Summer Art Challenge

Students were invited to participate in an *optional* Summer Drawing Challenge for fun and art enrichment over the summer.

Students may bring me their folder of all 25 drawings to be entered into a drawing for a prize the first week of school in August. Drawings submitted must show good craftsmanship and evidence of thoughtfulness and time spent working.

Here is the challenge:

Alternatively, here are some fun art activities that you may want to try that don't involve drawing.
If you bring in your bingo sheet completed, you can also be entered into the drawing.

Kindergarten Projects Spring 2017

Kansas Day Sunflower Paintings

Kindergarteners learned about the artist, Vincent Van Gogh, as well as studied the colors, shapes and textures of the sunflower which represents Kansas’ state flower.

·       I can learn about an artist’s life, artistic techniques and inspirations.

·       I can learn about the animals and plants that represent Kansas.

·       I can observe the shapes, textures and colors in a sunflower.

·       I can realistically depict a sunflower with painting techniques

·       I can utilize and clean up tools and work spaces with care.

Self-Portraits

A self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Self-portraits are a way to say something about yourself that you can’t capture with a photograph. It is a visual record. Self-portraits can tell the viewer not only about what the artist looks like physically, but also their mood based on facial expressions, lines and color choices. Self-portraits are different than regular portraits because the artist can make choices about how they want to portray themselves. Realistic or abstract? Dark colors or bright colors? Background scene telling more about the subject or washes of colors? What type of clothing the subject is wearing might tell us about the person in the self-portrait as well. Can you guess who is pictured in these vivid self-portraits?  

Mother's Day Texture Pendants

1st Grade Projects 2017

Chinese New Year Year of the Rooster Scrolls

Students learned about the history, traditions and culture associated with Chinese New Year. We also learned about the legend or story about the Chinese Zodiac. Each calendar year is represented by one of twelve animals from the story. 2017 is represented by the rooster!

We illustrated our own roosters and added a variety of colored papers for the feathers. We learned how to write “Happy New Year” in Chinese, and stamped our scroll with a chop- or special artist stamp. Finally, we reviewed line vocabulary (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) as we stamped a gold pattern on the edges of our scroll.

Claude Monet Inspired Watercolor Crayon Resist Nature Paintings

Identity Collage Self Portraits

1^st grade artists created these photographed portraits after analyzing the use of emotion and expression in portraiture. We cut away our photographed clothing to add our own clothing inspired by our favorite colors, patterns or imagery. To create our stacked food turbans inspired by Carmen Miranda, we worked on our observational drawing skills. With various fruit on table tops, students observed shapes, lines and colors to draw their own. Students then selected their favorite food to draw to incorporate into their stacked food hat and embellished with additional media.

2nd Grade Projects Spring 2017

Pattern Prints

2nd Grade students created a relief print utilizing their knowledge of line and shapes to create an interesting pattern.

Then, we printed our relief plates using brayers and ink in a variety of colors on colored paper.

Using inspiration from Robert Indiana’s sculpture, we learned how to create block letters and rendered a positive word of our choice to use on our prints.

Standards:

• Make art or design with various materials and tools.

• Demonstrate safe procedures for using and cleaning art tools, equipment and studio spaces.

• Analyze how art exhibited inside and outside of schools (such as museums, galleries, virtual spaces and other venues) contributes to communities.

Chinese New Year Fans

The history of Chinese fan dates over 3,000 years ago, around the Shang Dynasty (C.16th-11th BC). The first type of fan, known as Shanhan, was tied to a horse-drawn carriage to shut out the strong sunshine and shelter the passengers from the rainfall.Folding fans then appeared in the Song Dynasty. People wrote poems or even painted on the fans. These fans with poems or paintings on them serve as artistic symbol for social status. It is rumored that the Japanese invented the folding fan after being inspired by bat’s wings. This fan could be easily folded and carried, and became quite popular!

We created our own folding fans after discussing functional and decorative art. They are embellished with gold paint, Chinese characters, beads, a tassel and an illustrated symbol from Chinese culture.

Beakers, Bottles and Bubbles: Learning to Draw 3D Forms

Students learned how to draw a variety of cylindrical forms using lines and shapes. Then, we practiced a variety of watercolor techniques including "wet-on-wet," "graded wash, "salt" and "color blending." On day 2, we blew bubbles and observed their size, reflections and colors before drawing them for our composition background. Then we arranged our bottles in an interesting way to complete our work. 

Marblized paper weaving, Clay Tea Cup, Papier Machie sculpture

3rd Grade Projects Spring 2017

International Festival Dolls

Students learned about the history of paper dolls and the art career of clothing and fashion design before designing an outfit for their doll that conveyed the colors and patterns of their country of heritage.

Then, students learned about the history and purpose of the postage stamp. Using their new knowledge, they designed an image to represent the landscape or a special monument of their country on the stamp.

National Visual Art Standards

               

• I can apply knowledge of available resources, tools and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.

• I can elaborate visual information by adding details in an artwork to enhance emerging meaning.

