ArtMuse67

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2020-03-18T14:48:00.001-07:00

Below is a link to "Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems"
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems

Below sample pic:

Below Sample Video:

Don't Let the Pigeon Make a Print

2017-09-23T17:36:00.006-07:00

I closed out the 2016-2017 school year with an ode to Mo Willems and his fabulous "Pigeon" series of books. A favorite in our school, just about every child knew both the character and the author. Because of their popularity, I didn't have to work too hard to motivate the kids to make these adorable pigeon prints.

First we read a few of the stories. If I don't have time to scan the book and then edit it onto a PowerPoint for my Smartboard, I'll use my visualizer to read the story. I just like the idea of having the images as large as possible for the kids to see.

After the reading, I did a quick demonstration on how to draw the pigeon, by June, the kids didn't need a guided drawing for this, just a demo was sufficient. After they drew their picture on paper I did a follow-up demo that showed them how to trace over their drawing with a pencil using hard pressure onto a Styrofoam printing "plate" and then had them re-trace the indentations on the plate in ballpoint blue pen, creating thick lines.

Day 2 consisted of printing. Always a whirlwind, I have a love/hate relationship with printing day. Even the most even-tempered classes get a little bonkers during the cleanup part of the activity. Between putting prints in the drying rack, putting the brayers in the sink, disposing of the inked up magazine pages and newspaper AND hand-washing....and you know their hands are a MESS after making 2-3 prints, it's a whirlwind of organized chaos (I use organized loosely here). I have forty-minute periods and I truly don't know how an art teacher can do it in less than that.

On day 3 the students colored their prints, I had them use white ink on black paper with construction paper crayons on top, a technique I've used before on a Dr Seuss inspired printing project Because the prints were only 6x9" and didn't take very long to color. I had them add a decorative frame.

The process of printmaking is just as impressive as the end results and so when hanging these I included the plate, the not-so-good print, and the finished artwork. It's important for everyone to see just how much work goes into making a finished print! (If only they knew how much work goes into it for us too!)

Beautiful Butterflies in Kindergarten

2017-09-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

The other art teacher in our school finished out the end of last year with these beauties. They're big too, 18x24". I LOVE working big with kids...it gets them out of their comfort zone and makes the art seem so much more substantial, especially with the little ones like the kinders and first graders. The other art teacher shares my sentiment and the butterflies themselves were painted on 18x24" white paper and then cut and mounted on a colored background.

The white paper was first folded in half and the students drew half their butterfly in pencil first. I taught a day or two of this lesson and when I had the kids do it I told them "no erasers, just draw and re-draw as needed". In my opinion, WAY too much time is wasted on kids compulsively erasing their "mistakes" waiting and trying to make their work "perfect". Although, I will say that if your going to teach your students to work without erasers, that you should really discuss and model it, it helps exponentially when you can coach them through it and explicitly teach why they don't really need to erase at all.

After they drew half their butterflies they used black tempera and a medium-sized wide brush to paint over the half they drew, periodically folding and printing the wet paint onto the other side of the paper to create a symmetrical images. Lines that were faded or didn't quite touch were simply painted over.

The drawing and painting was day 1. Day 2 and 3 consisted of painting the inside of the butterflies with colored paints. Most kids, by June, have no problem matching the sides up pretty consistently. It's AMAZING how much the little kindaroos grow and develop in one year. Kindergarten teachers really do make magic happen.

Day 4 was cutting and gluing the butterflies onto a backing and then adding different embellishments like stickers, gems, and metallic confetti pieces. Some of the children were completely dedicated to keeping their designs symmetrical, even with the embellishments, and some just glue the sparkly stones on willy-nilly, either way the results are adorable. If I ever teach kindergarten again, this is a lesson I would totally "borrow".

How do You Doodle?

2017-09-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

Thanks to our schools AH-MAZE-ING psychologist, I was introduced to the book "How do you Doodle?" by Elise Gravel.

This book completely coincides with my search for ways to make my classroom more mindful. Part of what I am trying to accomplish is providing opportunities for students who struggle behaviorally to express themselves and be reflective about their actions. I'm going to place a few photocopied pages from this book in my "focus and fix kit" for students who need to "take a break".

I think it's a really fabulous book and so I wanted to share. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped from the book.

Enjoy!

