Deck the Halls with Lots of Art

Well, its officially less than a week before Christmas. Today officially starts my Christmas break and tomorrow starts the break for students. It was another crazy week in the Art room in terms of our schedule. While I had some classes, others had the opportunity for a fun field trip. Here's what we were up to this week...

K4: A couple of weeks ago, K4 students explored the blending potential of oil pastels. This week, we started our actual project..bright, sunny sunflowers for winter. Students followed me step-by-step for the first part of this project. Its looking great so far!

K5: Students in the K5 are also using oil pastels to create their projects. However, unlike the K4, K5 students are creating still life drawings displaying fruits.

1st: The 1st graders just finished their photo booth portraits. Check out the previous post to see all of their wonderful drawings!

2nd: Students are still hard at work on their Rococo inspired paintings. This week, we painted the backgrounds.

3rd: The 3rd grade also finished up their Leonardo da Vinci horses this week. However, I did not post their finished artworks because I have one student that still needs to finish. As soon as she finishes when we get back from Christmas break, I will post all their creations!

4th and 5th: I did not get to see the 4th or 5th grade this week. They received the opportunity to go ice skating! I heard they had a ton of fun with just a few bumps and bruises :)

6th: Students began work on their Colonial era weather vanes. For the first part of this project, students drew out their design on poster board and we inserted a dowel rod for stability.

As I discussed in last week's post, we are not having Art Club this week. Art Club will resume when school starts back in January. However in Art Club news, I ordered our tee shirts today! Cannot wait until they are done!

Just wanted to also share with everyone that because of the holiday, I will not be posting again until school starts back in January. My hopes are that I will be able to share the 3rd and 5th grade projects by January 6th. So, I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Finished 1st Photo Booth Portraits

Roller Coaster Schedule Week

As I discussed in last week's post, this week was a bit of a roller coaster. Monday, students participated in a strength and movement showcase. Additionally on Tuesday and Wednesday, students participated in all day practices for their music program. Needless to say, I did not see students much in the Art room.

As things calmed down toward the end of the week, I was able to have Art Club. We took a break last week from our projects to create the designs for our tee shirts, but this week things returned to normal. Several students have now taken their photographs for our Christopher Boffoli inspired projects. I believe we only have around 7-9 students that haven't had their turn. I can't wait to share their photographs! Here's another sneak peek...

After creating their foam cities for our Red Grooms inspired project a couple of weeks ago, students this week used black acrylic paint to cover the entire surface of their artwork. Once the acrylic paint is dry, students will be able to use oil pastels to add color and details to their creation.

Next week, our schedule will somewhat even out. Most students will be returning to the Art room for one last class before our Christmas break. I will not be seeing the 4th grade, as the school will be going ice skating during their class time. Additionally, I will not be seeing the Art Club. This week was their last week.

I also wanted to let everyone know, due to my incredibly crazy Christmas schedule I will be posting next week on Thursday. I will have a full update to share with everyone!

Art Club Romero Britto Paintings

Cracking Up in the Art Room

My students are so funny, whether they mean to be or not...especially the smaller grades. Students are getting excited about Christmas. There was a lot of excitement and overall happiness in the Art room as we worked this week. As I gave instructions to one of my classes during a make-up class period, I explained to them that they needed to use a pencil to draw...that way if they made a mistake, they could easily erase it and try again. The following conversation then took place...

Student: Mrs. Chance, that's why pencils were made.
Me: Oh, really?
Student: Yeah, people kept messing up on their art. Paint is just too hard to draw with.

Never a dull moment in Art :)

Anyway, we have officially entered, what I call, "roller coaster season". Our schedule is crazy. Some classes came to art twice this week for not only their regular Art class, but also for a make-up period. All classes will miss Art next week (will discuss more later). The last week before break, students will only come to regular Art class...we will not be having Art Club. As I explained last week, I don't want to waste any of the time that we do have. Students will still be working on their projects, instead of doing a short alternative project.

So, here's what we have been up to this week...

K4: I introduced students to the magic of oil pastels. When I first show students the oil pastels, they are always a little disappointed because the oil pastels look so much like crayons...especially those fat kindergarten crayons. Well, I then show students that unlike crayons, oil pastels can really blend. Students were so excited about how the colors blended and mixed together. I allowed students to use the remainder of the class period to explore and experiment with the oil pastels.

K5: Since we finished our Blue Dog inspired drawings last week, students began their new projects this week. I introduced students to still life artworks. Students used the remainder of class to sketch different types of fruit.

1st: Students are continuing to create their 4 different self-portraits displaying a variety of emotions. I can't wait to see all of these displayed together!

2nd: Students continued creating their still life painting. After finishing their vase and table last week, students this week worked on creating flowers and plants for their vase. Traditional Rococo era still life paintings would typically have flowers only, however, I felt that I would let the students "branch" out...haha

3rd: Students are almost finished with their Leonardo da Vinci horses. Here's a sneak peak...

4th: After coloring their vase solidly with oil pastel, students applied an even layer of white tempera paint as the second layer. Students were a little apprehensive to paint over their oil pastel, but I assured students that the results will be awesome!

5th: Fifth graders are finishing up their rose window projects. When I first saw this project online, from several different sources, I knew that I wanted to have my students create it! I am so glad I did! The results have been marvelous and the students have had a great time creating it :)

6th: I introduced students to Colonial era weather vanes this week. After showing students many different examples and explaining the weather vane's history and symbolism, students spent the rest of class sketching ideas for a weather vane that they will begin creating the week before the beginning of Christmas break.

