybook. Each of these illustrations was done for a different reason. One is a scientific study, the other, a make believe scene for a story. Do 5 PowerPoint Presentation
you think one of these is more important or valuable than the other? Why or why not? HISTORY (cont.) FIRST PAGE OF NOEL MOORE S PETER RABBIT LETTER 1893 Beatrix made friends easily with the young children she knew and often sent them letters with pictures that told a story. The children loved them and always looked forward to receiving one of her letters. The most famous of these was sent to a little boy whose mother had been one of Beatrix s teachers. Here are the first two pages of the letter she sent to him that later became The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Although she sent the story to several publishers, none wanted it. She decided to have 250 copies of the story printed herself. Beatrix gave them to friends and left them at bookstores. They sold out quickly. An editor saw one of the books and wanted her to rewrite the story and make the illustrations larger. Beatrix was excited. She agreed to rewrite the text but said the book needed to be small, so that children s hands could hold it easily. THE GARDEN AT LAKEFIELD, SAWREY 1896, PEN & INK, FYI Like Carroll, Caldecott and Lear, Beatrix sent illustrated letters to children. From 1892 onwards letters with pen-and-ink scribbles, dramatic and action-packed, beguiled her child friends, in particular the Moores, the large family of her former governess. A few of the more worked out sequences were made up into little booklets, so that the picture letter becomes a story proper. The first of course was Peter Rabbit. Only Beatrix took the picture letter to its logical and lucrative conclusion. Its success with children and adults alike gave her the confidence to go ahead with her own text. Once established as author-illustrator, she resisted the suggestion she might illustrate other people s books. She produced 19 little books between 1901 and 1913. Success brought financial independence and changes to her life. She married a local attorney, William Heelis and enjoyed living life on a working farm. She was also active in environmental issues, annexing over 4000 acres of Lake District land saving them for the National Trust. WATERCOLOR Beatrix finished 19 books in the next 10 years. She created Peter and the adventures of all her other animal characters. She bought herself a farm called Hill Top and got married. Beatrix painted many pictures of the gardens at the farm and countryside she loved. THE PIE AND THE PATTY PAN 1905, PEN & INK, WATERCOLOR 7 X 5 She used her imagination along with the places and things she knew to create the illustrations for her books. 6 PowerPoint Presentation
Beatrix became famous after publishing her books and children all over the world wrote to her, but she really just liked working on the farm. She died when she was 77 years old. It has been 100 years since she first wrote Peter Rabbit, and you may be surprised to know that no author in the world has ever sold more children s books than Beatrix Potter. MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF A BEETLE, HEAD AND THORAX 1887, PENCIL & WATERCOLOR Today we are going to pretend we are illustrators like Beatix. We will be using pictures of insects and making a drawing of them using colored pencils. We are also going to learn some new ways to use colored pencils to create some different textures in our drawings. PRODUCTION Criteria: Students will create an observational drawing from a photograph of an insect and use at least three of the five physical properties of line. Materials: Colored pencils 4 ½ x 6 sheet white drawing paper photographs of insects Laminated example sheets for colored pencils techniques Instructions: 1. For the first few minutes of class, go over the colored pencil techniques with the students. Give each student a piece of scratch paper and let them briefly practice each one. There are ten laminated copies, which can be put on tables for students to refer to. 2. For now, ignore the background and concentrate only on the insect. 3. Use one of the photographs for demonstration. Tell students to look at the shape of the individual body parts of the insect in the picture. Look individually at the shape of the head, the legs, the wings (if any), the main body, and antennae. 4. You may ask them to use their finger and trace the outline or contour of each body part before they draw it. 5. Begin your drawing with one main body part or wing shape. Draw it to fill up the space on your paper. (Notice the insects fill most of the space in the photograph.) 7 PowerPoint Presentation
6. After a main body part has been drawn, begin adding the remaining parts and details. 7. Students do not have to draw the entire insect. It may go off the page. 8. Then using some of the colored pencil techniques, add the details and textures using at least three of the properties of line. (short, fat, thin, straight, curved, diagonal, vertical the simple act of drawing the insect should incorporate at least three of these.) 9. If time allows, students may add in background details from their photo. 10. As students finish and time allows, ask some of them to show where they used different types of line, different lengths, widths or direction of line. Jill Bogle, 2005 8 PowerPoint Presentation