Starting the Year with Collaborative Color Wheels

2017-09-09T08:48:00.002-07:00

This is by far the best first project I've ever done. In years past I've began the year with all sorts of things that included:
- Art room scavenger hunts (to help students learn where everything is)
- "Dot" drawings: Give each student a piece of paper with a dot on it and let them create a drawing based off that.
- Design thinking challenge: "Creative Problem Solving in the Art Room"- I made a PowerPoint slide of 3 images; a bicycle wheel, a sneaker and a stool and the students had to work in teams of two to create a drawing of an invention and then present it to the class.
-Found Object Sculpture Challenge: where the kiddo's used pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks and cardboard tubes to create sculptures.
-Straight up rules and routines (super boring!) but yes, I spent my first 2-3 years of teaching spending the whole period on going over and practicing rules.

But for the past 2-3 years I've been starting off the year having the students create a piece or item for a school-wide collaborative art project. Out of all the things I've tried, I like this the best, and this years project is turning out to be one of my favorites.

I got the idea for this from doing a google search of "recycled art+ kids group project", or some variation of that. The image that came up that caught my eye is to the right (if this is your picture, let me know and I'll be sure to give ya some credit!).

This year I teach grades 2-5 and another art teachers does K and 1. I'm having my kids do the color wheel part and later on, once those are done, I'll have the other teacher have her kids collage the black side of the oak tag with colored CD shards. Then, I'll hang them all up to create some type of mobile. At least that's my thinking so far....
I'll keep you posted!

Continuing at the Begining

2017-09-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Whoa, it's been awhile...I almost forgot how much I like blogging! About this time every year I eagerly look forward to catching up on all the great art ed blogs I follow. I really love reading about how all the wonderful, creative art teachers out there setup their classrooms and see all the new tweaks and changes they are making to their rooms and their teaching. It's inspiring (and insightful) when we get to delve into each others practices and learn from others new and different ways to do things. Sometimes something as simple as a saying or signal can give us insight into a more effective way to change our own practices.

For the past 3 weeks I've been listening to the 'Everyday Art Room' podcast from the Art of Ed. The always inspiring Cassie Stephens authors and narrates the podcasts and its REALLY impressive. Very clear, concise, and organized, the first 3 episodes have focused on routines, rules, and consequences and I highly recommend checking it out, even if your a veteran teacher. This is my 10th year teaching and I still found her information relevant and thought-provoking.

Listening to her podcast made me re-think my own practices and, as I do every year, I am trying a few little changes in my setup and approach, forever striving to find what works most successfully for me and my students.

This year I'm all about mindfulness. After having a tough last year, I'm going to try my best to stay organized, positive, and really focus on making my classroom as much of a community as I can.

Good luck to everyone starting soon and to all of you who have already gone back!

Hermit crabbin it up

2016-08-10T16:23:00.001-07:00

And when I mentioned hermit crabbin in my post title, I wasn't referring to my long absence from the blog-o-sphere, although I could see how you could misconstrue...This lil' ditty of a project (and post title), got started like this: Today on probably what was the most humid of all humid days this summer, (and when I say humid, I'm talkin' Florida in July, wallpaper peeling, face meltin' humid!), I decided to go into my un-air conditioned room in my mostly un-air conditioned school and get a jump on my setup. The good news is that I was able to unpack all my supply boxes, hang my signs, label, sort, re-stock, decorate AND tackle one of the three bulletin boards I'm responsible for makin' all pretty-and-such. All that's left is 2 boards and a pesky showcase!

"Hermit Crab Shell Change"

What your looking at on this board is an Eric Carle lesson I've seen around on a few pin boards amd such. It was the final kinder project of last year. It was two sessions of paper painting pandamonium followed by 3 more days of drawing, cutting and collage. I sprinkled in some cute clips of hermit crabs and read the book that inspired the project: "A House for Hermit Crab" (duh!).

My fave part of the whole lesson wasn't the adorable smirking quirky crabs, which I do adore, but was actually watching the look on the kiddos faces when I showed them what hermit crabs look like in real life. Amongst the videos I showed em' after reading the story was of a real hermit crab changing it's shell. if you ever wanna see the most varied facial expressions and reactions form a 5 year olds, show em' this video! I got every look from disgust to fascination, but hey, it kept them alll hooked! And really, can you actually teach this project the right way without showing them the real life star of the story? I think not!

Enjoy, and good luck in the "new" year!

Spring Walkthrough

2016-05-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of my room from my schools yearly "Spring Walkthrough". This is about as close to an art show as I get. I hang a sampling of k-5 artworks that the students have done throughout the year. I posted about the koi pond that I displayed during walkthrough here
Even though I had a wall put up in my room at the end of last year making it a bit smaller (see post here), overall I think it looked great!

