4th Grade Landscapes

Students were introduced to living artist (from Bloomington, IL!) Harold Gregor.  He is known for his amazing colorful landscapes.  He is actually the only living artist to have his artwork hanging in the White House!! (Obama has one hanging in his Oval Office Dining Room).  Students discussed how colorful Harold Gregor's paintings are, and labeled the Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background.

Ten to Neon Blue (#381)

18" x 24"

2007

Watercolor

Ten to Neon Blue (#381)

18" x 24"

2007

Watercolor

(to learn more about Harold Gregor, please visit www.hgregor.com)

After sketching their idea in pencil, students used crayon and watercolors and Gregor's art as inspiration for their landscapes.  

Skeleton Study

 
8th grade study of skeletons... just in time for Halloween and just over 2 class periods. After drawing them as realistically as possible, they used 2 different colors of oil pastel to show value.

Color Theory Trees

After a quick refresher on the color wheel, my 8th grade students whipped out these BEAUTIFUL trees that I had to share!! I am so impressed, they remind me of stained glass art!

 

Students first drew their tree outline in pencil, and had to use all 12 colors from the color wheel to fill in the negative spaces.  The last step was painting their trees black.  They were very happy with the results!

Don't let Kindergarten Draw the Pigeon!

I LOVE Mo Willem's books.  And so do my Kindergarten students!  After reading 2 of his books, "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" and "The Duckling Gets a Cookie" we learned how to draw this wonderful, silly pigeon.

After drawing him as large as possible with pencil, we used tempera paint to outline the Pigeon. 

Pinwheels for Peace Project

Friday, September 21^st  is the International Day of Peace. To recognize this event, my elementary students created Peace Pinwheels that were placed out on the front lawn of our school in front of the school sign.

 

This idea was created by two art teachers’ years ago that wanted a way to make a visual public statement to celebrate Peace.  I collaborated with the high school art teacher to bring this Day of Peace to all of the schools in the district by having all art students create pinwheels.

 

Before creating Peace Pinwheels students in grades K-6 discussed what the word “Peace” meant to them personally and as a school community.  Student responses included “being nice to someone,” “a quiet place to read,” “no war,” and “standing up to a bully.”  Each class also discussed ways to promote a Peaceful, Safe, and Happy world of Harmony every day not only on Friday.  Students then visually drew a picture using symbols and words to explain what Peace meant to them. 

 

Some students drew peaceful places while others used words to express their peaceful message.








 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade students helped assemble and place the pinwheels for the Day of Peace.

 

 

 

 

“Every day, we are bombarded with television images, video games, music, and magazine articles/newspapers that give importance to conflict and war. Violence has become commonplace and accepted as part of our society and, for some, it is a way of life. It is our hope that through the Pinwheels for Peace project, we can make a public visual statement about our feelings about war/ peace/ tolerance/ cooperation/ harmony/ unity and, in some way, maybe, awaken the public and let them know what we are thinking.

This is not political. Peace doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war, it can be related to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, to peace of mind. To each of us, peace can take on a different meaning, but, in the end, it all comes down to a simple definition: a state of calm and serenity, with no anxiety, the absence of violence, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people.”

 

-excerpt from the Pinwheels for Peace Project website. 



 Learn more at www.pinwheelsforpeace.com

 

 

 

First Week

We are just finishing up our first week of school and most classes are already involved in their first art project.  I worked very hard to make my room very different this year... Moving furniture, removing furniture, and most importantly bringing more color to the room.   Here are some pictures of my work in progress...




This year I re-arranged the tables so four students can sit at each table, allowing me to remove an entire table from the room, helping to open up the space.  I also was inspired by other blogs and changed my table numbers hanging above each table to famous artist throughout history.

I found these cool adhesive color wheels on CafePress.com that I attached to the center of each table.  Each student now has a handy dandy reference to the color wheel and a color assigned to their seat.  This is another way I can direct my students efficiently throughout their art class. 

 

Inspired by a sign I re-pinned on Pinterest.com, I added Art Jobs that match up to their seating assignments.  This is a new concept for me and the students, but again I believe it will help make class run smoothly. 

 

 

 

Here is my new and improved Art Room Library.  I am having so much fun finding books to add to the library. Students may choose to read a book if there is anytime left in class after they have finished their art project. 

 

 

Every table has a Table Caddy that matches with their artist.  This will hopefully let me keep better track of the supplies and now the students don't need to bring anything with them to the art room!

 

 

This is the start to our hallway tree.  Students in all grade levels are creating some type of "leaf" for our growing tree!  I am looking forward to the finished product that will have over 450 "leaves" on it!

Jellies!

After visiting the AMAZING "Jellies" exhibit of jellyfish at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago over spring break with my children, I was inspired to have my 8th grade students create their own jelly fish out of recycled materials.  This was perfectly and spontaneously planned around earth day so I was able to incorporate the idea to re-use everyday materials to create a sculpture of an amazing sea creature. 

This is an example of a Jellyfish at the Shedd Aquarium I took with my cell phone.  They are really a beautiful and unique animal!

On the first day of this lesson, students learned about jellyfish, and their unique qualities.  We observed different types of Jellies, and discussed the variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.  I found interesting videos on National Geographic Kids and the Shedd Aquarium website. 

Students brought in their own empty 2 liter bottles for the jellyfish body.  They also used plastic bags, paper, newspaper, yarn, and fishing line to create the jellyfish tentacles.  I allowed them to be as creative as they preferred, not necessarily making a realistic jelly.  The biggest obstacle for them was learning how to paint "backwards."  We painted the inside of the bottles, so they had to start with the smallest details and end with their final coat of paint. 

April Is Autism Awareness Month!

Our school has embraced Autism Awareness this month to help our students learn more about what it means to be on the Autism Spectrum.  I was able to tie this into an art lesson and create collaborative artwork that could then be displayed in the hallways for the month of April. 

First, I asked students what they knew about being on the Autism Spectrum.  It was interesting to see what some of the misconceptions already in the young minds, especially the 1st and 2nd grade students. I was happy to help them understand a bit more what it is like to have Autism, and that the most important part is that we are all the same on the inside.  I also visually made my own "spectrum" with rainbow colors and discussed what someone might be like on different parts of the spectrum. 

After lots of discussion and questions or comments on someone they knew with Autism, I handed out a puzzle piece I drew and photocopied on white paper.  A puzzle piece is a symbol for Autism because of the complexity of the disorder and that there is still no cure.  After discussing this with the students, I let them color it any way they chose, and they could add words if they wanted to. 

Students then cut out their shapes and we glued them to a larger paper to hang in the hallways.  Below are some of the finished posters!!

You can learn more about the Autism Spectrum Disorder at http://www.autismspeaks.org/