Fire Breathing Fine Art

With the new school year comes new classes. As it is, I've only gotten one brand spanking new class so far, and it has only two brand spanking new students in it. They're both just new to Elementary School, so I'm guessing they're about 6 years old or so. They're cute as buttons, but really just starting to learn English - so we've been working on the basics: the alphabet (sound and stroke order) colours, numbers and so forth. Today I gave them a handout. Let's have a look at their work!

Cleo is a bright and sunny girl. It's obvious her parents have worked with her at home, as she can already tell me colour names and knows how to print the alphabet. She's got a good ear, and can replicate what I say like a tape player. I expect great things from this little girl! Here's Cleo's parrot:

It's some good work. I like how her crayon strokes have good flow and are in generally the same direction. She takes care to stay within the lines, and although there is some minor white spaces apparent, it's a solid well balanced piece.

Jesse is cheerful and spunky. He is totally spun, and I'm not using a euphemism for "spacey and clueless," I mean he's literally spun. If I'm not completely engaging him - or if I'm helping Cleo out with something, he leaps out of his chair and starts to spin. I've only known him for 3 days now, so I'm not sure if he's been a long term spinner, or if spinning is some new discovery he's made, but man this kid likes to twirl. Once he's all dizzy he giggles his ass off! Let's see Jesse's parrot.

The impatience of the artist is evident. You can tell by the short, staccato, almost frantic and haphazard strokes that he's wanting to finish his work and get back to the spinning. The lines of the parrot are more vague suggestions than barriers for Jesse. Notice the dope radical bike racing helmet Jesse's parrot is sporting. Maybe this kid has a future in fashion design!

See the bucket attached to the parrot's stand? I think it's food, and I think this parrot eats small rocks, but see how Cleo's coloured hers with a colour not even mentioned on the handout? When I suggested Jesse might want to colour his he nixed that idea with an X. No time. Must spin.

I haven't mentioned the obvious yet. See how Jesse's parrot is breathing fire? (I hope he's not vomiting blood - let's assume it's fire.) Cool! Not only that, but the parrot is encircled by a ring of fire. Very Johnny Cash. Very cool. This is a theme of the artist Jesse. Fire breathing animals in a ring of fire.

Jesse's dinosaur:

Dinosaurs kind of look like dragons.
This was Jesse's first picture. I didn't think the fire-breathing dinosaur was so strange. He gets extra points with me for creativity. See the dinosaur's flamey cycling helmet? I think the parrot and the dinosaur are on the same Olympic cycling team. I also dig the sky-blue teeth.

Jesse's bear:

Jesse's fire-breathing ring of fire encased bear. He doesn't ride a bike. Bear's don't ride bikes. Sometimes they ride teeny tiny motorcycles in Russian circuses, but never bikes. And they certainly don't race. Silly!

My students are lucky this wasn't a competition, because I ROCKED the parrot picture. Seriously, I like to be modest about my abilities, but this shit should be hanging in the Colouring Museum of Fine Art...

In your FACE, little kids!