The Koi Pond

2016-05-27T18:21:00.001-07:00

At the end of every year my school hosts it's annual "Spring Walkthrough", where teachers line their classroom walls with the work their students have done throughout the year, turning the building into a giant museum. Since our elementary school has a little over 600 students you can imagine the chaos that ensues. This year, one of my favorite displays was my koi display. The first grade art teacher and I hung our work together and showed off her kids 2D koi and my fifth graders koi sculptures. Here are a few pics:

The idea for the clay fish came from a video on youtube by fellow blogger "Adventures in Positive Space". The title of the video is "Koi Fish Sculpture Tutorial"

4th Grade Jellyfish

2016-03-30T18:30:00.004-07:00

I just love these jellies!!!

I taught and posted this lesson 3 years ago and originally found the project from the blog "Create Art with ME". the only main difference this time around was that I made the paper 16x20 instead of 12x18".

Generally speaking, one of my main goals as an art teacher isn't to have my students create artwork that is "pretty". For me, the process is just as, if not more, important than the product. But I'd also be lying if I said it wasn't important that teachers have artwork the want to display in their rooms, that parents want to hang in their homes (besides on the fridge), and that students are proud to show off. Essentially, this boils down to having the conventional "pretty" or better yet, "beautiful" art. This project is one of those...sort of.

It's fairly light on content and doesn't require a lot of higher order thinking, but does teach certain art vital art concepts such as value, tints, shades, opacity and transparency, and also although simple in nature, gives the kids the chance to work with two of the most fun materials in art: paint and chalk pastels.

It's the type of project where everyone ends up happy, and quite frankly, it's good to have a few projects like these in your repertoire, especially now that we're coming up of Spring Open house nights!

Here's how the project went down (each period is 40 minutes)
Day 1-Drawing the background by separating the white paper into about 7 shapes using either wavy , curving, or straight lines and/or concentric circles. The paper can be held horizontal or vertical. After a demonstartion, the kids start painting tints of blue.
Day 2- Demonstrate mixing shades of blue and have the students complete the painting portion of the lesson.
Day 3- Practice day-Demonstrate how to draw jellyfish and color, keeping them semi-transparent, and then have the kids practice drawing and coloring with the chalks.
Day 4-5 Work on the good copy, drawing sand/rock for the bottom of the ocean adding details like coral, seaweed, other types of underwater creatures, and at least 4 jellyfish.

The project could also tie in with something science based as it makes for a great jumping off point to learn about underwater sea life and jellyfish. It sparked a few questions from my students I had to google to find the answer to!

Thiebuad Aerial Landscapes Grade 2 and 3

2016-03-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Most of us know Wayne Thiebaud for his delicious dessert paintings. You'd be hard-pressed to find an art teacher who hasn't, at some point, done some adorable lesson on creating colorful confectionaries. But enough with the aeonomonpea, and onto a different side of Wayne Thiebaud.

I came across these landscapes in an article I found online while researching his work for what else, but a project on cupcakes. I love the idea of teaching children landscapes because of their versatility.

There are so many elements and principles of art and media that you can tie into the subject matter that landscapes have become a pretty regular thing within my art curriculum. However, wHen I saw these, I thought it was a brilliant twist on the traditional landscape because of the aerial perpective Thiebaud used.

Here is the blopost where I first came across the landscapes:

http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2010/11/wayne-thiebaud-landscapes.html

The project I came up with to go along with Wayne Thiebaud's landscapes was a mixed media using glue, chalk pastels and tempera paint. The whole project took about 5-40 minutes periods. I did this lesson on 18 x 20" and 16 x 20" purple and green construction paper with both my second and third graders. My second graders got the smaller purple paper.

For this project I also "flipped" my classroom. The conventional definition of a flipped classroom would be where a teacher would present the contents of the days lesson via a video source at home to the students as part of their "homework", and then that assignment would be reviewed or re-taught back in class as a way to correct or adjust any misunderstandings or clarify any confusion. The idea behind it being that the students would come in with the baselevel understanding of what they were learning for the day and you could have a more in-depth and successful learning experience in the classroom haven't already reviewed the initial information.

