Kandinsky's Lines

As the Kindergartens have been studying line, we are finally getting to paint! They are so excited! They were also introduced to the famous artist Kandinsky.

 

First we had a directed lesson where students were told which line and what direction to paint their line. The purpose of this was to learn about different types of lines but also to see how different everyone's composition would still be  even given the same directions.

 

Here are some final results...

Nutcracker

Since it is Nutcracker season, the music teacher and I decided to put together a unit on ballet and storytelling. Here are the beginnings of our nutcracker drawings in class.
To make the nutcracker figure, student had to trace a 4"x6" rectangle for the body, and then 1"x4" rectangle for the arms and legs and then 2" square for the head and then again for the hat.
After the tracing they then had visuals of different nutcrackers they could copy or design their own. Marker was the best media for this because of its easy for coloring and its brightness.

 

Dancing Skeletons

In preparation for our visiting Mexican Artist program, 2nd graders are creating dancing skeletons in their study to the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. First, we talked about how Day of the Dead is the opposite of Halloween. Not goulish and scarey but more of a celebration of the lives and souls of those who have past. We then looked at sugar skulls and dancing skeleton wooden scultpures.

Personal Artwork

Below is a small collection of some of my own recent work. Currently, I am taking a mixmedia painting class which is very experimental in terms of materials. I will post more as soon as I take some photos.

2011 Art and Music Extravaganza

Every year the music teacher and I get together and do a Spring show and fundrasier for the PTO. This event raises several thousand dollars which then go back into our programs. It's a wonderful evening for the celebration of the arts and to bring the school community together.

Clay!

I make the kids wait until the spring to do clay. Right after April vacation I turn my whole room over into a ceramic studio and do clay with the entire school. We all start out with a rules and play day where guidelines and rule are gone over and they get to play with the clay and get all the "ooohhs, aaahhhs, and icks" out. The following week we have a practice week with their project where I give a demo and they practice making their person, animal or pot.  I do this because I don't have time or space to keep work wet enough to be workable over a week's time. I tell them they have to be able to create their piece in 1 class time. Of course if they are stuggling they can try again the following week.

The 5th graders make clay portaits where they have to show themselves doing something they like. The other requirement is that the figure has to be standing or sitting independentely without supports. The starting construction method is the same.

The 4th graders create animals. These animals can be real or imaginary but have to have 4 legs. Again,they all start again with the same construction method and have to be standing or sitting independently of supports.

3rd graders create coil pots. This is their first big clay project. They learn the coil method of constuction along with the glazing process.

All-District Art Show 2011

It's time again for our annual All-District Art Show. Below is a slideshow of the pre-hanging pre work to the post hanging. Opening reception is Monday evening, March 28, 6-8pm. The links are the centerpiece this year. This unique installation piece created by our middler schoolers inspried by there awesome teacher Ms. Smeglin.

My Family

In the beginning of the year, I ask our Kindergarteners to drawing a picture of thier family or who they live with as we have a very diverse student body. We then talk about where we live or a favorite activity we do with our family. After our art talk, we then start with a perment marker drawing which we then turn into a wax-resist painting. It's always a good first lesson to undertanding where my students come from on so many levels.

Fantasy Cakes

My Pre-Ks loved this lesson. We talked about our favor cake flavors and our "dream" cakes. Here are the results. So fun!

Impressions of Monet

I honor of Spring approaching, I introduced the Impressionist Artist Claude Monet. First we watched the movie "Linnea in Monet's Garden". Then students looked at many examples of Monet's work. They learned how the impressionist were some of the first artisits to work outside and how they had to work quickly to get the impressions on what they saw before the scene changed. We then recreated one of Monet't paintings using sponges and tempera paint.

Calder Circus Sculptures

Using Alexander Calder's Wire cirus as our inspriation, these students created thier own circus acts using wire, pipe cleaners, buttons, beads, corks, etc. It was a great way to talk about contour line too!

Positive and Negative Portraits

In our unit on shape, the 4th graders also start learning about positive and negative shapes. Students start with a brief exercise using a 6x6 black paper and 9x9 piece of black to create a unique positive and negative design using shapes.

After this exercise students then create a portrait using positive and negative shapes and spaces while also using what they learned about symmetry.

March is Youth Art Month!

What is Youth Art Month?

Youth Art Month is an annual observance each March to emphasize the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs.
Youth Art Month was created in 1961 by ACMI, a non-profit association of art and craft materials manufacturers, in cooperation with the NAEA. In 1984, ACMI created CFAE to administer the national Youth Art Month program and encourage funding for the program. Current members of the Council include: ACMI, which provides all administrative support and the majority of funding for national Youth Art Month; NAEA, whose members carry out local Youth Art Month activities and whose state affiliates help fund state Youth Art Month programs; The SHIP, a group of art materials exhibitors at the annual NAEA Convention; and the General Federation of Women's Clubs, a volunteer women's organization dedicated to community improvement through volunteer service. Other involved organizations include the Association of Crafts & Creative Industries, Hobby Industries Association, and National Art Materials Trade Association.

Van Gogh Mania!

We were luckily enough to have our PTO bring in a Teacher's Discovery Exhibit on Van Gogh last month. Here are some photos of students working. It was incredible to see how involved and interested they were in thier own projects after learning about the artist as a person and the stuggles he had.

