3rd Grade -- Historical Figures

3rd graders just finished up their historical figure sculptures.  They were assigned one of the following people: Louis Armstrong, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, or Amelia Earhart.  They used white talc clay to sculpt their historical person.  We focused on scoring, slipping, and smoothing to ensure that all pieces were attached.  The students used modeling tools to create textures and details in the clay as well.  Tempera paint was applied to the bisque fired clay.  The 3rd graders created cardboard dioramas, which put their person in a scene that would have taken place.  Here are some examples from all 3rd grade classes:

5th Grade -- Ceramic Boxes

Each student designed a box in their sketchbooks.  Students then rolled out slabs to create sides for their box.  With the use of scoring and slipping, they were able to attached all sides and additional pieces of their design.  Glaze was used to finish these ceramic pieces.
Below are some examples from Mr. Rollo's class:

1st Grade -- #Adinkra Symbols

1st graders learned about adinkra symbols created by the Akan people of Ghana in West Africa. Adinkra symbols are visually symbols that represent concepts or aphorisms. "The symbols have a decorative function but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life, or the environment. There are many different symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs." We watched a few video clips that demonstrated the dye being created, the symbols being created, and the printing of the symbols on fabric.
The first graders then created their own adinkra cloth with the use of yellow, green, red, and black construction paper. They used adinkra sponges to print their symbols and also drew out ones that wanted represented in their cloth. We used red, yellow, green, and black because those are the colors found in the Ghana flag.
Here is an example of one in progress:

 

Here are some more examples of the adinkra process:

5th Grade -- #Ceramic Boxes

The 5th graders are finishing up their ceramic boxes made from terracotta clay.  Each student designed a box in their sketchbooks.  Students then rolled out slabs to create sides for their box.  With the use of scoring and slipping, they were able to attached all sides and additional pieces of their design.  Glaze was used to finish these ceramic pieces.
Below are examples from Ms. Germanier's class:

5th Grade -- #Tessellations

5th grade students learned about M.C. Escher and his tessellation work. We started our project by creating an equilateral triangle. Side one and side two of the triangle used the same design, so that both sides could fit into each other. Side three was divided into halves, so that it could fit into itself. Once the students had a final shape that could tessellate, they imagined what it looked like. Their design was incorporated into every shape that was traced out. The students finished the artwork by coloring in their shapes with markers.  Here are some examples from Ms. Germanier's class:

4th Grade -- Color Scheme Paintings

Recently the 4th grade students have learned about the following color schemes:

• Analogous
• Complementary
• Warm/Cool
• Monochromatic

We began this project by choosing an animal to draw realistically.  We discussed how cropping the animal will allow us to draw it out bigger.  Each student then chose a color scheme to apply to their drawing.

4th Grade -- Clay House Fronts

For this project we examined architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright and Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  Frank Lloyd Wright used geometric shapes and organic colors in his architecture, while Hundertwasser used many bold colors, curvy lines, and organic shapes.  Both architects loved to incorporate the surrounding environment with their architecture.  Our 4th grade students sketched out a design for their own house.  Some students were inspired by TV shows, by famous architects, or even their own home in Oak Park.  The students rolled out slabs of clay, trimmed out the shape of their house, and then began designing it.  They scored and slipped whenever they attached additional pieces.  They used modeling tools to carve in designs as well.  Once the pieces were bisque fired, the students then used glaze to finish their houses.

5th Grade -- Papier-Mâché Bowls

The 5th graders created papier-mâché bowls with their classroom teachers.  Mr. Zander's class was in charge of painting the bowls with acrylic paints during their art class.  The bowls will be raffled off to 5th grade students in the near future.
 

 

3rd Grade -- Op Art Hands

This week, the 3rd graders have been working on an Op art project involving lines and their hands.  We discussed a variety of optical illusions and how they can trick the brain and eyes.  From there we focused on one style of illusion, making 2D objects into 3D objects.  We traced out hands onto white drawing paper and then choose 2-5 markers to create a color pattern.  We began drawing out horizontal lines from left to right.  Once we came to our fingers, back of hand, and arm, we used a curved line to show it in a three-dimensional way.  The students then erased their pencil from the beginning.  The end result is a hand/arm looking like it pops out from the horizontal lines.

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1st Grade Owls

Our first grade students started this project by using a pillow box template. They traced that template onto a colored piece of construction paper. From there, they painted a blank sheet a paper, with values that matched the construction paper color. We discussed the meaning up tints and shades, and also demonstrated different ways we could make texture in our paintings. Once the paintings were dry, the students used spools to trace circles onto their painting. The students cut those circles out and used them as the owl feathers. The students created other key features that the owl would need (wings, beak, feet) and assembled them with glue. Come check out the owls in person. They are located in the glass display case in the lobby.

5th Grade Notan Designs

Notan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark as they are placed next to the other in art and imagery. We viewed many examples of artists who have created Notan designs. After discussing the process to create the notan design, the 5th grade students drew a design in their sketchbooks. From there they choose a colored square, cut out all of their designs, and created the positive and negative placements.

