Weaving and paper rolling

This was a really easy way for the Kindergarten and 1st grade to do a weaving project. The suggestion to cut "needles" from thing strips of milk carton with a slit cut in then was stellar. It made it easy to thread and all the kids learned to do it as we did our rows. The paper plates were sturdy enough for almost all the students to use. A couple had minor issues that were easily fixed. Fun for all and a chance to use another type of art supply.




the 4-5th grade students got to construct frames for an art project by rolling straws from newspaper/magazine color pages then mounting them onto the edges of a card. They had to roll at least 10 then use them in a design of their own choosing.

Pointillism Eiffel tower for 6-8th grade

 Some projects that we have done have turned out pretty good but this one was spectacular in form. It was hard to explain to the students about Seurat and his pointillism movement but we showed them pictures, talked about dot printing and went for it.  It took until most of the project had paint on it before we reached the  "Oh I get it" point. They drew their Eiffel tower then applied the dots with small dowels. The result would make Seurat proud.

mask making bring out creativity in 3rd, Kindergarten

It is always fun to see what the kids will do when It is always fun to see what the kids will do when we begin a mask project. For the 3rd grade I showed them a couple I had done and gave them supplies and an hour to create their mask. Some got quite tiny, some were very large. Some had a lot of dimension to them, others not so much. Great work on this one.

The kindergarten project was as much manual skills as mask making. they had to color the mask then cut it out, cut out the eyes, thread the pipe  cleaners through holes to make the ties and put the mask on. Quite a few of them then "flew" around the room and became butterflies. Great job.

2nd Grade does crazy birds

 I thought a project based on Dr. Seuss would be a natural for this group but more than half of them said they'd never read his books. We talked about the kinds of creatures that are featured in the Seuss books and the students set out to create unique birds. They had a selection of materials to create their birds. They used large pom-poms, chenille stems, feathers, fun foam, and mounted them on Styrofoam blocks. We tried to use school glue for this project but it was a failure. We wound up using double back tape to attach pieces to gather in order to complete the project. They still had a lot of fun with it and we're proud to show off the projects.

Kingergarteners create birdhouses from milk cartons

 This project was one that the teacher found  and requested. The example was done on matchboxes but they are not very available and quite small for this age group. I had quart creamer containers and use those instead I did read the cartons in plain paper before the class so that the students could decorate them. First the students threaded the chenille stems through the predrilled holes on the top. They then glued on the roof pieces and the yellow band around the bottom as a fence.

They used fun foam triangles for beaks on fuzzy pompoms to create the birds. I had them put a little bit of paper shred onto the perch so that the bird would not fall into the birdhouse. All of them are heavily decorated with markers and crayons and turned out beautifully.

5th grade creates Calder type sculptures in motion

 This was such a fun project and good art discussion tool with the 3rd grade that I decided to try it again with the older students. They got the instructions to include three shapes, three colors, and at least five pieces. Some of them decided that they would prefer to work as partners, others solo.  The most complicated thing for the group to master was how to string the project onto the paperclips. Many of them  appear not to have used paper-clips with any frequency. At least one group just unbent the clips and used them as wire. Another student cut such small pieces that it was impossible to use the hole punch and we had to just needle punch them to hang them. Great discussion and one of them is now hanging on the hallway wall.

Creating a group art project with wire and paintings

 This was a rather involved projects that required several steps. First we created the background for each one of the squares using acrylic paints and then splattering the squares with alcohol to create a mottled design. We added several layers and finished with a splattering of metallic paint.

In the second session we added stencils which we filled with a plaster spackling compound allowed it to dry and then tinted the areas using diluted acrylic paint. Finally we framed each one of the squares using the same spackling compound. Most of the students also tinted the frame and textured it.

In our last session we worked as a group to create a layout, and attached all of the squares to a metal grid that we made ourselves. The students learned how to attach short links of metal rod to each other in order to create the grid. They also used mounting blocks to attach the squares to the grid. Lastly we attached wire to hang it in the lobby and gave it a title "Walk off the Earth"

3rd grade creates Calder type sculpture

As another element in sculpture we worked on sculptures that moved from an example from Calder. This was an example I found on Pinterest. The students were instructed to cut no less than five pieces to create a face from three different colors or shapes then punch them and attach them to each other using paper clips. Even with an example it was hard for some of them to envision that all of the pieces would be attached to each other and not glued down. In the and there were a series of "oh I get it" comments along with smiles. It did give us the opportunity of discussing different types of arts and a couple of the artists as well. I brought stencils for them to add designs to their pieces but many of them ran out of time before we could add designs.

Sculpting robots and aliens in 4th 5th grade

All of the groups have been using polymer clay to create creations this month. This group was by far the most adventurous of using all of the supplies. We have a collection of aliens and robots that just barely fit into the carrying boxes. It has been a lot of fun to use some of the metal fence and I pick up at the hardware store in order to create these. 

Dragon masks for Kindergarten

The kindergarten teacher asked me to do dragon masks with her class for Chinese new year. These are a take off on the ones I had done at the library last week. We created these SSML's and more as active creatures to use in doing a dragon dance. 
The children drew eyes on them, then added all the features using construction paper that THEY cut, finally adding the streamers. They could hardly wait to take them into the dragon dances with them.

