Halloween Inchies

How cute are these finished projects?!!!  4th graders are completing these this week but here is a sneak preview of some that finished early. 

Halloween Inchies:

From Representational to Non-Objective: 8th Grade Art

8th graders have been incredibly busy at the start of this school year in Art class. 

Students just finished a project that looked at the artworks of Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, and Theo van Doesberg to see how the artists went from representational to abstract to non-objective in their works of art, while focusing on the same subject matter. 

We discussed the vocabulary of representational, abstract, and non-objective and then students had to come up with their own subject matter that they would turn into a series of artworks like the artists we studied. 

Below are the instructions the students had to follow:

The Cow: 4 Stages of Abstraction, Theo van Doesberg, 1917

Bull V, Roy Lichtenstein, 1973

Square #1: Realistic:

-Full-image animal drawing
-Side-view
-Realistic with shading details
-Animal must have interesting features (if the animal was in silhouette, you should be able to tell what animal it is)

Square #2:  Simplistic:

 -Animal must be drawn in simplified shapes and lines
-The viewer should still be able to tell what animal it is without much thought

Two questions to ask tablemates:
-Can you tell what animal this is?
-Can I take anything away from my drawing and you would still know what animal it is?

Square #3:  Deconstructed Color Blocks:

-Animal is further deconstructed
-The viewer should not be able to tell what it is, until you tell them (then they should be able to piece it together).
-The addition of color:  find significant colors that define certain animal characteristics

Square #4:  Non-objective Depiction of Animal:

-Even with explanation, the animal is not discernible.  It should have qualities of the past square and color themes and shape themes but even with explanation, the viewer will not see the animal.


Finished artworks:

It's a SCREAM....

5th grade just finished their Edvard Munch Scream artworks featuring....themselves! 

Students learned about Edvard Munch and how the painting, The Scream, came to be. It's all based on a phobia that Edvard had (ask your 5th grade child) for the whole story!

Here are some completed artworks. 

Steam Day: Three Little Pigs: The Forces of Wind

The school theme for STEAM day today was Forces and Motion.  Middle school focused on wind forces. 

The first class today was spent talking about the engineering of buildings to factor in wind forces on tall skyscrapers.  We watched a few videos that talked about how buildings are designed and what engineers do to create buildings that not only withstand wind but can also harness the wind's power to make electricity. 

After the videos and with the new information they learned, students got into groups of four and designed a building design that they felt would withstand the greatest forces of wind. 

In the second class today, students were given select materials (tin foil, clay, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, and construction paper).  With these materials and their design ideas,  the team that created the tallest building that could withstand the big bad wolf (aka:  a hair dryer at high speed, 12 inches from the top of their building) would win a prize.  The students were into it!!!!! 

The winning team today had a building that stood at 19 inches tall without budging. 

Kindergarten: Primary Color Mixing

Over the past few weeks in art class, Kindergartners have been learning all about the primary colors and what makes them so special.

First we did a demonstration, where colored water (red, yellow, and blue) were poured into cups to see what colors they would turn into.  This demonstration was met with a lot of oohs and ahhs.

Then students practiced color mixing on their own.  They were given red, yellow, and blue binger daubers and they had to make gum balls of all different colors.  By overlapping the colors, they could get secondary colors. 

This week, we needed to start painting our orange and green backgrounds so we can make our pumpkins in the grass project next week but Mrs. Saca ran out of orange and green paint (wink, wink).  So the students had to figure out what colors to mix to make their own orange and green paint.  We got a little bit messy mixing up all of these colors, but we got our papers painted!  We are ready to start making some pumpkins next week!

Things your child learned:

-what colors are primary colors (red, yellow, blue)

-why primary colors are special:
1. you can't make primary colors 
2. from primary colors you can make other colors

-what colors mix to make orange, green, and purple

This might be a fun quiz to give them at the dinner table one night to see how much they can remember!

Dots, Dots, Dots

You would think we were celebrating the illustrator Peter Reynolds, International Dot Day, but we aren't.  3rd graders are getting their backgrounds prepared for a Dia De Los Muertos project.  More pics to come as we get further along. 

It's Getting Spooky in the Art Room

2nd Graders are half-way done with their "Witches and Broomsticks" project.

During the first class period they created the painted and textured backgrounds by dragging plastic texturing tools through the paint.  It's really helping give their artworks a haunting texture.

Today, students painted spider webs and started work on their witches.

We have a lot more work to do until these are completed but I can already tell that they are going to look SPECTACULAR when they are done!

Well, This Just Looks Like Fun....

At Willow Glen Community Center:  September's Neighbor Night event: Color Fest! 

This Friday, September 14th (6:30-8:30)

They will be featuring a color run, slime bar, arts & crafts, and more! Below are the color run times by age group:

Ages 3-5: 6:30pm
Ages 6-8: 6:50pm 
Ages 9+: 7:10pm 

Color Run will take place at the Lincoln Glen Park. 
Parents are welcome to join their children during the run! 

Don't forget to wear all white for the color run! 

6th and 7th Grade Enrichment: 1st Trimester

This year and this trimester for enrichment classes, the 6th and 7th graders are working on projects that will be for our own close-knit community. 

Soon, we will have a small station set up in the front office with small items for anyone that needs them. 

We all have moments or events in our lives where we just need to be reminded that people care. 
We all have moments in our lives when we worry, about our well-being or the well-being of others.  Sometimes we get sick.  Sometimes our family members get sick. 
Sometimes we just need something to physically hold on to, a prayer to read, or something to calm our own anxieties.
This is what this station is about. 

In a month or two, there will be an area to pick up items (free) to keep for yourself or to give to someone that needs it. 

Some of these items include:

-Worry Dolls:

-Guardian Angel Pins:

-Glass cross necklaces:

-Prayer cards:

-Clinging crosses:

Unfinished cross:  Glaze still needs to be added

More information to come.  The students have a lot more work to do but as we are done, we will get the station up and running!!!

Under the Sea....with 1st Grade!

I don't want these projects to leave my room!  There was so much joy in creating these adorable masterpieces and it brings me so much happiness to see them all drying on the tables side-by-side.  I have a feeling these will be treasured at home as well. 

Students had a wonderful time working with modeling clay to make these Under the Sea treasures!

Kindergarten: Lines And Colors And Portraits

Kindergartners have been working hard these past few weeks in Art class and we've learned a lot!

Kinders have learned about different types of lines:  dotted, straight, wavy, curly, and zig-zag.

They have learned the colors of the rainbow.


And...

They have learned how to draw "non-stick" figures.

All of these components were merged into one project and voila...

7th Grade 2-point Perspective Cities

Once the 7th grades got rolling on these, they just took off!!!  There really is a rhythm to 2-point perspective and you could tell by the end of the class, that most students really found it.  Beautiful and detailed work, 7th grade!