Working Together for Wildlife
Painting with Soil

Grade Level:
All Grades

Time Required: advance collection and preparation time plus one to two class periods of 45 minutes for the activity

Objectives/Goals:
1. Students will be able to use scientific terms to describe soils.
2. Students will be able to identify at least two methods used by farmers to protect soils.
3. Students will understand how soil colors relate to soil makeup.
4. Students will develop perceptual skills and be able to discuss art elements using appropriate vocabulary.

Curricular Areas:
Listening, observing, sketching, painting, color experimentation, creative expression, aesthetic valuing, researching, earth sciences.

Overview:
1. A teacher lecture introduces geologic vocabulary and concepts, as well as visual arts terms.
2. Students mix palettes, sketch, and paint an abstract, a landscape, or an animal.
3. Students discuss their creations from a visual arts perspective.
4. A homework assignment has students investigating the causes of various soil colors.

Lesson's Concepts:
1. The Earth's soil is a vital natural resource that requires our care and protection.
2. Soils come in a variety of colors based upon their makeup, and soils can reveal properties such as drainage and organic and mineral content in a given region.
3. Visual arts allow students to express their emotions and opinions without using words.

Materials Needed:

• soil samples (dried in air)
• hammer/mallet
• mortar and pestle (or use a bowl and a wooden spoon, or a rolling pin and a ziplock bag)
• paper cups (4 oz.)
• pencils and ink pens
• paintbrushes (a variety of round and flat, miscellaneous sizes)
• sponges and cloths
• artist acrylic, clear gloss medium (from arts and crafts stores; for younger students, use white or clear Elmer's glue)
• paper (watercolor paper if available)
• masking tape

Preparation:
1. Before class, gather soils of various colors, recording when and where the samples were collected, as well as by whom. Hint: During vacation or weekend outings collect samples from around California to add to your soil palette. Have students bring in samples as well.
2. Place each dried soil sample on a piece of paper and crush into pieces with a hammer or mallet. Place some of the crushed soil into a mortar or bowl and grind it further into a fine powder. Repeat this process to crush all of the different colored soils.
3. Place the different soils in paper cups.
4. Place the cups of soil, pencils, pens, paper, paintbrushes, artistic acrylic, sponges, cloths, and masking tape at each group project table.

Procedure:
1. Gather the students and introduce the activity for the day. Use the information in the teacher lecture to discuss the activity from both the soils and artistic perspectives. Explain that soil is important to all living things, and that farmers use several methods to protect the soil on their land.
2. Show the students the various soil samples. On the board, write the location where each sample was collected. Have the students describe the color (reddish, gray, dark brown, black, etc.) and texture (gritty, soft, etc.) of each soil type. Record the descriptions on the board next to each sample listed.
3. On paper with a pencil, demonstrate how to lightly sketch an abstract design, a landscape, or an animal. Discuss the use of shape/form, line, texture, and space in art and compare to the environment. Talk about how complementary colors, proportion, harmony, and contrast convey messages or emotions to the audience.
4. Have the students proceed with creating their own drawings. When students are satisfied with their compositions, have them use ink to make permanent lines. With masking tape, carefully tape the paper's edge to the table so that the artwork will dry flat.
5. Have students pour very small amounts of artistic acrylic (or use Elmer's glue for younger students) into each cup of soil and mix until the desired color/consistency is reached. Thin with water if necessary. Encourage students to experiment with mixtures to create different colors.
6. Have students use paintbrushes, sponges, and cloths to paint their drawings. Walk around the room offering encouragement and assistance.
7. Let the artwork dry. Students may apply another layer of soil if desired.
8. Have a few students offer their completed projects for a group discussion of aesthetic valuing. Have the students compare and contrast elements and emotions generated by the projects, using appropriate artistic vocabulary. Discuss cultural influences, possible interpretations, etc. Identify each project's successful composition qualities.
9. Assign a homework project in which students investigate the soil characteristics that result in one or more of the colors used in their project. See the chart on Possible Sources of Soil Colors and visit related websites. Here are a few suggestions:

• www.citygardening.net/soilcolor/
• http://interactive.usask.ca/ski/agriculture/soils/soilphys/
• http://nesoil.com/properties/

Assessment:
1. To evaluate the performance of students during this activity, use the Soils Activity Assessment.
2. A portion of the score may also be given by having each student assess their own art project. Have them use the group discussion of aesthetic valuing (#9 of the procedure above) as a guide. Students can also describe any changes they might make to improve their project. Have them apply a score of 1 to 10 for how closely their assessment matches their original objective.

