So proud of my fourth graders! Their papier mache ice cream looks awesome! The last step is to give them all a clear coat finish. I used Krylon last year (which did not give the finish we were looking for). My students will most likely use Mod Podge next week (or a Mod Podge alternative...Pinterest, don't fail me now!)
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First grade learned about Vincent Van Gogh as they created two pieces of artwork with flowers as the subject. We emphasized "symmetry" and "balance" with this first project. They used sponges to add the flower petals. This project was left as a sub plan for my first graders. It was one of those projects where I didn't want to give them back...they were so cheery that I just wanted to plaster the entire series on my classroom walls.
Kindergartners just covered an ocean themed unit in class. We incorporated this theme into art as they designed their own unique fish and painted them. A few years ago I needed to find a sub plan for kindergarten when I came upon this on Pinterest. It seemed like the perfect sub plan for that day, but that was all. The Kindergarten teachers enjoyed seeing the shark faces so much (not to mention how much the kids love to draw these), that I have incorporated it into the kindergarten plans every year since. I also get a kick out of how these kids share with me their recent discoveries about sharks as we draw these. :)
**I want to start by saying that I do not remember where I saw this picture online years ago. I saved it for my Aboriginal Art PowerPoint to show my third grade classes. I tried to search for this image online in order to cite it, but I could not find it again!
My third graders were introduced to Aboriginal art this week. We started this lesson by creating poetic verses about the artwork shown above. (This was a new idea I picked up from the NAEA convention.) They were asked to list adjectives and nouns that came to mind when looking at this picture. Then, they worked in groups to combine these words in a poetic arrangement. Here are some of their awesome verses: An exciting celebration with dots and swirls. A colorful carnival of shapes and joy. Mind-blowing colorful garden of dots. Dark like the night and sad like the stars. Super pretty, soft fireworks with trees in the dark. An outrageous picture of colorful, striking flowers. Red fireworks bursting in the sky, showing the feeling of anger. This was such a fun way to open up dialogue about this style of art before I even gave them any information on the topic. I am excited to post their Aboriginal-inspired artwork when it is completed! Third grade's ceramic fish go home this week. We do not use glazes on our ceramic projects at Anna McDonald, but I feel that we have found a great alternative! Most of my students opted not to use acrylic paints on this project because they wanted to see their texture details. Instead, they used watercolors (and some used acrylics for the details). The watercolor actually enhanced the textures, and the Krylon sealer gave them a glaze-like finish. Watercolors will continue to be offered as a an option for my students' ceramic projects. :)
This drawing was an exercise from Mona Brooke's "Drawing With Children". This lesson is intended to improve students' ability to draw from graphics. I explained to my first graders that artists often look at existing images to help them draw. They then use their imaginations to make changes. I encouraged students to look closely at the image of the lion we drew together, but to "make it their own" with their own imaginations.
I just LOVE construction paper crayons on black paper. Second graders recently used this media as they learned about two very different artists: Keith Haring and Pablo Picasso. I like to introduce these artists to my students because they allow me to present two usually difficult drawing concepts (figure drawing and portraits) in a very fun and non-intimidating way. We learned about Keith Haring and had some funny discussions using this book: Students had some fun trying out different poses with their partners. Students focused on action pose of their choice and were told not to worry about details and proportions. And then we looked at Picasso...one of my faves. The kids always like him, too. This is the video I used to introduce him. The kids always love how simple he makes everything look with his quick, fluid lines. We looked closely at this Picasso portrait that shows a face from the front and in profile. The students discussed realism vs. abstraction...."How do you know this is a face?" "How is this face unrealistic?" "What are different ways that you could draw a face that looks like a face but in an abstract way?"
I had the pleasure of attending the NAEA conference this past Thursday and Friday with fellow Manhattan 114 art teacher, Mrs. Ambrosini. There were quite a lot of new ideas and information presented that we are excited to implement in our classes. It just takes a conference like that to jump start a whole lot of new project and unit ideas! I can't wait!
