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 :)

Taking Care of Business

We are getting a lot taken care of in the Art Room! It is amazing to see how much we can accomplish in one week. Here's what we have been up to...

Kindergarten:
We are putting the last touches on our faux "Line Carpets". Last week, students practiced using scissors to cut fringe for their artworks. This week and into next, kindergarten students will be attaching the fringe to their paintings. Mrs. B's class was able to assemble their carpets on Friday. It was great seeing their excitement as their paintings transformed into what they dubbed "magic flying carpets"!

1st:
First graders just finished their Mixed Media Chickens!!! I cannot wait to share them with you! They are wonderful!!!

2nd:
This week, the second grade students practiced creating their self-portraits. Students carefully study their facial features and then tried to draw exactly what they saw in the mirror. Next week, I will be sharing some tips and tricks with students on drawing self-portraits before we create our collages.

3rd:
Third grade students began creating value scales this week using tempera paint. Students began with one color and created tints and shades by adding either white or black. Students will be continuing to make at least three more value scales next week.

4th:
Fourth grade students spent this past week researching the bird they decided to use as the subject of their bird collage. I was very happy with how this went! Students had to study the physical characteristics of their bird (color, types of feathers, beak, legs...), but also researched habitat and diet. On the back of their research paper, students were asked to sketch ideas for their collage. I am really excited about what students have shown me so far.

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...

Start of the Second Projects

It is hard to get my brain wrapped around the fact that it is already the end of October. This year is flying by! I walked into my art storage closet last week and noticed the stacks of art from every class in the school. It is nice to see...the hard work that students put in and the creative ideas that were produced. This is why I have been extremely excited about starting our second projects!

Most classes are starting their second projects, but I did want to mention that because of several days/holiday breaks coming up, my classes will not be on the same steps/schedule anymore. For example, because of the upcoming parent teacher conferences, my Thursday classes will now be a week behind. My Tuesday classes will also become a week behind after next week because of Election Day. I am going to try my best to keep you updated on everyone's progress!

Until then, here are updates from this past week...

Kindergarten
Students are continuing to create their crayon resist paintings. I love how these are turning out and cannot wait to add the fringe to our faux "carpet" artworks during the next two weeks!

1st
After choosing the majority of our materials for our mixed media chicken artworks, students this week began assembling their creations. We began by choosing our felt for the body. After finding the felt, students used fabric crayons to draw only the basic components of the body (head, neck, body, and wings). Students carefully cut out their body with scissors in preparation for gluing it to their background next week.
Because it took around 30 minutes for all students to pick out their felt, students participated in a fun drawing activity while they waited. Students were shown this picture...

This painting, by Ernest Lee, is called "Talking Chicken Heads". Students were asked to draw a picture of what they think the chickens are talking about. Here are a couple of things they came up with...

2nd
Students in the second grade spent this week discussing portraiture. Students looked at many different examples of portraits from throughout art history, looking at different clues that tell us more about the people pictured (such as facial expressions, color of the portrait, surroundings, and possessions). After a great discussion, students spent the last portion of the class period critiquing a portrait in small groups. I am very proud of how our discussions went! Great Job Mrs. R's and Mrs. W's class!!!

3rd
Students in third grade also began their new projects this week by discussing the Element of Art, value. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. We discussed how values are created through tints and shades (tints are a color + white and shades are a color + black) This creates a monochromatic color scheme. For their upcoming projects, students will be using value scales as a main element of their composition, so we practiced creating them this week using crayons.

4th
Fourth grade students also started their second project by discussing the technique of collage, as well as the Element of Art, texture. Students learned that while creating their collages in the next couple of weeks, they will be using both types of texture, actual (how something actually feels when you touch it) and implied (how something looks like it would feel).
Because we still have a little bit more to talk about before students begin creating their collages, I told students that the subject matter of our collages will be birds. Students were asked to choose their favorite bird and begin thinking about how they wanted their collage to look (is their bird standing/flying/sitting...what color is their bird....what does its beak look like...)
Students will complete their planning next week and will be creating the first elements of their collages in the next couple of weeks.

Make Way for Finished Artworks

As the title of this post implies, this week was a finishing week. Most students came to the Art Room during the past several days to add finishing touches to their creations, as well as completing their first self-critiques and checklists. With the completion of all three components to our projects, we are now officially ready to begin our 2nd projects when we return from Fall Break!

I let all students in 2nd-4th grade know that my current plan is to photograph their artworks in the next few days and by the end of the week, post them for everyone to see. Please make sure to check back next weekend to see all of our wonderful works!

As for my update this week, it will be a little short since only the Kindergarten students and 1st were working on their 2nd projects. Here is what they were up to...

Kindergarten: Students began the second step of creating their paper "Line Carpets". After drawing bold, dark lines during our previous class, students spent this week creating a crayon resist. Based on the incompatibility of water and oil, when watercolor is applied over the heavily and darkly colored crayon, the wax in the crayon repels the watercolor, which instead adheres to the surface of the paper. To students, as well as honestly myself, it is magic! It is so fun to watch the watercolor bead up and roll off of the crayon! In addition, this fun technique allowed students to begin practicing proper and safe painting habits.

1st: With all of the once manilla-folders painted and dried, students used this week to add details to their backgrounds using a white crayon. Before students began, we discussed the importance of backgrounds, looking at several art examples to fuel our thoughts. In addition, students were asked to use their brain power to think about their design before their crayons were given to them. With plenty of inspiration, students created some awesome designs and ideas!

In addition to drawing our backgrounds, students began gathering materials to create their Ernest Lee inspired chickens after Fall Break. Students were able to choose the paper to create their beak, comb, wattle and feet, as well as feathers! Students will be choosing the fabric that will become their chicken's body and will be starting to assemble their chicken in a couple of weeks. I cannot wait to see how these turn out!!!!!!