Color!!!!

COLOR!! This fall, I decided to really focus on color theory. My youngest artists picked up color mixing easily with our new plate palettes! I saw this online, and it is definitely an intuitive way to introduce primary and secondary colors. If you want to try this, draw six circles around the plate and only fill the appropriate primary color circles with paint. Artists quickly learn that adjacent colors make a new secondary color, and that mixing everything makes brown:-) 

As an assessment, I gave students a "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" worksheet, and challenged artists to mix the appropriate color to paint each character. I was thrilled with the results.



Our 4th Graders painted these incredible Color Wheel Eyes after studying the human eye.

Our 5th Graders worked very hard to design their own unique color wheels using a symbol or shape that they loved. I think their individual personalities shine through these pieces.

LINES!!

This year is all about the Elements of Art. In 5th Grade, we started by making line designs with toothpicks, yarn, and glue. After wrapping the designs in foil, artists thoughtfully added color to bring these designs to life.

Science and Art Collide!

Integrating curriculum with my fellow teachers is one of the highlights of my job. I love finding new ways to celebrate learning, and enjoy the challenge of making each lesson meaningful and relevant. This post highlights projects were all a collaboration between art and science although we also snuck in some social studies too!

Above, you can see the solar system posters our 3rd Graders built. Glow in the dark paint was added so artists could decorate their bedrooms with a real space scene!

These paper bag kites were so much fun to make and sold out at our Science Fair! The 2nd Graders were studying birds as part of their Flight unit. The class also spent the whole year working to help our entire community find new ways to upcycle. These kites brought all that great learning together, and are really just incredibly awesome. Artists sketched birds and scenery on to the bags, and then added color with tissue paper and glue. Strings were added, and we were all impressed with the results!

Our 4th Graders took on this fun collaborative project with excitement. Three teachers came together to integrate learning about identifying land formations, learning about Lewis and Clark's famous journey, and creating sculpture into one amazing project. Students sculpted these land formation pieces, and then used them as a backdrop to help create animated movies showcasing their learning. It was quite an undertaking, but we did it!!

Gyotaku fun! After studying the arts of Japan in the Art Room and the life cycle of salmon in the classroom, artists had fun making prints that were labeled and displayed for all to enjoy.

Our 2nd Graders made these great clay tiles after studying the sea creatures of Puget Sound and visiting the Seattle Aquarium for an up close encounter. Artists learned how to work with clay and how to create low relief. The tiles were finished with a watercolor wash, and inspired us all to take better care of our own Puget Sound!

NW Totem Poles

I absolutely love teaching Native American Art. These amazing totem poles were crafted by a very hard working 2nd Grade class. I am so impressed by the amount of detail that was added, and the scissor skills required to makes these paper designs come together to look like a real totem pole!

Monet's Garden

 


Spring has sprung in the Northwest, and we were excited to bring the SHA Art Gallery to life with color to celebrate. After reading, Linnea's Garden, our 2nd Grade artists had a blast recreating Monet's famous garden at Giverny. We had a great discussion about impressionism, and picked out our best round brushes for this painting. The class worked with analogous colors to create the background, and posed for photos pretending to be seeing the garden for the first time from the Japanese bridge. Artists finished their masterpieces by adding some colorful flowers to their backgrounds, and by designing a bridge out of paper to collage on to the scene. Photos were added, and our gallery looks amazing! Monet would be proud!!

5th Grade Self Portraits

Our incredible 5th Graders created these self portraits demonstrating a great understanding of how to best use line and shape in design. Artists searched high and low for the best collage pieces to create their "Shape" portrait, and then used words to create their "Line" portrait. The two images side by side play off each other to create a powerful final piece.