One of the many highlights of the conference was meeting Cassie Stephens (my favorite art-bloggin' art teacher). To art teachers, she is a celebrity. If you don't know what I am talking about, you should definitely check out her blog. (And if you ever read this Cassie, thank you very much for letting me get a selfie even though I know you were in a rush!) Her session about how to have your students leave a legacy at school was very interesting and I have tons of ideas for new collaborative projects. My third grade friends and I have been busy the past couple of weeks making fish out of clay! We watched this fellow's instructional video, and then got to work. Although I really liked his concept (and accent), we had to tweak our projects a bit. Instead of just joining pieces of clay together (and hoping for the best), we secured everything with the "score and slip" method. We also took more time to focus on how to make a variety of texture with different tools. My students all seemed very proud of their creations and can't wait for them to be fired in the kiln. I will post pictures of the finished, painted pieces. :)
I need to start bringing my camera to ACCESS class on Mondays (the only time I get the "art on a cart" experience to travel to other classrooms :)) These kids create such wonderful art and I need to get more documentation of that! This year we have done a lot of "arts-periments" where students use everyday objects to paint or print with. I wanted to share with you two that went very well. These shamrocks were printed with cut bell peppers! It was so simple! We then made shamrock sun-catchers with tissue paper and glue. Students took those home before I got to take a picture. My daughters made a couple, as well so I can post theirs. These spring flowers (please don't judge that I am already pulling out spring projects in early March....or even February 29th if I am completely honest...I am just over the winter blues!) were created by stamping with cut celery hearts. Students also used their thumbs to stamp leaves onto their stems.
The expression on his face says it all! Creating an abstract collage seemed simple enough, but then the students were required to created 3-D elements within it. Students were up for the challenge and began to curl paper, fold paper, stack shapes up with bits of cardboard, etc. This student took it to the next level when he decided to see how high he could create his collage (can I even call it that now or is it now considered a sculpture?!) This first grader told me he was "making a city". Love it. And check out that big-ole-bin of scraps. First graders were even finding left over wrapping paper in there from the 2nd grade Holiday Pop Art Collage.
For years, it has been a tradition for second graders to design their very own castle drawing. We talk about shapes and 3-D forms, texture, details, and line variety. As they grow up, many students ask to revisit this assignment and draw new castles. It has worked out wonderfully that my 2nd and my 3rd graders are able to work on this assignment at the same time. Since third graders have already gone through this project, they come up with even more creative ideas the second time around. Since third graders only had one class to work on this project, they did not finish it. These drawings will be kept in the table folders for them to return to and work on when they finish other projects this semester.
I got this idea from one of my favorite art teacher bloggers, Cassie Stevens! Each student folded their paper in half and practiced painting and printing lines to create a symmetrical butterfly. They then used chalk pastels to color them in. We had just covered analogous colors, complementary colors, and other color schemes in the previous project. I was so happy to see that many students had that knowledge of color theory transfer over to this project!
First graders listened to this story and watched a short slideshow of some of Matisse's collages. This first week, we began by cutting shapes and gluing them down to cardstock squares. Next week will experiment with creating low-relief aspects with little bits of cardboard as well as folding and curling paper that will give the art 3-dimmension. These are still works-in-progress. I will post the pictures of the final collages next week. :)
Kindergartners are making collages this week that are inspired by Piet Mondrian. We first watched an animated video of some of his artwork (which I just love!) Then we talked about his use of primary colors, squares, rectangles, straight lines and how it was inspired by New York city and jazz music of the 1920s. We listened to jazz music as students made their own collages. They then stamped straight lines with scrap pieces of cardboard and black tempera paint. Here are some more videos I played as we worked:
3 Primary Colors by OK GO Mondrian Art for Children Mondrian on Vimeo The Wilson Creek Art Show was held on February 11th. I want to thank everyone who helped make it such a successful event. Thank you to the PTO for their help planning this event. A special thanks to Mandie Wade, Keri English, Jodi Kenny, and Melanie Rutkowski for helping to assemble the many art displays. And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK to Melanie for helping me matte many of the hundreds of art pieces on display. Thank you to the many teachers who volunteered at the show, painting faces, selling raffle tickets, etc. Thank you to Mrs. DeBoer for helping to coordinate the many fine details of the event. Thank you to Mrs. Maher for giving assistance to coordinate the big picture of the event. And thank you to all of the students and families for coming out and supporting the fine arts at Wilson Creek. It was very much appreciated!
