And we are BACK!

... For now?  With all of this time missed with snow days, our art resource schedule is WACKY to say the least.  And just as I start to get them all back on track... a new storm is brewing!  At least I had one whole week to introduce some new units and get our artists starting on some new materpieces!

Take a look at the artwork in the main hallway from our last unit.  The big idea was CULTURE!  Can you tell?  Talk to your students about culture and see what they can teach you about the importance of art in every culture!

Now we have all (started) to move on to our new big idea which is ENVIRONMENT!  We are looking at all of the different ways that artists are inspired from their environment.  The projects are ranging from still lifes to landscapes to portraits and even recycled art!  Take a look at some students getting started. I could tell they sure have missed the art room... and I have sure missed them as well!

And since February is Black History Month, I saved a bulletin board to display some of the work of a few famous African American Artists that have inspired some of my work and some of  the lessons I teach our little artists.

Come back soon to see how we are progressing in our Environment unit and 

STAY WARM FOLKS!!

Happy Snowcation!

Well it has been quite the week with the unexpected snow and the whole week off of school!  I know the kids may be getting restless and possibly some of the parents as well :)

I wanted to share with you a fun activity that takes place at the VMFA on select Friday nights. The nights are called Friday Family Art Nights and the next one that is coming up is NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT!  This looks like an excellent family outing and I encourage you all to take a look at these opportunities. Please let me know if you attend and share your thoughts and experiences with me!

Here is the link to the Friday Family Art Nights for you to check out!  Let me know if you have any questions that I can help you to answer! Enjoy!!

Happy New Year!!

Justin Bieber came to the art room to welcome everyone inside as we start this new and exciting year!

Today is our first day back from a very nice and long winter break!  For me, it was almost too good which made it hard to wake up on this chilly morning, get ready, and head to the CSES art room!  It only took a moment, however, to get into the hang of things when my first class came in all bright eyed and ready to finish up their artwork from last year! ;)

Most grade levels are bringing in their work from our Culture unit into this new year.  With all of the performances, two-hour delays, field trips, etc. this time of year projects feel like they take forever to complete.  But as long as the students are engaged and happy to complete them, so am I!

Here are some images of what we have been working on in the art room the past month or so!

Kindergarten: Students painted their pinch pots and made wrapping paper using images and patterns to wrap their pinch pots up to give to someone as a special gift.  Hopefully they made their way home to you and you opened up this special gift over break!! :)

First Grade:  Students finshed their American culture inspired artwork right before winter break.  Here, we focused on the artist Peter Max and his paintings of the American flag and Statue of Liberty.  Students learned about other American symbols as well such as the Bald Eagle and the Liberty Bell and they chose which symbol they wanted to incorporate into their paintings.

Now that we are back, we will learn about a Japanese art called Gyotaku (fish prints!).  Come back to see images of this fun artmaking adventure!

Second Grade: Students have been learning about architecture around the world and using some of the specific structures such as columns, domes, castles, etc. as inspiration for their own architectural creations. Students have been busy creating clay collages and also paper collages of their designs to ink and turn into collagraph prints.

Thirs Grade:  Students have been learning about Folk Art and looking at the textile Mola Folk Art of Panama. Students have been working so creatively on their bright patterned drawings/collages in the style of this beautiful textile art. But we still have a couple of classes to go to finish them!  They are looking great!!

Fourth Grade:  Getting MESSY with paper mache!  Students are learning about Folk Art and the cool Oaxacan woodcarvings from Oaxaca, Mexico.  Instead of wood carving sculptures, students are making paper mache sculptures of animals of their choosing.  After we are done with paper mache, students will look to these fantastical woodcarvings for isnpiration when they go to create their surface designs.

Fifth Grade:  Students are learning about a Folk Art from Mexico called Amate Bark Paintings.  Using the visual characteristics of this unique art, students are creating beautiful paintings on brown craft paper of animals in their habitats.  We have everything from desert animals to ocean animals in these paintings!

                                     

Kindergarten- All sorts of artists!

At CSES, we are currently making art around the big idea of Culture.  Kindergarten is learning that people make art in all cultures around the world.  These people are called different things depending on what type of art they create.  The first class, students worked as potters and learned that potters create art out of clay. They worked hard exploring clay and creaing their pinch pots.  Of course they all LOVED being a potter because who doesn't love clay!? :)

This week, students worked as sculptors creating paper line sculptures.  We talked about the difference between 2-D (flat) and 3-D (popping out) and how we could create 3-D lines.  Students had so much fun making these line sculptures because they sparked their imagination!  We had many invisioning a skate park. amusement park, or playgound in their creations.  These sculptures were so vibrant and beautiful that I decided to display them all together in the hallway around our artist spotlight.  Everyone who visits agrees that these sculptures are eye catching and beautiful!  Come by and check out all of our kindergarten sculptors' colorful sculptures!

Next week, students will explore the Japanese art of Gyotaku (fish rubbing) printing!!  Come back to check out this cool form of art!

Art Centers: Drawing

Each year the Virginia Art Education Association conference pumps me up (even more than I already am) about what I have dedicated my life to.  I love going and taking in all of the great ideas that are shared there between art educators.  There are so many, it takes a while to go through my notes and think about what I want to implement in my own art room.

One thing that really stuck out to me was a session I attended that discussed using art centers in the art room.  The benefits of art centers are that students are self-directed and free to explore art materials and processes.  Today I set up drawing art centers for students.

We had two observational drawing centers.  One was a still life center where students could set up their own still lifes and draw them.  The other was a portraiture center where students could look in a mirror and draw a self-portrait or work with the person across from them and draw them.

The other five centers were using how to draw books of various animals. Each table had books for different animals such as ocean animals, dessert animals, rainforrest animals, insects, dogs, cats, horses, and dinosours. 

The students loved these drawing centers and at the end they were so eager to know when they could work with centers again.  Art centers are definitely something I can implement on weeks in between units and students would love them each time.  I look forward to including more art center days centered around other art media and art processes.

Art Makes You Smart!

It is true!  I came across this NY Times article about a study on the benefits of visiting art museums. With the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts right up the road from us, I think this is a great article to share with our Dolphin parents!!  Next time you are trying to think of a great family outing, think of the VMFA and this article.



Enjoy! :)

The Icky Bug... Beware!

Hello Dolphins!  I am reporting to you from home because I have been out sick for most of this week.  I have heard through the HCPS grapevine that it is something that has been going around.  Some of my art teacher friends at AHS say they have all gotten it recently as well... so BEWARE!!

I wanted to post here because some of you have students who brought home a notice about their artwork being on display at LuLu Creamery and that it would be up by today.  It was my intention to put them all up after school today but being ill has thrown a wrench into those plans.  So here is the update... these students will have their artwork up by Tuesday November 19th as I plan to go put them up after school on Monday.  I hope this does not interrupt any of your plans to go see the work on display.  Please make sure you go to see the new display even if you do not have a child whose artwork is there.  I love being able to show off the talent at CSES not only in our school hallways but also out within the community for all to see.

Thank you for your understanding and may you all have a wonderful, safe, and HEALTHY weekend!