The New Year Has Begun!

We have started the new year with some new projects. 

1st and 2nd grades are studying sumi-e painting.  Sumi-e painting is an asian art where the artists take black ink and a bamboo brush to create eloquent drawings.  After watching a short video about sumi-e painting and looking at different sumi-e paintings, the students created their own sumi-e paintings.

3rd and 4th grades are studying pointilism and the artist George Seurat.  George Seurat created his paintings by using thousands of small dots or 'points' of bright color.  Instead of the artist mixing all of the colors together, pointilism make the person looking at the art use their eye to mix the colors.  It's a very cool kind of art.

Week 16

Since I won't see about half my classes this week, we are playing catch up and having some free time. 

HAVE A SAFE THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 15

1st - This week we are glazing our pinch pots!  Glazing means using a special paint that turns to glass when it gets really hot.  After we glaze our pots, I will put them back into the kiln to be 'fired.' Once they come out they will be bright colors with a beautiful shine.

2nd - After finishing up our Peter Max project, we are having an "artist" week.  Their choices this week will be tempera and watercolor painting, oil pastel, drawing, coloring, and collage. 

3rd - While our coil pots are drying, I used this week to show third graders another way of making a pot.  Using a potter's wheel, I created a couple different pieces for the students.  After I created for a bit, I let each student get on the wheel and feel the clay and what it's like to be a potter!

4th - We are finishing up our clay maracas this week by adding all of our extra pieces to make our maracas unique.  The students are coming up with great ideas.  Cats, dogs, aliens, robots, people, and just clever designs have all been created.  It is very exciting to see all of our pieces turn out.  These artworks will be fired in the kiln after Thanksgiving and we'll paint them during that first week of December.

Week 14

1st - All first graders had an "Artist" week.  This is where they decide what they want to make and how they will make it.  Students picked from watercolor and tempera painting, oil pastel, drawing, and collage.  This is always a very good time for the students. 

2nd - Second grade finished up their Peter Max project where we worked with gradation and creating leaves.  Gradation is where one color moves very slowly into another color.  It looks pretty groovy!  To finish up our project we stapled, cut, and designed the other side of our leaf.  All the leaves will be hanging up in the school entry way for Grandparents Day.

3rd - This week all third graders made their coil pots.  After learning about Lucy Lewis, a Native American potter who used the coil method, we started our own coil pots.  Clay is always a great time!

4th - All fourth graders are working on making clay maracas.  This week we created two pinch pots and stuck them together will little clay pebbles inside for rattles.  Next week we will be adding all the extra pieces on to make our maracas truly unique!