Dot Dot Dot

Kindergartners looked at an artwork that was done in the pointilism style. Pointilism is were a painting is made out of lots of little dots. Here are some examples of our artworks.

Henri Matisse or (On-ree muh-teece)

First graders studied the artist Henri Matisse. We learned that when Henri Matisse was older, he could no longer paint or sculpt so he decided to draw with scissors. Henri Matisse used lots of different shapes in his pictures, but we talked about two special kinds; organic and geometric. Organic shapes are ones that use curved lines, like a circle or crazy wavy shape. A geometric shape is one that uses straight lines to make a shape, like a square or triangle. We started to draw with scissors and create our own pictures. Some students created artworks that were abstract designs and other students created pictures with animals, people, and plants.

Learning about Marc Chagall

In second grade we started a project dealing with Marc Chagall. Chagall used lots of bright colors and many dreamlike images. He also painted the way things felt to him instead of the way things really look. Some of his paintings look, like I and the Village, look strange.

The students started their own drawings involving different emotions. Here are some examples of the start of student work.

Some New Artworks

We started working on monoprints today. A monoprint is a printmaking technique where the picture cannot be reproduced exactly the same twice. This means each time you make a print, it is an original artwork. Several students chose to create monoprints, while other students created lots of different things. Today we had some water sculptures, a machine that you could look into to see your future, and some cool monoprints!

Painting our Dinosaurs!

We have started painting our found object dinosaur sculptures. We have all different colors of dinosaurs. They are very interesting!

March Artists of the Month!

More Creativity!

During my choice-based art classes, students broke into a new type of art, textile art! Several students started using fabric to create different things. One student made a pillow. In other highlights of the day, one student made a "happyville" using chalk pastels and another student created a spaceship out of an egg carton. Very creative!

Dinosaurs in Progess

Texture Paintings with 1st Graders

This week I am trying texture paintings with 1st graders. I did this lesson with full-day kindergarten last week and I was excited about the potential with this lesson in first grade. The results have turned out awesome so far. The students are very engaged in this interesting printmaking process.

Back to the Dinosaur Age

All second graders have been studying dinosaurs in their regular classrooms. This week in art we are incorporating dinosaurs and found objects. After looking at the artist Jim Gary and his beautiful dinosaurs that were created from old car parts, we began using recycled objects like water bottles and pop cans to create our own dinosaurs. Below is an example that I created from found objects.

Texture Painting with Kindergarten

This past week my full-day kindergarten classes created texture paintings through printmaking. We took texture plates and painted them. We then took our paper and pressed down. The texture plate left a print! The students used many different colors and textures to create these incredible artworks.

2nd Graders Get Stained

The 2nd grade classes just finished their stain glass projects. We started the project by taking a flight to Paris (via Google Earth) and checked out the Notre Dame Cathedral. We focused in on the North Rose Window by Jehan de Chelles. We discussed what stained glass windows are, how they are made, and why they are made. We began making our own "stained-glass windows" by using Sharpie markers on transparencies. To start our project we made a sketch on a small sheet of paper. After our sketches were finished, we put the transparency over the top and traced our original sketch to create a final artwork. These are currently hanging in the windows of the cafeteria. I hope you get the time to come to North Elementary and see them.

M-I-C K-E-Y M-O-U S-E

The 1st graders are getting prepared for their annual music performance. Mrs. Kelly asked all the first graders to create a Disney prop. We made mouse ears! So now we have a bunch of Mickeys and Minnies all around the school. The program will be fantastic. I hope you can join us!