In the context of an elementary art room, The traditional idea of a flipped classroom isn't really possible, so in a context that works for me, a flipped classroom would be where I use video demonstrations instead of actual demonstrations to present the content that my students are going to be doing for the period. This modified flipping is amazingly successful and here's why:

A standard demonstration:

1. All the students in the class are squished around one table and most of the time are jockeying for a "choice" spot close to the teacher or materials. (I mean think about the amount of times you've had to say to the students "don't run, walk around the table").

2. Once all the students are around the demonstration area because of the close proximity to one another you get students who were standing together who shouldn't be together and students were instantly distracted by one another. Oh, and then thats usually followed up with talking.

3. The majority of your students are watching the demonstration sideways or upside down.

4. If you forget something that should've been included in the demonstration after you've let the kids go back to their seats from the demo table, whatver you meant to say but forgot to is pretty much a lost cause.

5. Many times you feel like you have to rush through the demo or can't complete a whole step of it while showing it to the children because you're on a strict time frame when you have them all in a situation where there huddled around the demo table under the above four conditions.

6. And before I forget, it's horribly annoying to be interrupted while speaking and/or losing your train of thought because someone's calling out over you while you're trying to teach them something.

A video demonstration:

1. Everyone gets a great view.

2. You don't waste any time transitioning.

3. Being interrupted during the video demo is more frustrating for the students then it is for you. However, when the children are watching a video the amount of interruptions seems to go down exponentially.

4. You don't have to worry about not having the correct materials handy during the demo or forgetting to mention something because a cell phone is incredibly easy to edit videos with.

5.You can patiently and methodically demonstrate all the steps you want the children to see because of the handy time lapse video feature, or simple careful planning and editing of your video before you show it.

Using mostly video demonstrations, here's how the lesson broke down:

On the first day I talked about and showed some images of Thiebaud's landscapes and then had the students fish through a whole bunch of color printouts with both photographs of Ariel landscapes and examples of the artsits aerial landscape paintings. The children chose one that they liked and used it as inspiration to draw the shapes for their own landscape. On day two we learned a little bit more about the life and work of Wayne Thiebaud and then I had the children outline over their pencil with Elmers glue to create a raised surface. On day three I demonstrated how to use chalk pastels and how each shape had to have a minimum of two colors in it and the children went to work. They worked with the chalk for another perod or two after that. Somewhere around day five I video demo out how to add texture by creating designs in paint on top of the chalk pastels. This last stop was something I thought of at the very end of the project after the children had already done all the chalk pastels. I felt like the lesson didn't look "finished "enough and as a last ditch effort to spruce up the project I decided to take a chance and use paint on top of the chalk. I can't tell you how glad I am that I took the chance because the paint texture on top of the chalk is really what makes the lesson come to life.

I think you'll agree that the finished results are pretty fabulous!

Kinder Texture Burgers

2016-03-25T20:13:00.001-07:00

I was looking for a lesson that would introduce texture to my kindergarten students and be simple, open ended, and fun. After looking around awhile I came across a few sites that had projects where imaginary burgers were stuffed with all sorts of uniquely textured and interesting items. The humor and whimsy of the projects really appealed to me, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I used the food sculptures of Clase Oldenberg as inspiration and the kiddos examined some examples and discussed the similarities and differences of the various textures they observed. I always feel like viewing and discussing art with kindergartners is like pulling teeth, but they seemed to get a big kick out of Oldenburg's work. Does anyone else feel like it's unusually hard to get kinders focused, observing and critically thinking about art? Do any of you have any good tips or strategies you use with the little ones for art appreciation? If so, I 'd love you to share em'!

The project took 3-40 minute art periods. Day 1 was viewing the work and discussing texture. I also passed out some objects with texture for the kids to feel to help them understand the concept. Then we spent the rest of the period making the table (which was pre-cut to fit the paper), the plate, and the bun, which the children drew, cut and glued themselves.
On day 2 I demonstrated how to collage on about half the items. It's important to show the kids how to glue the items in a vertical manner one on top of the other, otherwise they have the tendency to start scattering everything all over the page which takes away from the humor of the burger.
Day 3 was the same as day 2 , with new items and the additional step of going back and checking the previously glued pieces to make sure that everything was stuck down thoroughly. It also allows the students that were absent on previous days time to catch up.

Here are some of the items that we either added, or that I had brainstormed for adding to the burgers:

Ketchup-red felt, thick red string, red fabric
Mustard-yellow pipe cleaner, yellow felt
Onion-purple, pink or white ribbon, or paper pre-cut into small swirls
Buns/Meat -corrugated cardboard
Olives-yellow and green foam shapes
Lettuce-green colored crumpled or twisted tissue paper
Seads, pasta
Shredded Lettuce/ Onion/Coleslaw-different colored raffia

Bon apetit!