Art Club: We took a small break this week from our regular projects to create the designs for this year's Art Club tee shirt! I am so excited about our shirts this year!!! Normally, I would share with you what we are doing, but that's no fun. I am keeping this one a surprise. Hopefully, I will be ordering our shirts next week, so in a few weeks I should be able to have a grand reveal!

As I stated at the beginning of this post, we will not be having Art for most of the grades next week. On Wednesday, students will be performing in the annual Christmas music program. Students will be practicing all day on Tuesday and Wednesday for their performance. However, Art Club will be held at normal time and we will be back to work on our current projects. I will be sure to update everyone on the happenings next week, even though it might not be a lot.

'Twas the Week Before Thanksgiving

The halls lately have been filled with the sound of gobble-gobbles. Much of the conversation in the art room has turned from its usual television or music to where students will be traveling and what they will be eating. I cannot wait! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, not only because it is a chance I get to spend with family, but also because it is the week of my birthday!

Before we all get out for the break, I do have an update to share...

K4: Most students finished their Pete the Cat collages this week. When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will begin to explore oil pastels.

K5: This week, students completed their very first critique. I was proud how thoroughly students reflected on their artwork, especially at such a young age! Great job K5! With the completion of this project, we are now ready to start an artwork exploring the world of still life.

1st: After practicing for the last few weeks on self-portraits, students this week were ready to begin their final self-portraits. As I explained several weeks ago, students will be creating four portraits in all, each displaying a different emotion.

2nd: This week, the 2nd grade began working on their Rococo inspired still life paintings. After a short demonstration, students worked on creating their vase using tints and shades to make areas with highlights and shadows.

3rd: Most students finished the decoupage process this week. Students are now on to the detail phase of their project. It was extremely interesting to watch students create their details. Their ideas were marvelous, but this phase also presented quiet a challenge. Students had to draw their images much smaller than what they are accustomed to. Although the challenge was there, students exceed their own expectations! I am so excited about what they will do during their next art class!

4th: This week, students are creating the base of their project. After creating a symmetrical vase using card stock, students colored the entire surface using blue and white oil pastels.

 5th: After creating some fantastic sketches last week, students enlarged and finalized their drawing on 12x18" construction paper this week.

6th: Like the K5, the 6th grade, too, completed their critiques. I appreciate all of the wonderful answers that students shared with me. I really learned a lot by reading their responses!

Art Club: In addition to working on our photos, students also worked on their mixed media cities. Here are some samples of what we have created so far...

As you can probably imagine, I will not be posting next week due to Thanksgiving break. However, as soon as we return in December, I will be sure to update you on all the pre-Christmas happenings!

4th Hieroglyphics and 6th Greek Vases

K5 Warm and Cool Dogs

Art Smells Like Carrots

I'll start out this week by discussing what the 3rd grade did, which will explain the title of this post...

The 3rd grade this week started the decoupage process. The students were very excited about it, especially using a paintbrush to apply pieces of their da Vinci biography to their horse. After I demonstrated how to decoupage, as well as discussing a few tips and tricks, I began passing out supplies. This was the first time that I have used Mod Podge with this class. As I poured a small amount of Mod Podge into each table's bowl, I began hearing sniffs. Then one student yelled, "it smells like carrots". After a few moments, another student (who had been clearly thinking about the situation) exclaimed, "Oh no! Our art will smell like carrots!" I assured them that the smell would go away, and they merrily worked the remainder of class on decoupaging.

Anyway, to the rest of the updates...

K4: The K4 continued to work on the Pete the Cat collages. This week, we colored our Pete the Cats and glued them to our collages.

K5: Students finished their Blue Dog artworks. We will be completing our critiques next week and will be starting new artworks soon!

1st: As the 1st grade students arrived in Art on Tuesday, I demonstrated how to draw a portrait. A couple of weeks ago, I asked students to draw a self-portrait. They were very simplistic with many of the students forgetting to add details like noses or ears. After I demonstrated how to draw a portrait with students, they recreated their self-portrait. The results were amazing! So much detail! I am so proud!!! Below, I have included a before and after picture for two of my students.

2nd: The 2nd grade was introduced to the art of the Rococo period. They learned that art of this period was ornate, often asymmetrical in design, full of creamy, pastel-colors, and often included elements of gold. The most common type of artwork of the time was portraits, however landscapes were also popular, often depicting the leisure activities of the aristocrats. For our artworks (which we will start next week), we will be creating still life paintings.

4th: The 4th grade was introduced to the world of ceramics and Ming dynasty vases. We will be creating our own Ming style vases in the next few weeks using oil pastels and tempera paint.

5th: After reviewing our rose window project with students, this week, they worked on a small sketch of the front of their church. Students referenced the fronts of actual churches, as well as designed some of their own elements. I cannot wait to see these on the larger paper!!!

6th: Most of the 6th grade students finished their Greek vases this week. As soon as everyone finishes, I will post their completed projects! They are looking great!

Art Club: Students are working on two different projects this month. The first is a photograph inspired by the works of Christopher Boffoli and Slinkachu. Both artists use model train characters to create interesting photographs of how their characters interact with common everyday objects (Boffoli = food and Slinkachu = elements of the city). Our second project is going to be a mixed media artwork inspired by the works of Red Grooms. His work is inspired by his life in the city. Ours will also reflect this. However, we will be using craft foam and oil pastels for our artworks. This week, students created sketches of their ideas. Hopefully, I will have a lot of images to share next week!

On a side note, those of you wanting to see our Romero Britto paintings....the wait is almost over. Everyone has finished their artwork and I will be hanging the last few on Tuesday. I will make sure to take my camera with me. Look for pics next week!!!