Kindergarten create President stick puppets

I have had the classes create stick puppet presidents several times in the past. They turned out far better than any we've done. 
Someone had given me the black yarn that we used on Lincoln's beard and it was hey smash hit. It is remarkable that as the faces and bodies are assembled on the stick the puppets always come to life and begin to talk to each other.  We were also able to discuss the art of puppetry and discuss performance art and puppet shows.

Clay creations 6-8th grade

The original idea was that the students would create robots or other sci-fi type creations from polymer clay. They had other ideas. But it works. Some of them really like adding all the metallic pieces to their creations. Some of them preferred to create dragons or symbols or flowers. The clay was a bit of a challenge this time as it was overly stiff and difficult to use but we managed to create the project anyway.

1st grade sculpt presidents

Trying to find unique things to do with Clay can be a challenge. I think this one is a winner. The students were all given a ball of plain white salt play and encourage to sculpt faces pinching ears noses and mouths, and eyes. They then put the head on a total paper tube and dressed the presidents accordingly with blue or brown costumes. They even added hats appropriate to the president. Most of the students accented the eyes and the mouths with markers.

wire art for 4th & 5th grade

The goal of this project was to create a 3 dimensional item using wire (chenille stems) and beads and mount it on a piece of foam core board. The stories about the items are fantastic to hear.

Wire dragons present challenge for 4-5th grade

After the Jr. High group did wire dragons this group also chose to do this sculpture. It took 2 weeks but at the end of the time all of them had completed a dragon with wings, 4 legs and a tail that balanced and stood independently. They mastered twisting wire, attaching appendages, and balanceing the final project. They helped each other as one or another figured out how to get the pieces to fit properly. 
 There were frustrations but no one quit  before the dragon was complete. I think they are ready for a less challenging project next time. 

3rd grade clay and wire sculptures

The theme of the month was sculptures. We used both clay and wire to create a variety of sculptures. The third-grade students were given salt clay and a number of chenille stems. They created a number of creature and other items. A couple worked on gardens, a couple of airplanes, one is a car that "rolls", there are a number of what looks like cute bunnies, I believe a couple are dragons too.

Clay landmasses and more from grade 2

 Clay is popular and a good way to do some manipulation and creative activities. They have been studying landforms so the 2nd grade students were asked to create on of salt clay on a foam core board base. They were allowed to use chenille stems as supports. They made mountains, volcanoes, caves, and islands complete with trees.
We experimented coloring the white clay with markers.  The salt clay dries in about a week.

1st grade Life cycle of the Butterfly

This project let the students do several different techniques to create their life cycle pictures.
We stamped butterfies onto paper for them to color and cut out. They then pasted it onto the plate. We also outlined a leaf for them which they colored and cut out and pasted onto the plate. They then used a green chenille stem to create the Catapillar and put him on the plate and lastly used clay and a stick to create the chrysalis and glued it to the plate. They labeled it all and we pretty proud of their project. This class is always ready to try things so it has been fun to do complicated projects with them.

A trip to the zoo

 The Arabic teacher for the 1st grade asked me to help the students create a trip to the zoo. I formed most of the animals from TP tubes then the students painted them and added all of the details using yarn and feathers.

In the center section you can see where the paths between each area are as the whole layout for the whole project. Some of the things turned out a little strange like the green horses. Others like the peacocks were little wilder in color than we expected. It is the kid's art and important that they do the projects without a lot of rules.

It is a great way to integrate what they are learning in any subject and make them remember better.

Wire art with the 6-8th grade

 Beginning wire art with this group was a bit of a challenge. I decided we'd forge forward and do a dragon. Using several colors and weights of pipe cleaners was the way to go. At first it seemed like no one was going to get one started then they all began to come together with lots of exclaiming and showing off that "it stands up!"

They really did a good job on them and the 4-5th grade cannot wait to give it a try.

3rd grade creates tiles for door to Morocco

 As part of the cultures day the third grade selected the country of Morocco. For their art project I had them create tiles based on a Moroccan design and then assemble the door including the stonework around the center. They drilled the designs using wooden templates then painted them. They helped match the tiles up to create the design.

4-5th grade paint Picasso guitars

 The class has been wanting to paint. I chose this so we could discuss modern art paintings, Picasso and have them continue to draw. I did an example with them showing them that Picasso  did not draw a traditional guitar. This seemed to get their creativity going and this is the result. Some of them are quite traditional and others including the one with the lightning bolts on it are quite on the creative bent.

2nd Grade paints Picasso guitars

The 2nd grade was assigned Spain for their cultures day. We decided to do the guitar artwork from Picasso as part of this project.
We reviewed some examples of his musical period and talked about some of the other periods like his blue period. The students both drew and painted the guitars.

6th-8th draws caricatures

In an effort to get the group to do self-portraits I had them try their hand at caricatures. They were hesitant at first but really got into it when they found out how funny the pictures could be. I do not think they've ever seen a caricature. I think we'll try this again in the spring and see if we can't get closer to traditional caricatures.

4-5th grade do pastel of wind

 Continuing with the mornings discussion on the windstorm I had the fourth and fifth graders also do a pastel drawing of the windstorm. Some of the drawings are remarkably interesting with great detail an interesting interpretation of the wind, others of them are more about using the medium and not the topic.

This group has been a hard one for interpretation, they are much more factual and have done well with structural drawings like the mosques.