Van Gogh Inspired Portraits

During our unit on Van Gogh, I wanted to do something different from Starry Night. In the third grade we had done some study of portraiture earlier in year so I thought why not why not combine the two. Do a review of facial porportions while studying the unique techinique of Van Gogh's brushstrokes. The lesson started as a tradition portrait but then using markers, students used small dashes to color in their faces and background. They were also encouraged to use multiple colors together for a richer effect.

Value Space Station

I was trying to come up with a interesting and fun away to teach value and 3-D shapes. Students first practiced their value scale and practice their cubes, spheres, pyramids, and cylinders. Then they were told to create a space station using at least 3 3-D Shapes and be as creative as they could.

The Snowy Day

We have had so many snow days this year what a better way to link into literature that with The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. As I read students the book, we talked about what our favorite snow day activity was. Students created with collages using simple shapes and used gadget printing for their snowflakes. After their pieces were created they then wrote a sentence or two describing their snow day.

Wire Calder Portraits

In our unit on Line, I introduce Alexander Calder's wire sculptures. First we did a few continuous line portraits in pen to get the idea. Then we used our best one as a sketch for out wire sculpture.

Sign it!

In talking about line we eventually get to contour line. One of the basic and hardest things for students to draw is their own hand!I decide to throw a little bit about disabilities and sign language in this lesson and had the students learn how to sign their names using the ASL alphabet.

Dream Playgrounds

Studnets love this lesson! After our unit on line, we take what we know on drawing different types of lines and make it 3-D. Students learn basic paper scultpure techniques while letting thier imaginations run wild. These are some of the simpler ones.

Under the Sea

Students about the art element of texture and words to describe texture. They then created wax resist texture paintings. After we read My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki, Students then started leaning about free form or organic shapes by looking sea creatures, especially octopi.

Winter Blues

It's winter and its cold. This lesson helps students understand that colors can have feeling. We talked about the warm and cool colors and how they made us feel. Students then learned about monocromatic (meaning one) color. Using this knowledge, students created a multimedia collage with different tints and shades of blue.

Shape Quilt

To begin learning about all the exciting things shapes can do, students used geometric shapes and layering to create a “shape quilt”. Students first used rectangles to create their quilt then cut geometric shapes to create their design. They had to layer at least 2 shapes on top of each other to show an understanding of overlapping and layering.

Lines, Lines, Lines

To start our unit on the art element of Line, students created a simple line design using all the different lines that they knew.

Eric Carle Collage

In this lesson, students studied the artwork of the famous author/illustrator Eric Carle. Students mimicked his technique by creating colorful paper using no traditional painting techniques. After several sketches, students created an animal collage using their painted paper. As an extension students also created a background or environment for their animal.

Blind Contour Drawing

To start a unit on observation drawing, students started with a warm up activity of doing blind contours of thier friends. They really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. The best part was watching me do it and how off my my blind contour was. It got a good laugh but it was a good lesson in how blind contours are really blind and aren't suppose to be perfect!

Painting with Teddy

Breaking down objects into simple shapes is one of the best ways to learn to draw. Here first graders learned how to first draw a teddy bear using circles, ovals and rectangles. The following class they got to decorate their bear like they were at "Build a Bear" Workshop.

Outter Space Collage

Students continue using their knowledge of line to create wonderful, fanciful planets for an outter space collage. The most exciting part of the project through seems to be the splatter painting for the stars.

Mondrain's Composition

First graders got their first look at Mondrain's Composition paintings when studying the art element of line. They then created their own using horizontal and vertical lines to create "windows" for their primary colors.

Starry Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters so its no wonder that I make my student create their own inspired Starry Night piece. Students read a short biography on Van Gogh then we talked about his unique style and how it was evolved from Impressionism and Pointallism. Students then set to work. Using dashes and swirls, we talked about using quick little strokes using oil pastels on dark blue contruction paper. I have to say the students love this projects and I love the results.

Texture Shape Collage

Kindergartens loved learning about texture and the way things feel. As an introductory lesson, I have them explore my texture boxes. These are boxes that have different textured objects hidden inside. After our review of texture words(smooth, bumpy, hard, soft, etc) we describe what we left in the box. After every box has been described, I reveal what was inside. From here they then create texture rubbings using oil pastels and waterolors. After our wax-resist texture paintings are dry students practice their cutting skills. Student then create a collage using these textured shapes.

Primary Patterns

In this project, students used geometric shaped sponges to create a sponge print using their knowledge of patter and primary colors. They then created a picture frame or boarder using construction paper squares using pattern.

Primary Line Design

Students look at the work Of Wallisky Kandinsky as an inspiration for their line designs. First the had a review of differnet types of lines. Then in a directed lesson painting black lines on thier paper. The next step was students used the primary olors and found shapes within their line paintings.

Lines, Lines, Lines

The first art element we look at and study each year is the element of Line. Here students create a line quilt using all the different types of line that they know.

Wall Tile Installation

This tile istallation was created in conjunction with the school's end of the year "School Spirit Day". Tiles were designed and created by each classroom and classroom teacher with me as a coordinator and collaborator.

Annual All-District Art Show, 2010

The annual all-ditrict art show showcases 3 elementary school, middle and high schools during  2 week show. Event begins with an opening evening reception with live music and refreshments. It is a wonderful way to celebrate student's artistic achievements and bring the whole district together.