A Flood of Projects

Thursday, students turned in their projects for our Art Fair. This is the first year that I have assigned an at-home project for students. I decided this summer that I wanted to have this Art Fair for students. Very much like a traditional science fair, I assigned students to choose one artwork. After researching it , students were to create a display showing their hard work. The overall purpose of this project was for students to start looking at art outside of the art classroom and to begin to develop their own personal tastes. I have been ecstatic about the results! Students far exceeded my expectations, both in the design of their display, but also how they are sharing their findings and personal thoughts with their peers. For the next two weeks, I will be sharing some of the projects students have turned in. The Art Fair will be held on the 28th. I will be posting every student's project that week!!!

As for the rest of the week, it did not lack in the awesome department! Here is this week's update...

K4: We have now all finished our sunflower drawings. Starting next week, students will be exploring paint. We will discuss how to hold and use a paintbrush and how the paints can mix and blend as students layer them on their artworks.

K5: The K5 students finished drawing their fruit with oil pastels. After getting all of their fruit cut out, students will be ready to create their table, bowl and background for the rest of their artwork.

1st: I asked first grade students to recreate their sketches for their American Realism project. Two weeks ago, I introduced American Realism to students not leaving them much time for sketching. This project is all about the details. I asked students to choose a place that they love to visit or be at and to draw all the things that make that place wonderful. Because students had such a limited time during our first class to sketch, I decide to dedicate one class period for students to develop their ideas. Here is what they have created so far...

2nd: All students have now finished their Rococo still life paintings. This week, students worked on their self-critiques. This coming week, students will be learning about Edvard Munch and "The Scream"!

3rd: Students were introduced to Impressionism. For their upcoming project, students will be creating a Impressionist inspired landscape using their fingers. Their main goal is to create a landscape that shows a specific time of day.

4th: Let me just say...HOLY COW!!! After the fiasco with the 6th grade Greek Vases, I thought that we had everything figured out with the scratch art process. Using the SAME tempera paint that was successful with the 6th grade projects, I had students paint two even layers of white tempera on their vases the last couple of weeks. Who knows what happened, but despite all of the testing, despite the fact that the same brand of tempera paint worked perfectly with the 6th grade, for whatever reason it did not work with the 4th grade. Their paint peeled right up. I could not believe it. I have been completely dumbfounded by the whole thing. Needless to say, I decided that there was no more time for paint experimentation (especially when the results seem to be different each time), and I decided to have students go in a different direction. Students redid their vases, this time using blue construction paper, and drew their design using a pencil. Using only white, light blue, dark blue, and  blue oil pastels, students began coloring their design. Although they were slightly disappointed that they would not get the opportunity to etch their design, they are very pleased with the results they have so far, as am I.

5th: Along with the 3rd grade, 5th grade, too, started a new project this week. After learning about several printmaking techniques, as well as about the artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, students began creating sketches for collagraphs, Our subject matter?....you may ask...cats inspired by Toulouse-Lautrec's "Chat Noir" poster.

6th: Students began decoupaging a layer of tissue paper on their weather vanes this week. I cannot wait to see these projects finished!!!! They are so cool!

Art Club: Here's another peek at our finished artworks....almost all done!!!