AFFIRMATION ART: INSPIRED BY JASPER JOHNS

AFFIRMATION ART: INSPIRED BY JASPER JOHNS

Learning Description

Students will create mixed media artworks inspired by the art of Jasper Johns, incorporating positive affirmations, fostering self-esteem, creativity, and artistic exploration.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & HEALTH
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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create a mixed media artwork incorporating positive affirmations, inspired by the style of Jasper Johns, to express self-esteem and confidence through visual art.

Essential Questions

  • How can words and affirmations influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions?
  • How does the repetition of positive affirmations in artwork impact the viewer's perception and interpretation of the artwork?
  • What artistic techniques can we use to visually represent positive affirmations in our artwork?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

HE3.1 Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

HE3.1.c Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.

HE3.1.e Identify behaviors that show respect for themselves and others.

Arts Standards

VA3.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

VA3.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

VA3.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two-dimensional art.

VA3.CN.2 Integrate information from other disciplines to enhance the understanding and production of works of art.

 

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Standard 1: “Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health” (NHES, 2007).

M-3.1.1 Identify examples of mental, emotional, social, and physical health.

M-3.1.3 Identify healthy ways to communicate (e.g., verbal, nonverbal, written).

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.

Benchmark VA.CR I can combine several elements of art to express ideas.

Indicator VA.CR NM.1.2 I can combine several elements of art to construct 2D or 3D artwork.

Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.CR NM.2 I can use some materials, techniques, and tools to create artwork.

Indicator VA.CR NM.2.1 I can use two-dimensional art materials to explore ways to make art

Anchor Standard 4: I can organize work for presentation and documentation to reflect specific content, ideas, skills, and or media.

Benchmark VA.P NL.4 I can show and describe the idea of my artwork.

Indicator VA.P NL.4.2 I can describe my artwork.

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Positive affirmation - A short, clear, and encouraging statement that one repeats to oneself to promote confidence, motivation, and a constructive mindset

Arts Vocabulary

  • Overlapping - A technique where one object is placed in front of another, so it partially covers the object behind it
  • Layering - The technique of building up multiple layers of materials or elements to create depth, texture, and complexity in a piece
  • Variety - The differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values
  • Jasper Johns - An American artist best known for his paintings and prints of familiar, everyday symbols like flags, numbers, targets, and maps. He played a major role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art in the mid-20th century.

Materials

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin by introducing the artist Jasper Johns and his iconic artwork featuring numbers and letters.
  • Show students Jasper Johns’ artwork, “0 Through 9”. Ask students to identify what shapes, colors, and lines they see in the artwork.
  • Show other examples of Jasper Johns' artwork, highlighting his use of bold colors, textures, and repetitive patterns.
  • Explain that students will be creating their own mixed media artworks inspired by Jasper Johns. However, instead of numbers, they will incorporate positive affirmations.
  • Lead a guided discussion about the power of positive affirmations and self-esteem.
  • Discuss what positive affirmations are and how they can influence our thoughts and feelings.
  • Encourage students to share examples of positive affirmations they use or have heard before. The teacher can create a list on an anchor chart.

Work Session

  • Instruct students to brainstorm and write down positive affirmations that inspire them or make them feel confident and empowered.
  • Encourage students to think about words such as "brave", "kind", "smart", "unique", "loved", etc.
  • Provide students with assorted colored paper or cardstock and markers or colored pencils.
  • Allow students to experiment with cutting out letters from the colored paper to spell out their chosen affirmation words.
  • Distribute poster boards or heavy paper to students as the base for their artworks.
  • Instruct students to arrange their positive affirmations on the poster boards to create a visually interesting composition, taking inspiration from Jasper Johns' use of repetition and pattern.
    • Encourage students to experiment with overlapping, layering, and varying the sizes and orientations of their affirmations.
  • Provide additional mixed media materials such as markers, colored pencils, or collage materials for students to further embellish their artworks.
  • As an alternative to creating a collage, students can trace the cut out letters, overlapping them, using colored pencils or markers to add color. Or, students could use a combination of tracing and collage.

Closing Reflection

  • Sharing and reflection:
    • After completing their artworks, invite students to share their creations with the class.
    • Ask students to describe the positive affirmations they chose and explain why they selected them.
    • Facilitate a reflection discussion on the experience, asking questions such as "How did creating art with positive affirmations make you feel?" and "What positive messages do you hope others will take away from your artwork?".
  • Summarize the key concepts learned during the lesson, emphasizing the importance of self-esteem and positive thinking.
  • Encourage students to continue using positive affirmations in their daily lives and to explore the connection between art and self-expression.

 

Assessments

Formative

  • Teachers will assess students by observing students’:
    • Discussion of Johns’ artwork
    • Responses to positive affirmations
    • Process of creating their artwork.

Summative

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Have students create an artist statement explaining why they chose their positive affirmations.
  • Invite students to write short stories or poems inspired by their affirmation artworks, exploring the themes of self-esteem and confidence.
  • Have students research other artists who use words or text in their artwork, such as Barbara Kruger or Jenny Holzer, and discuss how their work relates to the use of positive affirmations.

Remediation:

  • Chunk the artmaking process for students.
  • Create a class list of affirmations for students to choose from.
  • Provide stencils for letters.

 

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: SAIL Grant Teacher Leaders–Chad Itnyre, Kristen Alvarez, Leah Patel, Lucerito Gonzalez, Tamu Clayton, Sandra Cash, Erin Smullen

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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