• I can identify and explain how and where different cultures record and illustrate stories and history of life through art.

• I can develop a work of art based on observations of surroundings.

• I can demonstrate an understanding of the safe and proficient use of materials, tools and equipment for a variety of artistic processes.

Gyotaku
Ancient Japanese Fish Printing

Japanese fishermen used this printing technique to record their prideful catches before cameras were invented. “Gyo” translates to fish and “taku” translates to rubbing. An emperor of Japan later commissioned these prints of his catches to hang in his temple. Eventually the purpose of gyotaku changed from being a practical means of recording one’s catches to a cherished art form!

Ceramic Rattles
Inspired by Native American Storytelling

In Native American culture, the full moon of each month is named. The Snow Moon for February, Flower Moon for May and Strawberry Moon for June are some examples. Rattles are also instruments that are used in Native American music.

After reading a book of poems about each moon during the months of the year, students selected a personally significant month of the year and learned how to create a hollow sphere form in clay. They added textures and symbols for their chosen month, literally creating a “full moon rattle.”

After painting, reflecting on the process, and putting their rattle on display, students wrote poems, songs and stories about their moon and performed them for the class.

Cross Curricular Connections:

Social Studies: Learned about Native American culture and traditions.

Reading & Writing: Answered questions reflecting on the complex clay process, evaluated work, wrote a poem, song or story about their moon rattle.

Speaking: Performed to the class.

Science: Learned about the clay stages and kiln. Investigated how the size and amount of the beads inside the rattle impacted the sound and pitch.

Collograph Prints
Inspired by Jasper Johns and Stuart Davis

3rd Grade students began this lesson by brainstorming numbers and letters that have significance to their life. Letters and numbers connect to memories, experiences, objects, people and places.  They were then asked the question:

“Do you consider numbers and letters ART? Why or why not?”

We learned about the artist, Jasper Johns. The subject matter of his art was seeming “ordinary,” but he used portrayed ordinary letters in numbers in a new and expressive way. This helped us identify what art is, and is not.

We created a collograph plate by cutting out our favorite letter in foam and gluing it down backwards on the cardboard. This produces a forward producing print. Students added additional shapes to their plate.

Finally, we created a collage paper inspired by Stuart Davis and printed our collograph onto it!

We hope you enjoy our bright prints inspired by the styles and techniques of these two artists!

Frank Stella Sculpture

Students observed the elements within the aluminum sculptures of Frank Stella including color, texture and organic shapes. The art problem involved turning a single piece of paper into a three dimensional form that used organic shapes, colors and textures. Students then decided how their work would be displayed; by hanging from a string or sitting on a sculpture base. 

4th Grade Projects Spring 2017

Snow Day Snow Angel Self Portraits and Charley Harper Birds

•             I can use my knowledge of value to create a shadow in the snow.

•             I can use my knowledge of space to create the sense of distance in my artwork.

•             I can use a high level of craftsmanship when cutting and gluing.

•             I can use shapes to create a variety of details in my self-portrait or birds. 

•             I can use inspiration from the illustrations of the book, “A Perfect Day” by Carin Berger or the illustrator, Charley Harper

Non-Objective Chalk Pastel Art

Inspired by Contemporary Artist, Moe Brooker

Big Idea: Abstraction
Elements: Color, texture, line, shape, pattern, value

Non-Objective art is artwork without recognizable subject matter. Instead, it focuses on a composition of line, color, shape, texture, and value. After watching a video of Moe Brooker working in his studio, we analyzed his artworks to come to the conclusion that his work was classified in a new style we had never discussed before. Brooker is inspired by jazz music, and often works while listening to music to guide his mark-making. Students were guided with open-ended directions to create a layered piece of non-objective art while using the music they were listening to for mark-making inspiration. This art making experience was intuitive, fun and unplanned, making it more challenging for some than others!

4^th Grade Paper Relief Sculptures

·         I can create a form from a flat shape.

o   Cylinder

o   Cube

o   Rectangular prism

o   Triangular prism

o   Cone

o   Pyramid

o   Ellipse

o   Teardrop

·         I can convey a Principle of Design in my sculpture

o   Movement

o   Balance

·         I can create a cohesive work of art within limitations.

o   I chose 2 forms to stick to throughout.

·         I can brainstorm multiple approaches to a problem for art-making.

·         I can give myself and my peers constructive criticism via critique.

·         I can analyze the roles that artists and designers play in our response to the natural or constructed world.

·         I can determine how to prepare art for display, assessing limitations and possibilities.

·         I can select a place for exhibiting artwork and discuss aspects and limitations of the space. 

Constructing a Vessel: Ceramic Mugs

Students learned how to measure and cut slabs of clay to successfully construct a vessel. We textured the outside of our mugs with textures and glazed them with a color scheme. We learned about the stages of clay and the chemical changes that take place within the kiln during firing. 

Chalked Desert Landscapes Inspired by Sushe Felix

Story Book Binding

Students learned 5 binding techniques and chose one to bind their story together that they wrote and illustrated in their classroom.