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!



 

Modern Day Virginia Colonists!

Fourth grade artists are pretending they are Virginia colonists and working together as a community just as the colonists once had to do! Fourth graders painted white drawing paper using and analogous color scheme, see if your fourth grader can teach you about analogous colors! I warned them not to get too attached to their paintings because they were creating them in preparation to share with other fourth graders for a weaving project. Students looked at images illustrating the process of making fabric during colonial times. They learned that each member of the community had a hand in the process from sheering the sheep, to spinning the wool into thread and weaving it into bats of fabric. Once their paintings were dry, I put them into the paper shredder and turned them into long skinny strips of paper for the students to weave. Take a look at them getting started!!

 

 

And a side note:

 

Take a look at one of our BES artists who went to  the Randolph-Macon College Open House to see their artwork hanging on display in the Education Department there! As art teachers around the county, we submit student work to be selected for art shows within our community. Adam's bird illustration was chosen for this show and I love that his parents took him to see his work for this event. It is so important to encourage your child's artistic endeavors... just look at how proud Adam is! Thank you to the Lily's for sharing the awesome images and giving me permission to share on the blog!

 

 

BES is Under the Sea!

Second graders have been learning about the artist Alexander Calder and his marvelous mobile sculptures he is famous for. Students explored sculpture as an art genre and used the principals of movement, balance, and pattern to create their beautiful fish mobile creations! Take a look at our sculptors in action and some of the fish that are swimming in the main hallway here at BES!

 

 

 

Happy Halloween!!

So it isn't Monday... it is Friday! I am a few days late with our blog post this week so I apologize. I hope you enjoy all of the fun stuff I am sharing today because our little artists have been very busy in the art room!

Third graders are done with their beautiful radial color wheel designs and moving on to painting landscapes. This week we looked at landscape examples and identified the line created from where the ground meets the sky. Students learned that this line is called the horizon line! On your next car ride, see if they can find the horizon line by looking out the window! Take a look at the landscapes they have started. Students were blending paint colors using what they learned from their color wheel unit!

 

 

 

Fourth Grade just finished their sugar skull designs! Students learned about the Mexican cultural holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which is a celebration meant for remembering loved ones who have passed. This holiday is celebrated from October 31st to November 2nd which correlates with one of our own holidays, Halloween! Students looked at the sugar skull folk art associated with the Day of the Dead holiday and created their own symmetrical sugar skull designs using shapes and patterns. They then learned about the relief printmaking method and transferred their designs onto their Styrofoam printing plates and made and edition of 3 prints! Look at them in action! Their prints are beautiful!

Inking their plate

 

Burnishing their paper onto their plate

 

Pulling their print!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fifth grade finally completed their monochromatic landscapes showing atmospheric perspective! Take a look at these beauties! They are on display in our front office :)

 

 

 

Kindergarteners just finished their color and line study! They learned the rainbow color order pattern and painted their papers. Next they explored lines and drew them on the back of their paintings. Finally, they used their scissor techniques to cut on the lines and glue their "puzzle" pieces to a black background to make their lines POP! They are so beautiful!

 

 



 

First graders finished their memory quilts inspired by the artist Faith Ringgold! Take a look!

 

 

 

Next, students learned about the artist Piet Mondrain (ask them if they can remember how to say his name!) and explored color, line, and shape! We looked at Mondrian's artwork and explored the types of lines, colors and shapes he used in his work. Students created rectangles and squares by gluing down thick and thin black lines either horizontally or vertically. Ask them if they can tell you the difference between the two! Finally, students learned about the three primary colors and applied them to their artwork!

 

 





Second grade artists finished their lovely still life artwork! Look at these beauties! I am pretty in love with them :)

 

 

 



 As you can see, we have such a wonderful time in the BES art room! There is so much to learn and create and I love seeing our artists in action. I hope you do too! So keep checking out our art room blog to see all of the wonderful art education going on in our amazing little school :)

 

Have a WONDERFUL and SAFE Halloween weekend!!

 



 

 

Third Graders Get Colorful With Color Theory!

Third grade has been learning about COLOR THEORY and a very important artist tool... the color wheel! They first began by creating their radial designs and then explored the importance of the order of colors on the color wheel and their relationships.

The first family of colors we explored (and the most important) was the PRIMARY color family. Ask your third grader why primary colors are so important! Next, we focused on SECONDARY colors and experimented with mixing two primary colors together to see what secondary color would be created. As a class, we looked at where the secondary colors were located in relation to the primary colors on the color wheel. Finally, we began talking about those crazy INTERMEDIATE colors and learned how to mix our primary and secondary colors to create these special hues. Ask your third grader if they can name some intermediate colors for you! Take a look at these beautiful radial rainbows being created!

 

I am so excited to see these complete and brightening up our BES Main Hall Art Gallery!

But First... Let Me Make A Selfie!

That's what kindergarteners said when they first came to the art room ;) So we did make a selfie! I LOVE doing this unit with kindergarteners as soon as they come to art because of many reasons. Developmentally, it is all about them at this time of their life and so they are already inspired and take this art making challenge very personally. I also get a better understanding of their skill level and how I can differentiate for future lessons based off of what I see from this first art making experience in the art room. And lastly, I know if I was a parent I would cherish this first artwork especially if it was a self-portrait and save it for years and years to come!!

So please, cherish this first self-portrait of their K-12 school experience. If you can, provide materials for them to create with at home as well. I am so excited to see how our youngest artists grow over the year through their artwork!

Take a look at some of the kindergarten self-portraits that are being hung in our school gallery!