4th Grade One Point Perspective

Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface (such as paper), of an image as it is seen by the eye. The two most characteristic features of perspective are that objects are drawn:
* Smaller as their distance from the observer increases
* Foreshortened: the size of an object's dimensions along the line of sight are relatively shorter than dimensions across the line of sight

After the 4th grade students learned about perspective, and more specifically one point perspective, we began drawing on 12 x 18 paper. The students made a dot to represent the vanishing point. Streets, sidewalks, buildings, cars, etc all lined up according to where their vanishing point was. This allowed the city view to start out bigger and become smaller and you look further down the street. Students had many creative ideas to develop their buildings.

3rd Grade Paper Mosaics

A mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral. Small pieces, normally roughly quadratic, of stone or glass of different colors are used to create a pattern or picture. As a class we looked observed a PowerPoint with many ancient mosaic examples. From there, we looked at more modern examples such as space invaders created by street artist "Invader". The students planned an image in their sketchbooks at first, then followed out their plan by creating a paper mosaic. Most created small square tiles with the use of a pencil and ruler. The paper tiles were attached with white glue.

2nd Grade Matisse Unit Part II

For our second project based on Matisse, our students focused more on Matisse's "Beasts of the Sea." We started out by choosing a colored piece of construction paper, which was the split in half. The students then created many geometric and organic shapes to collage onto their background pieces. We discussed overlapping, contrast, curvy lines, straight lines, and movement as well. Once their two background pieces were completed, we attached them to a bigger sheet of paper to create a border for their artwork.

2nd Grade -- Día de los Muertos Sugar Skulls

"Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased."

Today, Ms. Smith's and Ms. Mariani's classes learned about Day of the Dead.  We took a closer look at the sugar skulls used in the celebration.  As we examined the skulls, we noticed that they all had similar characteristics.  The skulls used many organic and geometric shapes, floral designs, symmetry, lines, and color.  After looking at many examples, the students began drawing out their own sugar skull with the use of oil pastels.  They choose what shapes to create, what colors to use, and whether or not to have their skull symmetrical or asymmetrical.  Students were encouraged to fill in their color so it was nice and bold. 
Here are some photos from today's classes:

5th Grade Color Wheels

5th graders learned about color theory in this project. We learned exactly how to make the twelve colors on the color wheel. We reviewed how to make different values of each color as well. The students designed a color wheel with a radial design in their sketchbooks. We used a pie tin to trace a circle onto a piece of white paper. We used 90 degree angles to find the center of the circle. From there, we used protractors to measure out 30 degree angles to form twelve equal sections. The students then drew their radial design onto their circle. In their design, the students were to have designated areas that included the hue, tint, tone, and shade. Students received red, yellow, blue, white, and black paint to create all of their hues and values for this project. Once the color wheels were completely painted, the students went back with a permanent marker to tighten up any loose edges, and also to show their radial design more clearly.

2nd Grade Number Paintings

Jasper Johns, Charles Demuth, and Robert Indiana are just a few well known artists that have created number paintings in their careers. Our 2nd graders learned about those three artists and observed their number paintings. From there, we choose a number 0-9 that was meaningful to us (ie: birthday, age, siblings, favorite, etc). The students drew out their number and created designs around it. We also discussed how warm colors advance and cool colors recede. From there the students used many different colors of tempera paint to carry out their design. Once the paintings were complete, we touched up our edges and redrew our designs with permanent marker.

Here is artwork from the entire 2nd grade!  7 was definitely the most popular number!

Here is a closer view at ten of the paintings:

4th Grade Vasarely Spheres

Victor Vasarely was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen as aligned with Op-art. After viewing some of Vasarely's work, as well as other optical illusions, the students drew out a circle and a grid onto a piece of 12 x 18 white drawing paper. The vertical and horizontal lines that cross through the circle were curved to give the illusion that the circle is actually three dimensional. The students then chose 1-2 marker colors to create a pattern. Once the pattern was completed, the students used vine charcoal around the sphere to create a shadow, as if the sphere was floating above the checkerboard grid.

Kindergarten Wild Things

We started this project by reading "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.  From there, we analyzed the lines, shapes, patterns, colors, and size of the wild things.  We discussed how facial features could determine our wild thing's emotion.  The students then used pencil to draw out their wild thing on 18 x 24" drawing paper.  We went over our pencil lines with oil pastels.  Next, the students used tempera paint to paint their wild things.  We finished our projects by touching up our oil pastels.  The wild things were cut out and glued to a colored background.

Kindergarten Line Designs

We began class by learning about three very important lines: vertical, diagonal, and horizontal.  While those three are very important, we know that there are many more lines that can be created.  From there, the students and I began brainstorming different, creative lines that we could come up with.  We discussed wavy, zig-zag, dotted, patterned, thick, thin, etc!  The students then drew out numerous different lines on a sheet of 12 x 18" manila paper.  Every time the students started a new line, they changed the color of their marker.  The end result gave us a unique piece of artwork created entirely by lines
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