'Tis the Season!

 

Working with children (especially during this time of year) is so much fun! Their excitement is super contagious and I just can't help but join in on the joy of the holidays coming up. I hope you all have a fabulous Winter Break, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

 

Here is a little update on our little artists!

 

Kindergarten went from the past drawing animals on their "cave" walls to the present painting farm animals on their paper! Can you guess the different animals these artists have chosen to illustrate?

 

 

This week, we talked about patterns and textures we could find on our farm animals. We also looked at Picasso's Rooster and Andy Warhol's Zebra to see how they used pattern and texture but had a lot of fun with their color choice. Students tried their best creating the textures and patterns found on their farm animal but had so much fun using expressive colors!

 

 

PINK HORSES AND BLUE AND PINK PIGS... OH MY!

 

 

 

Third graders are still working hard on their Greek vessels. We looked at Red Figure and Black Figure Greek pottery examples. Students painted their vessels red-orange in preparation for their black designs and myth illustrations after break!

 

 

 

 

 

Fifth graders had so much fun finishing their figure unit with these elongated figure gesture sculptures inspired by the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti!

 

 

 

With two grades making paper mache sculptures and all the other grades painting... combined with the excitement of break and the holidays right around the corner... it sure has been a long past couple of weeks! I think it is safe to say we all deserve to sharpen our saw with some time off!

 

SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Beaverdam Cave Kids!

*WARNING* This post is full of adorable BES cave kid photos... prepare yourself for the cuteness!

Last week in Kindergarten art... we did something WILD! We went on an imagination field trip into the Lascaux caves in Southwestern France where we found cave paintings that are over 17,000 years old! Everywhere we looked we spotted animals like deer, horses, bulls and even birds! We talked about why people that far in the past had to use cave walls to make art on instead of paper. We also talked about where their art materials came from and determined that they had to come from natural things like berries and mud. Next, we pretended that we went into a time machine and went all the way back to over 17,000 years ago. We went into our cave room and began making art exactly how people during that time had to! We used our materials from "nature" (aka a plant in the middle of the cave with chalk pastels all around it) and began drawing on our rough cave walls. We talked about the animals that were painted in Lascaux caves and the fact that the artists painted those animals because they were animals that they interacted with or hunted every day. They were animals in their environment. Students had to think of animals in their own environment to draw on our cave wall. Since we live in the country, we had lots of animals like cows, horses, and deer. But we also had kitty cats, dogs and even some butterflies in there as well! Take a look at our magnificent cave art!

We had SO much fun using our bright imaginations! I get so into stuff like this that sometimes I don't know who is more excited, the students or me!?

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing our awesome cave kids creating their awesome cave art!!

I am THANKFUL!

I want to begin this post in honor of Thanksgiving 2014 by just stating how THANKFUL I am to work with our students each and every day in the BES art room! I have the best job in the whole world teaching art right here in our great school with amazing students and the support of fantastic co-workers and families.

Now, here is an update on what we are working on in the BES Art Room... a glimpse into the life I am so thankful for!

Fourth graders are still pretending they are Virginia Colonists! Take a look at the weavings they are getting done... pretty beautiful!!

 

 

Fifth graders are moving on to the sculpture part on their figure unit. They have practiced drawing the human figure in proportion, with movement, and now using the elongated sculptures of Alberto Giacometti as inspiration for their gestured sculptures. Here are a few students working on their armatures... ask your fifth grader what the importance of an armature is when creating a sculpture. 

 

 

 

Third graders just finished their pumpkin patch landscapes! The big objective for this unit was for students to create the illusion of depth on their 2D paper surface. Ask your third grader what is one way they could create the illusion of depth in a 2D artwork and have them show you their techniques! I love how painterly and expressive these paintings are!

 

 

Color, laughter, and the creative thoughts of a child are what I get to be around and experience everyday. What's not to be THANKFUL for? :)

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!