Kinder Fun

Kindergarten has been busy.  We read about a selfish Rainbow Fish that wouldn't share his shiny scales.  We were glad in the end, that he learned that sharing made him feel great, just like when we share with our friends.  The students were able to use marbles to paint with metallic paints.  When their creations dried, they were cut into strips to weave into our unique fish.  After weaving, we added creative fins and other details to finish our colorful fishes.  Next, we studied the artist Georgia O'Keeffe and created our own versions of close up flowers.  The kiddos first drew their flower on a four inch square, then enlarged it onto a twelve inch square.  They then used tempera cakes to fill with awesome color.  Our flowers turned out wonderfully, don't you think?

Pallet Bookcases for the Artroom

Started a new project for our artroom this week.  Saw something similar on Pinterest, but wanted it to make sense in our room and to be able to use it as a teaching tool.  After having my husband cut the pallets apart the rest was up to me.  I sanded and primed each one, then used complementary colors for the base and different values of each color as circle/stripe accents.  Once again I asked for the help of my wonderful husband to hang them in our room.  They turned out even better then I thought.  Now all of our art books are easily accessible for all students!

m "ART" ch madness

With March madness upon us, we decided to create our own art bracket.  The entire school K-5th voted week after week to narrow down to our final winner.  Some brackets were very close, while some were quite one-sided.  By the end our Champion for the 2015 m"ART"ch madness was the one and only "Starry Night", by Vincent VanGogh.  Can't wait to see who makes the bracket next year!
(special thanks goes to Mrs. Hahn of minimatisse.blogspot.com for this wonderful cooperative project)

Grid Posters

5th grade used technology, math, social studies and a lot of cooperation to complete these block posters of famous African Americans.  After each class choose their subject, we found an appropriate photo to transfer.  We then used the Photobrick app on our Ipads to digitize each picture and separate it into 6 sections.  Each table took a section and used their Ipads to follow the colors on the grid.  They worked together to cut appropriately sized arrays to correctly complete their section.  When complete, all sections were joined together to create final artwork.  It was a wonderful collaborative project.  We have received a lot of ooohhh's and aaahhhh's.  Our Oprah Winfrey and Muhammad Ali even hung in the gallery at the LISD East Zone art show at the MCL Grande Theater. 

Patterned Hearts and Mosaic Monograms

1st grade explored different styles of lines, while creating concentric hearts out of oil pastels.  After they completed all of their hearts, they filled the spaces with original line styles.  The students then used watercolors to paint over their creation to explore the resist of oil to water.  The kiddos are always amazed at how the watercolors just roll right over the oil pastels and color the paper without changing the lines.
3rd grade learned about mosaics from around the world, as well as comparing and contrasting mosaics and collages.  They then created their own monogram mosaic "tile" from cut paper.

Texas Hill Country Tree Weaving

4th graders study Texas Hill Country in their classrooms, so we built on that knowledge to create the background for our weaving.  We looked at several examples of Texas Hill country landscapes and students created their own version for their background.  After painting their landscape and creating their warp strings as the tree trunk and branches, students began weaving the tops of their trees.  Some students chose to add beads to represent fruits in their trees, while others choose wild colors to demonstrate their artistic choices.  All so different, but all so wonderful!

Clay Monsters

5th grade had a great time working with clay to create their monsters.  The students started by learning how to make a pinch pot, then used their creative imaginations to turn that pinch pot into a monster.  Some were silly, some were funny, some were scary, but all were different and unique.  After firing in the kiln, they got to choose from 24 different colors of glaze to further individualize their monsters.  After firing again, the monsters came out of the kiln with shiny bright colors.  They were awesome!

Landscape & Still Life

3rd grade has been busy going from chalk landscapes to a tempera still life.  We started our landscape study using Ted Harrison's artworks as our inspiration.  We learned about the people, weather and landscapes of the Yukon.  The students drew their landscape on black paper then covered those lines in glue.  After the glue dried they filled the spaces with chalk pastels, blending to creating different shades/values of their colors.  We also learned about the stone symbols left behind by the Inuit Native Americans of the Yukon, called Inukshuk.  The students created their own Inukshuk and added them to their chalk landscapes.  After our landscape study we moved to an ornament still life.  Students created layered circles, then added shading, cross hatching, details and reflections to create the illusion of form.  They used tempera cakes, which was a new medium for them.  Both artworks were so original and beautiful.

Pinch Pots & Colored Dots

1st grade was so excited to work with clay.  They learned how to start with a sphere of clay and work it into a pinch pot form.  After they created and smoothed their pinch pot, they added various textures using clay tools, noodles, etc.  When the pots were dry they were fired in our kiln and the students painted and sealed their forms.  They couldn't wait to take them home and show them to their families.
4th grade learned about style of dot painting from Australia.  The students learned how the aborigines created their own paint and all the different places they created their artwork.  We discussed the symbols used in this style of artwork and how the artwork was used to pass on ancient stories. The students created their own dot painting after choosing an animal as well as several symbols to tell their story.

Printmaking with Dia de los Muertos

5th graders compared and contrasted the Hispanic cultural holiday of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with Halloween.  They studied the etchings and printmaking of Jose Guadalupe Posada,  most importantly La Calavera Catrina (Catrina the Skull). They focused their etchings on the Calaveras(skulls) observed in their research of this celebration for family members that had passed away. They created their sketch, etched it into foam, then painted and printed to create a 4 square artwork.  This repeating four square print style was also compared to the pop-art styings of Andy Warhol.  We learned so much, covering many artists, artistic styles and mediums.