Jazz, 2nd and 3rd grade

 My 2nd and 3rd graders have recently been learning about how to show motion in art.  This lesson focused on jazz music.  Students listened to music, and then created a piece of art to show the movement of the music.

2nd graders created their Jazz artwork out of cut paper.

3rd graders created a painting.  

Both grades did a great job on this assignment!

School Weaving

My school has been working on a recycling theme this year.  For the last few months, students have been learning about being Green and doing cross-curricular assignments based on this theme.   To tie into this, I had my art students collect scraps of fabric.  Most of the fabric came from old clothes, blankets, or sheets.  We then weaved it through chicken wire.  Here are the results.  

 In order to involve all students, I had each student weave one strip of fabric.  The idea is to have the entire school involved in the weaving.  The weaving will be displayed in the school when it is finished.

Ceramics Club

This year I decided to start a ceramics club after school.  Every Thursday I have ten 4th and 5th graders meet in the art room to learn ceramics.  Here are a few pictures of what we have been creating so far.

 The students have really been enjoying this club, and I have really like having time to build the student's ceramics skills.

The Dot, 5th Grade

During the first week of school, I read my students The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  After this, they created dots of their own with construction paper and pastels.  I love the results, and it was a great way to way to begin the school year.

Dream Home Paintings, 5th Grade

This was a fun lesson that had wonderful results. Students drew their dream home for this lesson.  To begin, I gave my students pictures of a variety of houses to use as references.  I then showed students how houses can be drawn using simple lines and shapes.  Students drew their houses with black sharpie markers, and painted with liquid watercolors.  

I think these turned out wonderful!  and I love how each one is unique.  

School Play

We are still in full swing at school.  School doesn't end until June 20th this year.  However, we do have the school play coming up next week. The students will be performing Suddenly Cinderella.  I have been working hard on the scenery, and today I finally finished it.

 I am looking forward to seeing the students perform next week!

Art Fundraisers- Advice Please

This post is for all the art teachers who have had experience with fundraisers.

 I have tried several fundraisers, but I have yet to commit to one company.  One year I did an art show through Artome.  This is a company that frames the students' artwork and sets up an artshow.  This made for a great event for the school, but all the artwork had to be done on 9x12 paper, which is smaller than I usually work.  My other complaint was, while the artwork looked beautiful on display, it made the art show all about making money instead of just appreciating the art on display.  Some students also felt bad if their parent couldn't afford to buy the frame.  

This year I tried something different.  I did Art to Remember.  This company takes student artwork and prints them on items such as mugs, shirt, and notebooks, which are sold to the parents upon ordering.  This was an easy fundraiser, but once again I had to work on a specific size paper, 8x10, which is a lot smaller than we usually work.  Also they did not want artwork made of chalk or pastels, which are my go to supplies for small artwork.  On the upside, we made a lot of money

I am considering changing my art fundraiser again next year.  I don't like planning lessons to fit a specific size paper, and I would like to be able to use artwork from the entire year.  I am considering using Artsonia.  This program allows you to take pictures of any project created throughout the school year, and post it on an online gallery. It even allows for sculptures! Then parents can view their student's portfolio and order products online. The downfall is that the responsibility of taking pictures and downloading on the website would fall entirely on me.  With 740 students, Will this be too difficult?  

Who out there has had experience with fundraisers?  Which ones did you like? and Which ones were too time consuming?  I would love to hear opinions.  

Clay Faces, 5th Grade

 I love teaching ceramics, but it is difficult to do when you teach short 30 minute art lessons.  This year, I think I finally came up with a ceramics lesson that could be taught in that amount of time.  It also allowed for a variety of results and encouraged student creativity, which is also sometimes difficult when teaching clay lessons in a short amount of time.

  Students used simple handbuilding techniques to create these. They first created a slab of clay.  Then,  students added details by using the score and slip method.  Once fired in the kiln, students glazed their creations.

Clay Cupcakes, 4th Grade

 My students always love this art lesson.  This lesson uses the basic pinch pot method to create a cupcake.  The bottom is made in a silicone cupcake liner to create the ridges in the bottom of the cupcake.

I think these are beautiful, and my students are proud of them.

Holiday Cakes, 5th Grade

                                            

These cake drawing were created by my fifth grade students.  This lesson was inspired by the artist Wayne Thiebaud.  To begin, I asked students to pretend they were cake decorators, and it was their job to create a cake for a holiday or celebration.  Students then had to draw the cake that they were designing.  

 Cakes were drawn with pencil and then outlined with marker.  After this, students used oil pastels to color.  Lastly, students used baby oil and a Q-tip to blend colors together.

 Overall, I think these turned out wonderful!

Art Show

 This week the county is sponsoring an art show.  Every school in the county had two panels to hang artwork on, and it is displayed at a local mall.  Here are a few pictures from my school's art display.

Black History Month Art, 3rd Grade

 The public library contacted me a few months ago, and asked me to have my students create artwork for black history month.  This is what they created, and now it is on display at the library.

 I found the idea for this lesson at http://learn.michenerartmuseum.org/2011/02/an-over-and-above-lesson-for-students/.  I adapted the original lesson to fit a younger audience, and to fit the black history theme.

Students began by painting a self portrait on the top portion of their paper.  Students then had to choose a famous quote from an African American to display on the bottom of their paper. Overall, I  think these turned out wonderful!

Animal Silhouettes, 5th Grade

This was a wonderful lesson to help students understand the concept of mixing tints.  Students began painting the background by mixing one color with white. The idea was to get subtle changes in the color by adding more or less white.

 After the background was created, students chose an animal to paint on top.  I allowed students to choose any animal they wished.

I found the idea for this lesson on TeachAndShoot.com.  Overall, I think the results were great!