Second Grade Van Gogh & Kindergarten Pumpkins

We sure did have fun learning about the artist Vincent Van Gogh, his sunflower paintings, and the still life genre of art. When the students came into the room, they knew something great was about to happen because all of the tables and stools were moves out of the way. In the middle of the open floor was a vase with sunflowers in it.  The students sat around the still life and drew using observation. We also talked about using the space on our page and how to make our vases look as though they are sitting on a table rather than floating. The next class we discussed the brushstrokes that are characteristic of Van Gogh's paintings.  The students went to work painting their still life and exploring different ways to create brushstrokes in their own artwork.  Look at these beauties!

 

The next few images are some of the Kindergartener's latest masterpieces.  In this lesson, we linked what they were learning about pumpkins in their classrooms to art knowledge.  Students learned about primary and secondary colors and experimented with mixing their primaries to create secondary colors orange and green.  Later, we reached back to our knowledge of collage from their self-portrait unit and created pumpkin collages using the orange and green paper they created.  We also talked about facial expressions showing emotions and they worked hard to show an emotion through the shapes of their eyes and mouths.  These really look great!  I am so impressed with our Kinder's and their cutting and gluing skills!

Fifth Grade Double Self-Portraits and Third Grade Cityscapes!

Fifth grade just completed their mixed media self-portrait unit inspired by the artist Chuck Close!  We call these double self-portraits because they drew themselves and created value using their finger prints and black ink!  They learned about the artist Chuck Close and his various art processes for creating realistic portraits and then incorporated them into their artwork.  This unit taught so many skills and art vocabulary such as drawing correct facial proportions, color value, using a ruler, painting pattern, contrast, and oil pastel techniques.  The students and I really enjoyed this art smart jam packed unit!  Take a look at these beauties!

 

Here are some that are hanging in the main hallway at school! :)

Next up! Third grade learns about the big ol' city!  First we discussed the different characteristics between a cityscape and a landscape.  Then we explored America's top 10 cityscapes to get an idea of what cityscapes look like around our country.  This was a great geography lesson as well because students had to name what state each city was in.  They did a fabulous job!  Then it came time to create their own cityscape.  Students drew their cityscape on a foam printing plate and then cut along the top edge.  For the background, students learned about cool and warm colors and the horizon line.  We define the horizon line as the line where the sky meets the land.  After the students drew their horizon line, they used cool and warm color schemes to paint above and below the horizon line using watercolors.  Next, we learned about the art process of printmaking, inked our cityscape printing plate, and printed the first print above the horizon line and a ghost print on the bottom of the horizon line.  A ghost print is when you re-print the plate without re-inking it so that it has a faded look.  These two prints represent the cityscape above the horizon line and the reflection of the city in the water below the horizon line.  These turned out so beautiful!  You can see some of them below and in the front office when you visit school!