5th Grade Stellar Planets

2016-03-24T18:00:00.001-07:00

These planets look as great in person as they do in these photos!

There are a few versions of this project out there, so I don't get any points for originality, but regardless, it's a great project and more importantly, the kids really seemed to like creating them.

The project took about 5-40 minute periods. On day 1 I showed everyone how to create the "waves" and blend them in an upward facing direction. On day 2 I set up a splatter paint station and demo'd how to start shading the planets. I flipped this lesson and used mostly video demo's which was incredibly useful because it took the kids 3 perios to complete the planets. So instead of having to demo the shading every period for my 5-5th grade groups, I just replayed the video and they saved on work and transition time. They had to make 5 or more planets. On the final day they cut and glued their planets, making sure all the shadows were on the same side. We discussed light sources and I explained that on a 2D surface, having a consistent light source would make their art look better even though they pointed out to me that in space there would most likely be multiple light sources ah, my 5th graders always thinkin!).

Oaxacan Turtles

2016-03-05T16:32:00.001-08:00

This project came out so adorable I had to blog about it! I didn't teach this one though, this came from my colleague who teaches with me at my school. She did it with her first graders. The whole project took about 3 to 4-40 minute art periods. The turtles themselves were created using white low fire Amaco clay and instead of using slip to attach the pieces, I shared a great tip that I got from Cassie Stephens blog using small cups of water and toothbrushes. My colleague tried using the toothbrushes and it worked really well. The first batch of turtles were glazed with Mayco Stroke & Coat glazes, but the second batch were simply painted with tempera. Both the glaze and the Tempra work equally well on the turtles because of the designs that were painted over them. The finishing details were added using acrylic paint markers.

2nd Grade Wayne Thiebaud Unit Part 2-2D Mile High Value Ice Cream Cones

2016-03-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

The second project based on Wayne Thiebaud was created by giving the kids a white piece of 12 x 24" paper and showing them a few options for how to draw an ice cream scoop. I use the drawing portion as an opportunity for some differentiation by showing the children some options that included a simple half circle shape all the way to a more complicated melt,y drippy type of ice cream scoop. The differentiation was really helpful as my second graders are really diverse group.

After they drew their scoops we discussed value and I showed them how to create tints and shades by using black, white, and color of their choosing. The second whole period of art was used to paint the scoops.

During the third day, I gave out a large piece of white paper for the background. The students were told to divide the paper at least three times and fill in the three shapes with at least three different designs in oil pastel. While this was happening I set up a center in the back of the room where students used cardboard and metallic paints to print patterns on brown paper which would later become their cones. On the fourth day of the project, the students cut and assembled all their pieces onto their background and filled any large empty white spaces leftover on their background. On the last day, the students used watercolor paints over the oil pastels to complete the work

4th Grade Henry Moore Unit-Part 2: Mixed Media Abstract Figures

2016-03-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

I was a little apprehensive when beginning this lesson because of just how much higher order thinking it required. Not that my students aren't stellar, because they are, but I thought it might be too difficult a project for them to handle. But boy am I glad I gave it a try because the results were fantastic. After completing the Clay Henry Moore project, I showed the students a few examples of Moore's figure sketches and then the students took turns posing and sketching one another. They really got a big kick out of posing and drawing one another! After doing a few preliminary sketches and after I showed them how to break the body down into basic ovals or rectangular shapes, they then took their sketches and chose the one they liked the best to abstract. I demonstrated how to take the sketch and break it down into even more basic shapes and then add other features to make it look less like a figure and more interesting as shapes that create positive and negative space. Before drawing their finished abstract figure, I had them create a backing of collaged tissue paper and then watercolor. Lastly, the students painted their final drawing larger using black temperature over the watercolor and collage background.

5th Grade Islamic Tiles

2015-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

The idea for this project came to me quite a few years ago when I had come across Ed Emberley's thumb print drawing book and loved it so much that I googled a few of his other works and came across his book "Picture Pie".

The book is a great tie in with a math lesson based on fractions. Originally for the project, I had children use circles they had traced from container lids that I saved and then cut them into fractions to create any kind of picture they wanted. However, the problem with such an open ended project is that some students really sore and some students really fall short.