The Wilson Creek art show will be held tomorrow from 6pm - 8pm. Each grade level created a single work of art that will be raffled off (tickets being sold for $1). Along with the raffle, there will also be face painting, a craft station, a wax hand booth (1 hand for $8 or 2 for $15), and the PTO will be selling concessions. Most importantly, every child will have artwork up on display. :) Hope to see you there!
Third graders were introduced to Charley Harper, modern art, and minimalism as they created these beautiful collages of birds in winter. We talked about non-migratory birds and why other birds fly south for the winter. Some students chose not to use cardinals, blue jays, or other typical birds of winter as their subject, and created their own imaginary birds.
This year, I have been sharing the story of The Dot with all of my Wilson Creek kiddos. The lesson in the story is that we are all artists and should celebrate what we can create. We can all express ourselves and "make a mark" as long as we try. We are using this book as the theme for our art show this year. The show will be held from 6 - 8 pm on Thursday, February 11th. The following day there will be no school due to a teacher institute day. At the show there will be:
Square 1 Art is a fundraiser that the art department has participated in for many years. We are able to buy a lot of extra supplies, materials, and art books because of the money raised by Square 1 Art. Each grade level has a project or drawing theme that they work on just for this fundraiser. Even if the child does not place an order, he or she will receive a sheet of stickers with his or her drawing on it!
This year, kindergartners are creating colorful pictures of their silhouettes. We are discussing proper painting techniques, different lines, and patterns. 1st graders are drawing bright radial patterns. We are discussing radial patterns (of course), analogous colors, and adding details. 2nd graders are creating word art that describes themselves, their interests, or what they love about school. We are discussing negative space, analogous colors, patterns, and tints. 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are creating their own unique compositions based on these themes: 3rd - Under Water 4th - Plants or Animals 5th - Insects, Reptiles, or Amphibians All of these grade levels are discussing focal points, space, details, and borders. Projects will be due early February and more information about ordering from Square 1 Art will follow shortly after. Mrs. Kirk's 4th grade class has learned how to create the complex pattern of tessellations. This is the method that I use in my classroom to teach kids how to draw their tessellations. It is actually quite simple to create, but looks very complex!
Fifth graders were shown paintings by Wayne Thiebaud before they started this drawing project. His artwork is always so fun to discuss! Students then practiced drawing cylinders, drawing stacked cylinders, and adding highlights and shadows with oil pastels. Each student decorated his or her own cake whoever they wanted to. This is always so much fun.
STR Partners had a very hard time coming up with winners from all of their entries this year. Between our Gold Winners, Silver Winners, and Special Recognition Awards, we had 18 students recognized between Anna Mac and Wilson Creek! Mrs. Ambrosini and I are very proud of all of our students who participated in this contest! Good job, guys!
The clay ornament project has become a tradition for all students at Wilson Creek. It is so simple, yet the kids have looked forward to it for the past few years. I have a gingerbread man ornament from my days in kindergarten (1991) that I still hang on the tree. I love that it has the year on it and can remind me of special memories from school. I hope that my students can hang their ornaments on their trees for many years to remind them of their experiences at Wilson Creek. Although I love this project, it is a relief when I can send them all home and get some counter space back! Students pressed slabs out of self-hardening clay and then chose a cookie cutter to create their shape. Some students put textures and details into the clay while it was still wet. The following week, they used tempera to paint a base coat and details. I then sprayed them with Krylon (since tempera, although being cost effective and washable, does not leave an appealing finish) and strung them up.
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AuthorI am a K - 5th grade art teacher at Wilson Creek Elementary and Anna McDonald School in Manhattan, IL. I am also a mother of two little girls (who share my love of art)! Archives
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