Strange Schedule Week 2

This week, I did not get to see several of my classes in the Art Room. We, of course, had music program practice this week for the 2nd graders (Congrats on a wonderful performance kiddos!!!). We also had testing on Wednesday and an awesome assembly on Tuesday.

Very much like last week, the students that did receive an opportunity to come to Art and work did a wonderful job! Here's what happened this week...

Kindergarten:
Many students have now completed putting the basic components of their backgrounds together...the "sand" and the "water". A couple of classes this week moved on to the next step, adding the top and bottom of the "tank" and adding their plants. I cannot wait until we add our fish next class!

1st:
While most first grade classes just started painting this week, some students in the classes that are a little ahead finished their third project! I am only going to share a few of these with you for now. Check back after Christmas Break for everyone's wonderful paintings :)

2nd:
Because of music program practice, I did not see the 2nd graders this week. Again, CONGRATS! on a wonderful musical! I'm a very proud Art teacher :)

3rd:
Many of the third graders started assembling their artworks this week. Much of class was spent organizing all of the different components, transforming our value scales into buildings and deciding how the value scale buildings needed to be arranged on the background. Many students did not get to glue anything yet. Luckily, I will be able to see most of my third grade classes next week, so check back to see some awesome cityscapes!

4th:
Only one of my fourth grade classes came to Art this week. They continued working on their collages, and participated in a progress critique to talk about how things are going. As promised, I took lots of pictures to share with you this week.

Strange Schedule Week 1

First, sorry for anyone who checked last week for an update and did not find one. I did not arrive home until late last Sunday night from a fun filled Thanksgiving break and was unable to get a post created.

As the title of this post implies, this is the first of some odd scheduling affecting the Art Room. From now until this upcoming Thursday, I will not see the 2nd graders. They will be practicing for their music program. I also missed a third grade class this week (Mrs. H) because of a field trip to see the Nutcracker. Where you might think that there would not be a lot to post this week, I actually have a ton!

This is what we have been up to...

Kindergarten:
Students have just recently started their newest project focusing on shape. This week, students learned about my very favorite artist, Charley Harper!!! Harper uses very geometric designs in the creation of his paintings and prints, typically of animals. Students were able to analyze several of his artworks and identify many of the shapes he used, including circles, triangles, and diamonds.
After looking at Harper's art, students colored different shapes that will become fish for a fish tank collage.

Students also practiced creating plants that would typically be seen under water. When students return to Art this week, they will be working on creating their backgrounds (water, sand, plants, and tank features).

1st:
After learning about the primary colors and of the works of Michelle Forsyth, students have now began creating their artworks! Students began by tracing 3, 4, or 5 circles onto a large piece of paper. After drawing designs inside of the circles, students drew lines to create the background. Students then traced all of their marks with a black crayon (a key step to creating a crayon resist). Some classes have even started the painting process! Using only primary colors, the students are painting the inside of their circles with watercolors.

2nd:
I was lucky enough to see two second grade classes this week. They have continued working on creating their self-portraits. They are really coming along! I am really starting to see the resemblances!!!

3rd:
Third grade students are continuing to do a little prep for their cityscapes. After creating a watercolor wash for their background using two different colors, students practiced drawing their cities. Students considered what buildings to include, sidewalks, roads, signs, and other elements. The word for the day was definitely "variety"!

4th:
I cannot even explain how excited I am about the bird collages! This is why I am surprised that I have no pictures to share with you this week. :( Good news is, collage is a slow process. Students have not created any major changes to their artworks, just minor touches. But, these minor changes have been completing amazing! I am so happy with how these are turning out and promise to have LOTS of pictures next week!!!

We Have Finished Artworks...WOW

I can't believe it, but we are almost finished with our first projects!!! Kindergarten and first grade finished this past week, while 2nd-4th grade students' works are starting to really come together and should be done very soon.

As these first few weeks have gone by, students and I have discussed the idea of good craftsmanship thoroughly. Students have been working hard to create artworks that are neat, creative, and clearly show that they have taken their time and put thought into every action. I believe that this concept is really starting to come through in their artworks. Every class, I see students that are carefully working and are really concentrating on their creations! Great job kiddos!!!

Well, enough gushing for today :) Here is this week's update...

Kindergarten: I am so pleased with how the kindergarten artworks look! Students did such a wonderful job creating their artworks based on the book "Mouse Paint"! This week, I will be taking pictures of the finished artworks to share with you. Check back throughout the week if you want to see some very cute and awesome artworks!!! For now, I thought I would share a couple of them with you....I can't resist!

1st: First grade students have also finished their first project. I hope to also take pictures of their self-portraits to share with you this week.

2nd: Students are continuing to paint their cacti still life inspired by the works of Lina Cofan. With most of their pots/vases and cacti painted last week, students started working on their background this week, in addition to blending colors in at least one area of their artwork.

3rd: Similar to the second grade, students are continuing to add color to their artworks. However, instead of painting like the second grade students, third grade is using oil pastels to create their 5 senses based still life. Most students have completely colored their artwork, so we have been working on blending the oil pastels to create a softer, more solid look.

4th: During the last couple of weeks, students have been working on a project where they were asked to express an emotion/feeling though the use of lines and color. For this project, students were not allowed to use a paintbrush. We have used objects such as pompoms, pipe cleaners, plastic lids, sponges, popsicle sticks, and paper towels to create our marks. This week, students added an additional layer by splatter and spray painting. Students, in groups of three, used toothbrushes and plastic spray bottles to add organic, random marks to their artworks. Students had to be extremely careful to censor their actions in order to not cover up the wonderful lines/marks created during our previous class.

Before ending this post today, I did want to remind everyone of Open House on Tuesday evening. Make sure to stop by the Art Room to see more of our awesome finished artworks! Looking forward to seeing everyone!!!