E3/4/5: Printmaking

So, I took a big risk and had my students begin this lesson by using actual linoleum cutters and cut actual linoleum. I shouldn't have taken that risk (shaking head). The linoleum I had ordered ended up being too hard and not as soft as I had expected.  The students were so excited though and had done several preliminary sketches so I let them try it out. Of course I demonstrated how to carve correctly so they wouldn't cut their other hand, but not surprisingly, within two minutes of starting I heard "Ow!" followed by another "Ow!".  We immediately switched to styrofoam sheets and, although it wasn't as satisfying a process as carving linoleum, it was still really cool to see the end result. 

Third/Fourth/Fifth grade: Doodle Paintings

Winterlight

I've been a long time admirer of Courtney Autumn Martin's dreamy Doodle Paintings ever since I saw her drawing them during class. I thought this would be a perfect lesson for my students on encouraging them to let go of their control and "see where your pen takes you" as one of my students commented. They first painted their paper with liquid watercolor and once dried, started with a circle and went from there. This lesson was not guided and the only suggestion I made to students was to create contrast with the circles so they would pop. I love how unique each doodle is and the element of surprise from beginning to finish.  Check out Courtney Martin's Doodle Paintings here  and also check out her children's book illustrations!

Third through Fifth: My Neighbor Totoro

I used this movie poster for a lesson on tinting and shading to create atmospheric perspective. It doesn't hurt that it's adorable and fantastical so the students connected right away. They chose their own colors and practiced by making a value chart first before they painted on their final. They look a little scary, but I love how they turned out.

In progress.

All of elementary collaborated in a Louise Nevelson-inspired assemblage. Using found objects that they collected from home, students glued together their assemblage and painted them in our school color- blue. I can't wait to see this hanging up on the wall!

Third-Fifth: Master Study of John Audubon's American White Pelican

As a lesson on line and shape, I showed my students paintings by John Audubon and had them compare it with Charlie Harper's graphic illustrations. I love Harper's minimalist approach to his animals, and I find them just as realistic as Audubon's, just expressed in a different way. I don't do master studies too often because I don't want students to feel restricted, but they're surprisingly enjoying learning new skills and Audubon's techniques in giving dimensionality to his subjects, like how shading makes the bird look three dimensional, how Audubon painted the background dark to create contrast with the white pelican, etc. 

Art Gala 2014

 Dale Chihuly sculpture made out of plastic bottles in honor of Earth Day. 

 The downstairs hallway was transformed into a prehistoric cave art exhibit. Students had drawn animals on brown paper and made torches with lights inside. As viewers walked through the dark cave, they held their torches up to the wall and paintings of horses, bison, mammoths, and deers were illuminated. 

Kindergarten's paper mache mushrooms.

First grade's studies on Rene Magritte, Aboriginal Handprints, Edgar Degas, Gustav Klimt, and flowers.

 All of Elementary learned about the Terracotta army and each student sculpted a warrior out of terracotta clay. 

Fourth and fifth grade's Lichtenstein inspired self-portraits, value drawings, and Frank Stella paper sculptures. 

Second through Fifth grade- Circus

I've always wanted to do a lesson on Alexander Calder's Circus. After watching a video on Calder's circus performance, they were divided into groups and given found objects. It was a great lesson on working together and respecting others' ideas, and of course, creating something representational only using found objects.

Fourth and Fifth: Chinese Bamboo Paintings

I love doing this lesson as it forces students to work sloooowly, methodically, and of course, learn about a different culture. In the Chinese culture, because bamboos can bend during storms, but are not easily broken, they symbolize strength and integrity.  Students first mixed black sumi ink and green paint to create a dark green color for their bamboo. Beginning from the bottom of the paper, they painted upward in calm, confident strokes, lifting up their brush to make thin gaps for the bamboo nodes. For the delicate stems, students used just the tips of their round brush to create the thinnest lines possible. I told them this part needed to be fast or else their lines will be bumpy and "nervous". One of the funnest steps to this project was making a chop of their names. After coming up with an interesting  signature that fit inside a tiny square, they carved it in reverse on a styrofoam square. Then they glued the styrofoam onto a wooden block and stamped it on their painting. Finished!

Third-Fifth: Dali's Melting Clocks

The Persistence of Memory, 1931

My summer school students learned all about Salvador Dali during Art week and had so much fun interpreting his surreal paintings. Out of white model magic, they used the table to bend and warp their clocks into a "melting" shape. They painted the outer rim with gold paint and made their numbers with black model magic. The hour and minute hands were made with black cardstock pinned down with a brass pin that was held in place with a drop of hot glue in the back.