After having reflected on the triumphs and shortcomings of the original project, I decided that the fractional pieces would be best used to create some kind of symmetrical design, and I immediately thought of Islamic tiles. Fast forward a few years later, and I have two extra fifth-grade classes this year that get an extra day of art every other week and figured this would be a great opportunity to try out my tile project.

Here are a few finished examples:

5th Grade Wayne Thiebaud Unit -clay Cupcakes and Cupcake Triptychs

2015-12-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

This unit took about 12 weeks to complete, it was a real doozy! However, I have to say that my students really rose to the occasion and came out with some amazing artwork. Of all the units I've ever taught this is probably one of my favorites. It all started a few years ago with a fourth-grade class who had an extra art every other week. That particular class happened to be a really calm, focused group of kids who worked really well together and didn't need a tremendous amount of structure or direction to complete the assigned tasks. Because of how independently they worked, and how much freedom I was able to give them, I had the idea of introducing three styles of art and having them create a cupcake triptych which represented each of those styles.

At the time, I kept the lesson really open ended and exploratory with almost little to no demonstrations or explicit instructions. I simply gave them a few informational sheets, images, and some tips and tricks for using different materials and let them do their thing. The results I got were really individual and unique to each student and I love the idea that their personal styles were able to come through and be developed while working on a project like this.

Fast forward a few years to my current fifth-graders, who are my first graduating class and who I've taught since kindergarten, and with whom I feel really comfortable, and so I figured I would give the lesson a try again. This time, I structured the project much more and centered it around artist Wayne Thiebaud. I created a PowerPoint for the project and assigned specific materials to specific styles. I started the unit with clay cupcakes where the kids used silicone molds to create the bases and coils or pinch pot tops for the icing. Following the clay portion of the unit, the children started their 2D triptych. One cupcake had to be in the style of Wayne Thiebaud with oil pastels, the second had to be Surreal with colored pencil, and the third Abstract with markers.

3rd Grade Teacups

2015-12-05T06:17:00.001-08:00

I loved this lesson. It was simple to teach, gave the students a lot of freedom, and just about everyone came out with great results. I basically reviewed how to create slabs, pinch pots and coils and then showed the students a few slides of a PowerPoint with the various kinds of tea cups from different cultures and time periods as inspiration. Then, I set them loose! When talking with the students about their work, they had all kinds of creative inspirations that they used for their pieces. This would've been a great lesson to display with QR code of the students discussing their creative process.

4th Grade Henry Moore Unit -Part 1: Clay Abstract Sculptures

2015-11-15T13:38:00.001-08:00

I stated the school year by having all of ky classes create abstract assemblage sculptures using a random assortment of things from my supply closet. You can check out the details on the post I wrote about it by searching "First Week Activities" in my searchbar. Soory, but for some reason, I can't figure out how to make a hyperlink using this blogger app!

Anyway, the first day activity acted as a lead-in for all the 3D projects I was doinf with all my classes. Ot was an especially effective introduction for my fourth graders because it really helped the kids understand the coxnept of abstraction, which is the cornerstone of Moore's work.

For this project we viewed a PowerPoint on Moore's life and work, discissed abstraction and positive and negative space, and then, without a demonstration, I set em' loose. The sculpting took 2 4 40 minute art sessions. On the second session I did use a demonstration where we looked at 3examples of Moore's sculpture and defined the characteristics we noticed, one of the key ones being the smooth texture, Whoch I showed them how to achieve on their clay by using a bit of water. After The projects were fired, we glazed them.

The glazes I used were Sax True Flow Cystal Magic in Sassy Orange, Pagoda Green, Royal Fantasy, and Black Onyx. The color quality is really nice, but be prepared to spend some time mixing them because the textured color granules settle and solidify at the bottom. I got quote the arm workout between all the shaking, squeezing and stirring I had to do to disperse the texture throughout the glaze.

2nd Grade Wayne Thiebaud Unit Part 1-Clay Melting Ice Cream Cones

2015-11-11T13:56:00.001-08:00

Second graders are finishing a unit based on the artist Wayne Thiebaud. The unit consists of clay melting ice cream cones followed by a two dimensional project where students create painted stacked ice cream cones. The kids love Wayne Thiebaud and are usually really engaged in the projects when I teach his artwork. Here are how the clay lesson went:

The clay cones took two days to sculpt and one day to glaze. After going over all the rules and directions for handling clay and washing our hands after using it, I spent the rest of the period showing them how to create two pinch pots and attaching them using a toothbrush and water. I found that just scrubbing the clay with the toothbrush and water was enough to get it to stick, and that I didn't need to make slip and use a fork and a brush like I usually do.

