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.