Kindergarten Self Portraits

Owls
Kindergarten - 4th Grade

We enjoyed this very messy owl project. The kindergartners had a pre-drawn owl to cover with their ripped paper but the first through fourth graders had to draw their own owls. They did a great job! Enjoy!

We also are working on a cool calendar project for the holidays. Watch for more information. The students are very excited.

Durer

Our new artist is Albrecht Durer. He was born in Germany and was a painter and a print maker. We had fun this week as we made prints from their designs. They were instructed to draw or trace an item onto a piece of Styrofoam. Usually I would not let them trace something but there were so many steps that we would never have finished if they needed to draw their own item.

Once their design was ready they came up to the printing station and once inked they made "stamps" of their design. It was so fun to see their excitement when they lifted their paper and saw their design. Most of the students made 2 prints. We all agreed it was a fun project to do.

The seventh and eighth grade classes made their prints on wood using a hammer and flathead screwdriver. Their arms were tired! They underestimated the weight of a hammer over a long period of time.

Neutrals

This week's lesson for third through sixth grade was on the neutral colors of gray, black, brown and white. Strangely it took them a lot longer to do their project than I thought it would so they are not done. They will be done next week and I will post the pictures. I also had camera trouble (batteries were dead) so I did not get a lot of pictures of them creating but I will make it up next week! Check back! And make sure you check out the art exhibit in the back hallway during Parent/Teacher conferences next week.

Introducing

I'm excited to introduce Artsonia. Artsonia had a dream that artwork created from kids around the world can be shared and enjoyed by everyone. By creating their dream this means that you can not only see your child's artwork online but you can also purchase it in different formats like mouse pads, on a canvas, coffee mugs, note cards, etc. It is also a great way to let friends and family see what your child is creating. It is the largest children's art museum on the web. This is not to replace the blog but to embellish it since everyone's art will be displayed.

To visit the site just click here. I will be sending home a log-on code to find your child's art. These will be sent home on your child's art day (Tuesday or Thursday).

I hope you enjoy the new site. I love finding ways to display their masterpieces.

Dancing Giraffes and Florentine Reliefs

This week in first and second grade we made dancing giraffes. It was based on the great book "Giraffes Don't Dance." The students did a great job following directions and making their giraffes dance.

In grades third through eighth we did Florentine reliefs to mimic the style of work that Ghiberti practiced when he made the "Gates of Paradise" doors on the Florence, Italy baptistry. Now he used gold and we used foil but the effect was fun and impressive.

Welcome Back

After a great summer it was nice to get back to doing art with my favorite students. Since it was the first day of school I did an easy project to leave time for rules and such. The students made story quilts that told of their summer vacation. It was a good way for them to get to tell where they went or what they saw. I'm including some of my favorites.

I'll see you next week!