A Very Oak Ridge Week

This week, I took a little break from school to join my husband in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He was there this week for research at the National Laboratory. As for me, I spent some much needed time catching up on several paper assignments from my master's classes and doing a little bit of reading for my Chinese Art History class. I did take some picture to share with you of my trip :)

Coming into Oak ridge we were surrounded with great views!

We ate at some incredible places. If you are ever in the Oak Ridge area, 15 minutes outside of Knoxville, some places to try are The Soup Kitchen, Mediterranean Delight, El Cantarito, and the Riverside Grill (pictured above). Yum yum!!!

One afternoon while I was working, I looked at the window and felt like I had suddenly appeared in a snow globe. It only lasted a few minutes, but was very pretty while it lasted.

We came home this afternoon. We usually travel through the Smoky Mountains going home to western Kentucky, but it seems like the last several times we passed through it was dark. When we went through today, most of the mountains were covered with snow and the sky was soooo blue. It was wonderful!!

 Although I got a lot of work done this week, I did miss being in my art room. I can't wait to see everyone next week! 

I love art!

It makes me so happy to hear a student tell me that they love art. This week, I have heard it so many times! I am so glad that everyone is really enjoying making their projects and that they are interested in the things that we are talking about :)

This week, the art room has seemed like a mini museum with all of the projects being worked on and completed. Each grade is working with a different medium and I am quickly running out of room for all of the projects (which makes me very happy to see!) So, here is what everyone is working on...

The K4 and K5 students just started their Texture Pizzas! After reading the book "Little Nino's Pizzeria" (Karen Barbour) for inspiration, students began talking about what the different elements of a pizza would feel like, including the rough crust, the gooey cheese, and the soft mushrooms. After our discussion, students began creating their crust and sauce. It made me laugh a little to see all of the "pizzas" on my drying rack. I felt like I was running a pizzeria :)

The 1st graders finished up their Jasper Johns inspired number artworks (pictures coming soon). As students were finishing, I had them work on a "journal entry" in their sketchbooks to get them thinking about our next project. Hmm...I wonder what our next project is about?

The 2nd grade are almost finished painting their fictional clay animals. This week, many students started painting their fictional animal's habitat using acrylic paints.

The 3rd graders are also painting, however they are using watercolors. They have been busy working on their animal observation paintings. Most of them finished this week, but due to several people being absent (hope they feel better!), I will not be posting the completed artworks' pictures for a couple of weeks.

 The 4th grade is also finishing up the first part of their art/science project. This week, they added details to the felt food using acrylic paints.

Sadly, I didn't get a chance this week to take pictures during the 5th grade class. We were super busy! Some of the students worked on finishing their collages, some students worked on making stamps, while other students practiced printing with their stamps. I can tell you, their projects are looking fantastic! They have really explored each of the mediums and are doing some really creative things with them :)

The 6th grade students will be hosting and participating in a talent show this next weekend to raise money for their trip to Washington D.C. next month. This week, the 6th grade students and I created artworks that will be for sale during the talent show. All of the proceeds will help fund their trip. Students picked an inspirational quote, most of them coming from past US presidents. Next, students created their quote on canvas using scrapbook stickers. Students then covered their entire canvas with a patriotic design created with acrylic paints. Students will be removing the scrapbook letters on Monday. The stickers acted as a resist and once students remove the stickers, they will uncover the white letters underneath.

Lastly, the Art Club (both Littles and Bigs) are finishing their wire sculptures. They are looking sooo cool!

So, you may have noticed a trend while reading this post. I think I mentioned the word "finish" numerous times :) That means I will be posting all of the finished artworks very soon. Sadly, I will not be at school next week, but as soon as I return I will be taking pictures of everyone's awesome creations to share!

Hello February!

It is hard to believe that it is already February! This week has been fantastic for all of the students during art. We have gotten a lot of work accomplished. In fact, throughout this coming week and next weekend I will be posting some pictures of not only all of our progress, but also some of the finished artworks. As for today's post, I have two wonderful things to share...

First,  the Art Club just started their new project. While we are assembling last month's project, students are beginning the drawing portion of their new project. We are going to be using both drawings and photographs to create large-scale portraits. Here are the results from yesterday...

We also had a small vistor to the art room yesterday :)

Secondly, the K5 just finished up their Mondrian inspired artworks. Finding inspiration in the colors, lines, and shapes found in his artworks, the K5 students created banjos using these same elements. Also, sorry for the quality of the pictures. Some of them have a small view of my kitchen floor :)

School Showcase!

Today was our School Showcase! I was very excited and proud of how the student art display turned out! However, I woke up with a fever and a sore throat this morning and could not go. Luckily, my husband was awesome and took in the display for everyone to see. So, if you were like me and could not go to the School Showcase, I have some pictures for you :)

A Short Week of Art

As many of you know, I only teach on Thursdays and Fridays this year. Since we were out of school this past Friday, the art room only saw activity on Thursday. Despite only having a few classes on Thursday, the art room was full of new projects...in fact I was having trouble finding a place to put everything (a good problem to have if you ask me).

Anyway, I have several things to share this week. The K4/K5 students have recently began a new project on Piet Mondrian. After learning about his life, as well as discussing and viewing several of his artworks, students began their projects. I love Mondrian's work, however, I didn't want to do the normal Mondrian project. The K4/K5 students are instead creating a Mondrian inspired instrument (I'm saying instrument here because some of my students are calling it a guitar, while others are calling it a banjo...one is even calling it a ukulele!) This week, we worked on the body, neck and head of the instrument and next week we will be adding the strings and tuning keys.

I shared a little last week about what was happening in the 1st grade. This week they started putting together their fall/winter self portraits. I had to share a few examples! They are looking great!

The 2nd grade students are working on dioramas of fictional animals that they created. A few weeks ago, we looked at the dioramas from the American Museum of Natural History. Students learned how scientists and artists work together to create these dioramas. After sketching their idea, students this week began to sculpt their animals out of paper clay.

And finally for this week, the 4th grade students have been learning about the work of Claes Oldenburg. In particular, we looked at some of his soft food sculptures. This week, students started creating their own soft food sculptures out of felt. In later weeks, students we be creating a second part of this project, which I will post as they are working on it. For now, here are the beginnings of their food sculptures!

Project Updates!

I am really excited about the projects that students are currently working on! Many of these projects, I created myself this past summer and it is wonderful to see my students so excited and enthusiastic during the production process.

The 1st grade students are still busy working on their Jasper Johns inspired artworks. As I mention several weeks ago, I have split the 1st graders into two groups. While one group is painting, the other has been working on fall self-portraits. Next week, students will be finishing these portraits. We still have another couple of weeks worth of work on our paintings though. They are looking really awesome! I thought I would give you a sneak peek.

The 3rd grade students are currently working on an observation project. For this project, students are studying a picture of their favorite animal and are creating a watercolor drawing based upon their observations. Despite this being a difficult task, students are doing a fantastic job! They are really focusing on the positives of their accomplishments rather than any accidents or mistakes. :)

The 5th grade students are working on collages based on paleoart (dinosaur art). Students began making their collage backgrounds this week. Students looked through several different magazines to find interesting textures, patterns, and colors. They used their finds to create the different elements of their landscape backgrounds.

Last update for this week comes from the Art Club. Students in Art are learning about the works of Alexander Calder. First, we looked at several of his artworks, including his wire circus, mobiles, and stabiles. Then we read the book "Sandy's Circus" by Tanya Lee Stone. Using both the artworks and book as inspiration, students this week began their own wire sculptures. Students were given three pieces of wire and spent this week's meeting bending and twisting them into unique forms.