Third Grade Coil Pots

Third graders spent some time looking at the artworks of the Pueblo Indians in Southwestern United States.  We focused on the artist Maria Martinez and watched a video about her pottery technique and design, it was really informative and the students loved watching it.  We then learned about the hand building technique of Coiling to create our pots.  The students loved working with the clay and the challenge of building up the walls to match their different base shape selections. 

After we built them, they worked on Glazing their pots with different colors and designs.  All of the glazes we use are food safe, so they can place snacks inside if they desire.  

Art Fair

We are having our school's art fair, all of the student's have one piece of artwork each hanging up around the school.  There is artwork covering the walls of our building and it is great!  So much color has been added to our hallways and our school, it makes for a very warm and inviting atmosphere.  Here are some pictures of the various works hanging up!

First Grade Mondrian Monsters

First graders looked at the artwork of Mondrian and his use of shapes and primary colors.  I saw this project on another teacher's blog and I was so excited to use it with my first grade kiddos!  We discussed the way Mondrian used lines in his artwork and his use of colors within his shapes.

For our monsters, we looked at the many details of a face and then discussed how we could make them into monster facial details (they had a lot of fun making their monsters!).  Upon completion of their monsters, they were instructed to place Mondrian-inspired lines within the body of their creatures.  Paint was added and the monsters were complete!  We then discussed background and environment, brainstorming the many different worlds our monsters might live within.

Kindergarten Monsters and Colors

Kindergarten completed this project earlier in the school year, we read the book Monsters Love Colors and we then looked at the imagery of the book and all of the different marks that were made throughout the pictures.  The students were then given the opportunity to explore their own mark-making skills with paint splatters, crayon lines and blowing the paint with straws.  After the backgrounds were completed, they were then instructed to make their own monster who made those marks.  They had a lot of fun using their imagination with this project, some of the monsters are so creative and detailed! 

Fourth Grade Op-Art

Fourth graders explored the crazy, mind bending world that is op-art (optical illusions).  We looked at Victor Vasarely , Bridget Riley and a handful of other op-art artists.  We also discussed value within artwork and how it gives the illusion of three-dimensions and space, both of which are important in op-art.  We practiced creating forms and placing value onto them.

The materials we used in this project were colored pencils.  I will definitely do this project again, the results were amazing and the students loved it!

Second Grade Warm and Cool Cityscape

Second graders finished their project focusing on warm and cool colors and three-dimensional forms.  We first practiced making the forms (cubes, spheres, cones, etc...) then we practiced making our sky pattern with the warm or cool colors.  They had a lot of fun creating their own cities, I had fun watching their ideas sprout and grow!

The materials we used were Oil Pastels for the sky and colored pencils for the buildings. 

Fifth Grade Surrealist Hallways

Fifth graders looked at the technique of working in One-point perspective within their artwork.  We also discussed Surreal art and the different ways artists utilize surrealism in their artwork.  We focused on Salvidor Dali as the artist example, as well as some great others. 

For the project, we drew one-point perspective hallways and then we placed surreal things within our halls.  The objects were anything from animals that were not supposed to be in a school building to things breaking or every-day objects in places where they normally are not.  We colored them with colored pencils, oil pastels and some outlined with sharpie to make their lines stand out. 

This was an enjoyable project to let their creativity flow, so many different examples were created by these awesome artists! It was hard to not put them all up to show.

Second Grade Matisse Collage

Second Graders finished discussing Matisse and his artworks filled with color and shapes.  We also looked at the book When Pigcaso met Mootise, a humerous book which they enjoyed and shares some information about Matisse and his style of work.  I saw this project on another Art teacher's blog and could not wait to try it with second grade!

In this project, students learned about positive and negative space as well as organic and geometric shapes.  Inspired by Matisse, students created their own collages using these four art elements.  They turned out well, each class created such unique pieces!

Kindergarten Paul Klee Cat

Kindergarten looked at the artwork of Paul Klee.  We looked at the many shapes that he utilized within his pieces and we discussed what we saw.  I was inspired with this project idea from another art teacher's website, we focused on Klee's cat painting and we created our own shape cat.  The students used Oil Pastels to add color and we focused on the warm colors.  After the cats were colored in, the students outlined with black pastel and painted the background with black tempra paint.

The students had a lot of fun creating their own cat and the many shapes inside.

Fifth Grade Kimmy Cantrell Clay Mask

 Fifth Graders just finished working with clay, they had a blast!  It is a different medium for them to explore, allowing for an entirely new type of success.  We discussed artist Kimmy Cantrell and looked at his artwork.  We focused on asymmetry and the use of textures within the clay surface to create visual interest.  After we finished them, students colored them with Oil Pastels in a variety of colors and then we used tempra paints over the top of the pastels.  This allowed the students to see the resist technique take place on their mask, which they loved.

The results were very colorful masks with a lot of creative textures and facial details.

Third Grade Van Gogh

Third Graders just finished up discussing Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. They had a lot of fun getting to work with paints and exploring the painterly marks an artist makes on their canvas. We discussed movement that can be seen in Van Gogh's art as well as the many colors that he utilized. Below are two pictures of the final product as well as some in-process artworks. The students painted their backgrounds using only the primary colors. We did not wash out our brushes between colors, this allowed the colors to mix together and marble. After the background dried, we used black paper and colored it with Oil Pastels for our buildings. Foiled paper was an option to give the artwork some Emphasis if the artist chose to use it. I will definitely be doing this lesson again in the future!