Monet and The Impressionists + Wayne Thiebaud and his ice cream cones

Kinder is working on their collage skills.  A ripped paper collage is creating their ice cream cones.
Why a ripped paper collage - definitely helps in building their fine motor strength!
This can never be overlooked - our quality of life changes dramatically when we are able to have better control in our hands and the strength to do even life's simple requests - like ripping paper.
How it's made : Ice Cream

I have also realized Wayne is very influential in our classroom... is it our love of desserts?

Monet and the Impressionists......

lighter brush strokes, brighter colors, less attention to detail, and inspired by landscapes and the life around them....

The work gives you the impression of the subject they are painting.....  so let us get inspired by the Impressionists!

More specifically - Monet!

Video- Getting to know the worlds greatest artists : Monet

Jim Dine's Hearts...

I love clay - WE love clay... and at this point in the year we need to do some scrap clay clean up...

The hearts come in perfectly with this kind of task- 

Coil building and construction of our very own Jim Dine inspired clay hearts....

The Polar Unit

1st grade is currently working in their polar unit, learning about the climate and the arctic regions... Art is jumping on board the polar express and students will be making penguins!  Learning about some of the different type of penguins and creating them out of clay!  They will also be doing a short weaving unit with the foundation of a paper penguin... weaving with cool colors for the belly!
Fast Facts
Happy Feet

Backgrounds and Foregrounds

Grade 5

Complimentary Colors - Contrasting Colors

Printing - Ink + Breyer + texture

Contour Line - a simple outline of an image without the details

We will practice with the light boxes....

Hello Andy, Wayne, Amedeo, and Dale...

Andy Warhol that is.

5th grade is going to be working on portraits...
Proportions are always a focus in portrait drawings and the idea that we have this crazy 'golden ratio' for facial feature proportions is just- WHOA!

so we keep it simple... sketching and understanding and working by repeating our behaviors and learning how to take what we see and turn it into lines.

We started by getting to know Andy Warhol.... Dvd, which was pretty good.

Then we set to sketching.... our goal is going to be able to develop a print-like textured background, yet compliment that with a portrait that has been painted onto transparencies...
Lets see how this turns out!

Wayne Thiebaud.

4th grade Cake containers of greatness!  The basic slab-coil method using clay to create a 'slice of cake' that is then designed by the artist-in-training with whatever kind of extras they would like.
Video 1
Powerpoint on Slideshare

Amedeo Modigliani

3rd grade is inspired by a bit of abstract portraiture.  After understanding true proportions of the head, we will move into a distorted image of themselves.

Dale Chihuly

2nd grade is going BIG with their Dale Chihuly project this year.  We will be working with molded pieces, plastic bottles, and stringing them together for an entire Grade 2 Installation.
Video 1
Video 2

Lots of the WORK we have been doing...

... but definitely not ALL of it!
First Grade + Wayne Thiebaud's Cupcakes + Winter

 Second Grade + Keith Haring + Bees + Polar Bears/Values

Third Grade Symmetry and Radial Design Printmaking Work

 Fourth Grade Paper Mache Letter Sculptures

 Fifth Grade Mondrian Relief Sculptures + Dragons + Abstract Analogous Wire Sculptures

 And Finally
KINDERGARTEN Sculptures of balance, movement, and color + The King of the Jungle

Tis the Season for SNOW.

3  Charlie Harper Birds....  the man is amazing.  His birds are absolutely beautiful.  So we will be creating our winter scene with a neutral color scheme and adding in some cardinals.  The red is an excellent POP of color.

2      Polar Bears WITH Personality!  Simple outline, some oil pastels, and a bit of flavor... but it will be the additional details that make these bears really stand out!

1      Olafs.... some simple examples.  A variety pack....  OF COURSE... some twisting, some color, some personality... maybe a warm hug!

K    Winter Owls.  Focused on winter branches and textured owls.  With a video read.