And I thought last school year flew by- this one’s going even faster! Here is a brief update on what your students are working on in art class:
Kindergarten: After finishing their collage owls, Kindergartners moved into abstract expressionism! We looked at artwork by Vasily Kandinsky (among others) and it was awesome to see what the kids came up with to describe this painting:
A few examples: rainbow doughnuts, dinosaur eyes, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Maybe there were a few hungry Kindergarteners in that class? The main point was how abstract expressionists create feelings and moods through their art, and people can decide for themselves what the work is about. After creating their own abstract paintings using shapes and lines, the students will transform their 2D painting into a 3D windsock!
First Grade: These artists were super excited to delve into the crazy world of CLAY! They created owls which are currently drying into greenware so they can be fired. Your first grader knows all about the clay firing process- ask him or her to explain. As they eagerly wait to paint their owls, your students have been learning about sculpture artist Claes Oldenberg and borrowing from his ideas to create ‘silly scale’ drawings. We’ve been discussing size relationships in art and the ways in which artists manipulate these relationships to grab peoples’ attention.
Second Grade students have finished their ‘Beautiful Oops’ projects and they turned out fabulous. I LOVE doing this project with students because of the theme behind it (turning your mistakes into something creative) and the pure creativity these kids poured into it. It was great to see so much outside-the-box thinking! We had the opportunity to ‘critique’ everyone’s work, so students practiced giving specific, positive feedback to their peers and using those art-smart vocabulary words. Next up, we ‘travel’ to Egypt to be inspired by the ancient Egyptians’ faience hippos!
Third Graders have wrapped up their Matisse-inspired fauve still-life collages (ask your third grader what ‘fauve’ means in French!) and they are wonderful. I can’t wait for you to see them! Your students applied their knowledge of composition, form (an element of art that refers to shapes with volume), and the fauve style to create these colorful collages. Next, we ‘travel’ to Japan to begin a project focusing on the tradition of Gyotaku fish printing!
Fourth Graders finished their marvelous spooky cityscapes (architecture and value scales galore) and are now moving on to a sculpture project. To prepare, we are having an important conversation during class about a challenging topic: What IS Art?! Your students have worked in small groups to discuss all kinds of art- from the hyper-realistic to the most abstract to all of the ‘crazy’ in-between. We may not have all of the answers, but the discussion is lively and your students are thinking critically about art. The next step is to take some inspiration from German contemporary artist Anselm Reyle to create some abstract sculptures using shoe boxes and the ‘junk’ that you donated to the cause!
Fifth Graders have just finished their ‘punny’ aquarium print editions. I am very impressed with the final results; not only did they come up with original ideas and make quality prints, they saw their project through to the end with good craftsmanship and even had a few extra prints to trade with friends. Ask your fifth grader what he or she learned about the printmaking process and visual puns! Next up for fifth grade is the much anticipated CLAY, yay!
Everyone have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for all you do to support creative thinking and art at home. :)
Kindergarten: After finishing their collage owls, Kindergartners moved into abstract expressionism! We looked at artwork by Vasily Kandinsky (among others) and it was awesome to see what the kids came up with to describe this painting:
A few examples: rainbow doughnuts, dinosaur eyes, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Maybe there were a few hungry Kindergarteners in that class? The main point was how abstract expressionists create feelings and moods through their art, and people can decide for themselves what the work is about. After creating their own abstract paintings using shapes and lines, the students will transform their 2D painting into a 3D windsock!
First Grade: These artists were super excited to delve into the crazy world of CLAY! They created owls which are currently drying into greenware so they can be fired. Your first grader knows all about the clay firing process- ask him or her to explain. As they eagerly wait to paint their owls, your students have been learning about sculpture artist Claes Oldenberg and borrowing from his ideas to create ‘silly scale’ drawings. We’ve been discussing size relationships in art and the ways in which artists manipulate these relationships to grab peoples’ attention.
Second Grade students have finished their ‘Beautiful Oops’ projects and they turned out fabulous. I LOVE doing this project with students because of the theme behind it (turning your mistakes into something creative) and the pure creativity these kids poured into it. It was great to see so much outside-the-box thinking! We had the opportunity to ‘critique’ everyone’s work, so students practiced giving specific, positive feedback to their peers and using those art-smart vocabulary words. Next up, we ‘travel’ to Egypt to be inspired by the ancient Egyptians’ faience hippos!
Third Graders have wrapped up their Matisse-inspired fauve still-life collages (ask your third grader what ‘fauve’ means in French!) and they are wonderful. I can’t wait for you to see them! Your students applied their knowledge of composition, form (an element of art that refers to shapes with volume), and the fauve style to create these colorful collages. Next, we ‘travel’ to Japan to begin a project focusing on the tradition of Gyotaku fish printing!
Fourth Graders finished their marvelous spooky cityscapes (architecture and value scales galore) and are now moving on to a sculpture project. To prepare, we are having an important conversation during class about a challenging topic: What IS Art?! Your students have worked in small groups to discuss all kinds of art- from the hyper-realistic to the most abstract to all of the ‘crazy’ in-between. We may not have all of the answers, but the discussion is lively and your students are thinking critically about art. The next step is to take some inspiration from German contemporary artist Anselm Reyle to create some abstract sculptures using shoe boxes and the ‘junk’ that you donated to the cause!
Fifth Graders have just finished their ‘punny’ aquarium print editions. I am very impressed with the final results; not only did they come up with original ideas and make quality prints, they saw their project through to the end with good craftsmanship and even had a few extra prints to trade with friends. Ask your fifth grader what he or she learned about the printmaking process and visual puns! Next up for fifth grade is the much anticipated CLAY, yay!
Everyone have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for all you do to support creative thinking and art at home. :)