Follow-up/Extensions:
1. Learn more about soils by creating edible soil horizon desserts. Visit http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/CTIC/CTIC.html for information and a recipe.

2. Have students write poems to accompany their art, attempting to capture the same emotions generated by the images themselves.

3. Study the designs of a variety of nature artists. Discuss various styles and use of media. Compare representational versus abstract, two-dimensional versus three-dimensional, symmetrical versus asymmetrical, fine versus folk, historical versus modern, etc. Consider the works of these and other artists in your evaluation:

Painters: Georgia O'Keeffe, Harry Curieux Adamson, Robert Bateman, Salvador Dali, Bev Doolittle, Sherrie Russell Meline, James Audubon, Li Cheng, Robert Steiner
Carvers: Harold MacGillivray, Fresh-Air Dick Janson, Charles Bergman, Richard Loging
Sculptors: Meg White, Bill Hunt, Robert Deurloo

4. Have the students volunteer to help reduce soil erosion at a local site. They can work with the landowner or manager to plant native vegetation along the edges of a creek or river. Or they can help educate local landowners about the benefits of growing grasses and plants on unused fields to hold soils in place. For more information on erosion control, visit http://soils.usda.gov.

Vocabulary:
aesthetic, abstract, chroma, composition, contrast, erosion, folk art, geology, hardpan, harmony, hue, Munsell, palette, proportion, representational, soil, soil horizon, soil type, symmetry, texture, value, windbreak

Teacher Lecture:

Soil is a vital natural resource for farming and ranching, gardening, wild habitats, and much more. Soil is made of crushed rocks (minerals), organic matter such as decaying plants and bacteria and fungi, and various gases that collect near the surface of the earth. Soil is arranged in layers, called horizons. Each soil horizon is a unique mixture of minerals and organic matter. Soil horizons are stacked on top of one another, creating a unique soil type. Soil types are different all around the world, and in California's Central Valley the dominant soil type is called San Joaquin soil, named for the southern part of the valley. Crops such as rice, wheat, almonds, oranges, grapes, and many others are all grown in San Joaquin soil. Its characteristic hardpan, or densely packed, layer just a few feet below the surface creates a barrier that holds water and creates wetland habitats all along the valley during the wet winter months.

Soils are naturally removed by wind and water through the process of erosion. Keeping soil from washing or blowing away is an important task for farmers and ranchers. Farmers plant rows of trees called windbreaks to protect fields and pastures. They also grow grasses and plants on unused fields so the soil will be held in place, helping to decrease soil erosion. This provides habitat for wildlife.

Color is one of the ways scientists can determine the properties of soil in a given area. Soil color is measured by three factors: hue, value, and chroma. Hue is the rainbow color (red, green, blue, etc.). Value is the degree of darkness, and chroma is the purity or intensity of the color. Soil scientists use a color system developed by Albert Munsell in 1905 to most accurately evaluate soil color. Munsell was a painter and art teacher.

Soils are valued for the beauty their many colors add to our landscapes. Black, red, yellow, white, brown, and gray are all soil colors, and the colors reveal each soil's characteristics (challenge the students to research what the different colors mean). The color and texture of soil painting helps students appreciate soils for their function and for their beauty.

Students of art should be familiar with some key terms, which will help in discussions and evaluations of visual art projects. Shapes refer to the objects in a drawing or painting. Space is the empty area surrounding the shapes. Form refers to the profile or outline that the shapes make up. Lines are the two-dimensional edges defining the form. Texture is the three-dimensional surface of the art. Proportion is relating one part of the artwork to another. Colors that work well together are opposite each other on the color wheel (red complements green, blue complements orange, and yellow complements purple); these are called complementary colors. Contrast is the difference between the highlights and the darks in art. Discussions of harmony refer to how well all the aspects of the art work together.

Answers:
1. For the homework assignment on soil colors, refer to the following chart. Keep in mind that colors can indicate several things. For instance, black topsoil can mean it has a lot of decomposed organic material. Lower in the horizon black might mean the soil has a high manganese content.

Credit: This activity was adapted from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service soils web page: http://soils.usda.gov/education/resources/k_12/.

For other soil activities, visit the National Association of Conservation Districts website at www.nacdnet.org/. Click on "education," then "soil and water stewardship" to find 2004 Soil and Water Stewardship Materials and read The Living Soil.