The elements

Our first assignment in second semester painting class was to interpret the four elements; earth, wind, fire, and water using only crayons on an 8x10 panel. I went the obvious route., dividing it the canvas into four. Most of my students have one scene or image where all four elements appear together. I broke out a flat iron and my pocket knife to really work the surface like an abstract expressionist might. One of the criteria was to make it LOOK like a painting, rather than a stereotypical childish crayon drawing. We'll see if the kids follow my lead with the iron or try something else. No matches or lighters allowed in school!