Moving Right Along

Things are moving right along as we get closer to the holiday season. I have stressed to students during the last few weeks that because of everything coming up, it will be really important to do their best as they work on their projects....and boy have they! The kindergarten and 1st graders have finished up their second projects and will be starting their third this upcoming week, and the 2nd-4th have finished the planning stages of their artworks and are finally beginning to create their second project.

Here's how things are looking...

Kindergarten:
Because of the immense difficulty to take a good photograph of these projects, I have chosen only a few of the finished artworks to share with you instead of all students' work. These photographs really don't do the artworks justice. I can't wait for everyone to see these at the Art Show in April!

1st:
See my post below to view all of the finished Mixed Media Chickens! Awesome!

2nd:
This week, students worked on creating their backgrounds. Students started by using scissors to cut a zig-zag border around a piece of construction paper. They then glued this to a piece of black construction paper. Lastly, students applied a smaller piece of colored construction paper in the center of these papers. With this complete, students are now ready to begin working on creating and applying their self-portrait next week.

3rd:
Third grade students are continuing to work on creating value scales using tempera paint. They are looking good!

4th:
Fourth grade students have started working on their backgrounds as well. Funny thing is, I don't have any to show. I was so excited about how they were looking and so busy helping students sort through ideas and executing them, I never took any photos. Don't worry though...next week will be photo heavy with lots of awesome bird artworks :)

The Excitement is Building

As I discussed last week, a majority of students are now starting their second art project of the year. Students have been spending much of their last two art classes gathering inspiration for their artwork and their excitement cannot be contained! They cannot wait to get our materials out and start! Despite how badly I am ready to start creating these projects as well, I have stressed to students the importance of planning and preparation.

So what exactly have we been up to? Well, see below to find out...

Kindergarten
Students in kindergarten are continuing to work on their faux "Line Carpets". After painting them last week, students spent this week practicing their scissor skills to create fringe for both sides of their artwork. Students were given two pieces of paper, both of which had a bold horizontal line drawn toward the top edge. Students were asked to start at the bottom of their paper and then cut all the way to the black line...then stop! By cutting to the black line and not past, it created two perfect sets of fringe ready for their carpet!

1st
Students have spent the last two class periods preparing for the assembly of their chicken artworks and after much waiting, the class finally arrived where they put their chicken artworks together! Students began by placing the felt chicken body on their background. This was followed by the paper comb, beak, wattle, and legs. As finishing touches, students added an eye and feathers. I love how these have turned out!!! Can't wait to share all of them when they are finished!!!

2nd
After last week's discussion on portraiture, students spent this week exploring the work of artist Burton Morris. Known for his Pop Art pieces, his work displays everyday objects and events, as well as things from popular culture in his very distinctive and bold style.

For our projects, students will use characteristics of Morris' style to create a self-portrait or a picture of themselves. Here is the example I created to show students...

3rd
After discussing value last week, students explored the art of Shawn Huckins during Art this week. Last summer I stumbled upon numerous examples of paint chips (like the ones found at hardware stores) used to create art, in particular used as buildings for cityscapes. After I came across the work of Shawn Huckins, who is most know for his "Paint Chip Series", I knew this would be a perfect way to explore value! However, instead of using actual paint chips, like many projects I came across, I am asking students to create their own paint chip value scales, which we will begin next week! Below is an awesome pic of Huckins and his work, as well as the example of our project that I showed students...

4th
Much like the 2nd and 3rd grade, 4th grade spent last week in discussion. We focused on collage and texture. This week, students explored how birds have been used as a common subject matter in Art throughout Art History. After looking at a variety of examples, we looked at several sculptures created by Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg.

Inspired by the numerous artworks we analyzed, students began planning for their own bird collages. The goal for this past class was to decide on which bird students will use as the subject matter for their artwork. Next week, we will be researching our birds, in order to create an accurate image through the physical traits of their bird, its behavior and its habitat. Again, here is the example I showed students to get their ideas flowing...