After the kids made the two pinch pots, they attach them together and then squished the edges to make them look like melting ice cream. On the second day I had the students lightly pound a piece of clay on pieces of Carrugated cardboard. They pounded the clay with the cardboard facing in one direction and then carefully picked the clay up and turned the cardboard 90° so it was facing a different direction, after pounding the clay again, they were left with a crisscross textured shape. They then used a wooden stylus to trim the slab into a triangular shape and very careful rollled it into a cone shape.

They used a toothbrush and water to attach the two sides together. At first I had the kids join the two sides but after doing it a few times I realized that if they had the edges overlap instead of just touch, it was much easier for them to create the actual cone shape without it coming apart. Although, you do have to emphasize to the kids that they have to smooth the two pieces together carefully so that they don't lose too much of the texture while doing it.

Lastly, they attached the cone to the scoops. When class was over, before I put the cones in the back to dry, I checked each one and poked a hole with an awl through the bottom of the scoops up into the cone to make sure that there were no air bubbles that would cause the clay to pop or crack,. This year, I also had the kids simply make a paper label using sharpie (so it doesn't run if it gets wet) to write their name and place it under their sculpture and when I put the sculptures away to dry, I would write their names on the bottom. In the past I've had the students write their names on the bottom or simply write their initials, but somehow with the initials and the sloppy handwriting, there were inevitably some students whose work got lost in the shuffle. So far, writing their first names myself has worked out much better.

For glazing I used Mayco Stroke and Coat. The kids had seven colors to choose from. The colors were JavaBean and Tigertail for the cone, and honey dew, cottontail, tu tu tango, orange a peel, and blue yonder for the ice cream. Stroke and Coat is great because you don't necessarily need to have three coats for the color to be really vibrant and in most cases, the color of the glaze unfired is pretty similar to the fired results, so you don't have to worry about the kids getting confused and choosing the wrong colors or colors they don't want for their project, if you don't have time to make samples.

Conference Day Ideas

2015-11-03T14:33:00.001-08:00

It's so infrequent that I get the opportunity to just sit down with my peers and discuss art. Today, was our superintendents conference day and I have the pleasure of being able to sit with two of my elementary art teacher and colleagues and just discuss teaching art. We talked about everything from handwashing procedures to accommodating students with special needs, lesson materials, power points and notebook software we've created, and even just vent to one another about the day-to-day challenges of being an art teacher. I can't tell you how enjoyable it was to just have some downtime quote with my peers. Sometimes, just having the time to talk is more beneficial than a whole days worth of structured Professional development. Here are a few pictures I snapped with my iPad of some of the things we discussed.

Before pictures above are a fifth-grade Zentangle relief style project. The project is started with some simple wavy lines, or you could say, "taking lines for a walk". You then discuss with the children exactly what is Zentangle is in the way patterns are created. Some children are going to need more coaching in this than others. You also have to really explain to them that patterns are everywhere and having an activity like a pattern search, or having them walk around the classroom and observe and all the different the different patterns all around them, would also help to inspire them. After that they fill in the loops that they've created with their overlapping lines with the zentangles using a fine point or extra fine point sharpie, and then color them. Lastly, they decide where they're going to cut their drawings in order to make parts pop up and then glue them onto a rigid backing. Another good tip that was shared with us were the new adult coloring books that you see everywhere nowadays. This particular teacher picked hers up in the dollar store and passed a few books around so the students could use the images as inspiration

This project above, is a Debuffet inspired card stock sculpture using X-Acto knives and sharpie markers with Elmers glue. This project was completed by 6/7 and 8th graders.

The two above adorable pictures are pinch pot birds made from clay and raffia tied nests. I even love the red and turquoise glazes she used on the bird.

This project is one of the first project of the year this teacher teaches in kindergarten. It's based on the idea of "taking online for a walk". The students paint simple freeform lines with a chubby brush on the first day and then on the second day using, tempera cakes, the students get a slightly smaller brush, choose three colors for unity, and fill in their lines with the paints. On the third day, the children can go back in with an even smaller paintbrush and add different patterns. This is a great lesson that teaches line, shape, color, and helps the kindergarten students develop their fine motor skills with different sized paintbrushes. It also helps to teach them the routines of handwashing, brush washing, and how to paint in general.

