Van Gogh Collaborative Project

One of my favorite projects we did was a collaborative mural based on one of Van Gogh's Sunflower paintings. I used this post and this post for inspiration. I ordered an 18x24" poster from allposters.com, cut it into pieces, cut black construction into same size pieces, and gave each student a piece of the poster and a piece of paper. I had the students replicate as closely as possible their piece of the mural using oil pastels on the construction paper. I numbered the back of the poster pieces so I could put the mural back together easier. I had the students write the number on the back of their construction paper, too. We talked about how artists are influenced by other artists and how most upper level art curriculums include the practice of copying famous works of art. After the students finished, we sprayed the pastel artwork, let them dry for a few minutes. I asked questions like, "What was it like to copy someone else's art?" "What challenges did you have?" "What do you notice about the way we each see the same color? Was it hard to replicate the colors you saw?" We hung the mural by the door so the students could see their handiwork all year long.