This artwork was done by first grade. It uses one Joam Miro as inspiration for the design. And tempera cakes along with oil pastel to fill-in.

This is a great all-purpose are rubric that was posted in her classroom.

Lastly, the image below I snapped because I absolutely love the Mondrian inspired deer head. This wasn't a project, but was something she picked up through the website Zulily, which occasionally apparently has these odd off 3D cardboard puzzles that are inspired by artists. At the time, she had some middle school student put it together and said that it only took them about 20 minutes which is pretty awesome considering how complex it looks!

We Get the Joke-2nd Grade Classroom Mini Collaboration

2015-10-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

I love the opportunity to collaborate. It doesn't happen as often as I'd like unfortunately, but it's always fun when I get the chance to work with some classroom teachers. What you're looking at is A second-grade bulletin board. I didn't work with this particular teacher but worked with another one to create the same idea. I spent one period with her class helping them to draw out the sketches for their jokes. We both agreed that having some photo reference would be super helpful for the kids, so she was nice enough to search and print out one or two pictures to go along with the jokes that each student had. The kids used 14 x 18 or so sized paper and crayons to color their work. They began by using pencil and then outlining their drawings and sharpie, erased whatever pencil showed underneath. For coloring, I emphasized overlap in different colors, using dark outlines,even pressure when coloring, and coloring in one direction. I always try to emphasize the use of details in artwork, which helps make the pictures better. The kids finished coloring their drawings in their classroom and then the classroom teacher posted this board. I love the attention to detail in it, and the way she even color mounted the jokes themselves. Even the font on the banner works really well with the whole theme. I don't often see classroom bulletin boards that I like as much as this one. I'm glad I had a small part in it!

Bulletin Boards for the New School Year

2015-10-09T17:50:00.002-07:00

At the end of every school year I save a few of the last projects for the following September bulletin boards. I remember the panic I felt my first year at my current school with 3 large boards to finish and no artwork to put on them. I remember the anxiety I had worrying about what I could possibly fill the space with. Now, each year I look forward to filling the boards. I am responsible for three boards and two showcases and so I start each year off by hanging student work on the two smaller boards and by creating a "welcome back" piece on the largest main board in the front lobby. In the past I've used Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle as inspiration. The Eric Carle boards post is HeRe and the Dr. suess boars post is HeRe.

This year, I used the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems as inspiration. A year or two ago our school librarian told me that the kids LOVED this series, and since then, making a board using it has always been in the back of my mind. I leafed through a few of the books, created a short story board of what I wanted the characters to say, and then drew the images based on that.

On the main board I usually laminate my work and when I hang student work, I try and rotate the work on and off the board every four weeks max, otherwise the work always get shredded up. Do any of you find you have problems with kids tearing or shredding work on bulletin boards? I don't feel like the kids do it intentionally, but the boards do seem to get pretty gnarly pretty quickly in my school!

Here's to another great year everyone!

First Week Activities

2015-09-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

After giving this much deliberation and changing my idea oh, about 100 times, I settled in on a sculpture challenge. This year I am staring off the year with all clay projects...say WHA?!!! (Yup, I'm feeling particularly saucy this year!) and so, I wanted something that would tie into sculpture in some way.

Initially I was thinking of doing a drawing challenge based on a workshop I took at the NAEA convention a few years back. It's basically a challenge where the students draw a dot on their paper and then turn it into something. I wrote a post on it HeRe

The challenge went something like this: I began the period by going over some rules for the art room. Specifically, hand raising, staying in seats unless you raise ypur hand and ask to get up, and how to respond to the chime I use as my class signal. I generally don't go over procedures like handwashing and handling materials until we are actually doing/using them, otherwise I feel like it's not quite relevant. I also spent a moment going over my new table labels and cooperative group numbers.

After the rules, I introduced the releveant vocabulary which will connect to their first project. We discussed 3-dimensional, sculpture, abstract, representational, and assemblage. This activity was done with grades 2-5 grade and so the last 3 vocab words were tiered as the geade level increased.

The Challene was basically to build something. I encourage them not to think of anything specific, but to simply start building and see what came of it. It was interesting to watch, as some of the students really thrive with the freedom to create anything they want, while others struggled because of that same freedom.

Overall, the activity was a success. It got the kids creative muscles working and forced them to think in ways that they normally don't. Interestingly it was pretty much equally successful on every grade. It also worked well as a way to introduce the vocabulary for their first full project.