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.

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"

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.

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.

Using mixedmedia to convey a message

The junior high group took on a different kind of a project in November. I had them create a 3D collage. They first created their own background papers using colored pencils. My direction was that they needed four different sizes of paper one to include a shape. 

They were assigned to one of three groups of the traits that they are currently using this year at school. The traits were compassion respect and responsibility. We used pages of quotes from the program for them to be able to select something to put on their largest piece of paper. 

When they were done with the text and designs, they affixed it to the blue background so that it had a 3-D appearance. Lastly we frame them and put them on the wall in the lobby.

Doing the basics in September

September is a good time to hit some of the basics and see how well and comfortably the students draw. I also get to assess how well they work with basic supplies like glue and scissors at all grade levels.  Most of the grades did a name based project and  projects using types of lines to create designs. The 3rd grade spirals were a lot of fun and quite popular.  The  kindergarten names went well with the paper plate faces and hand prints from the week before. Lots of the artwork made it onto the walls in the hall or the classrooms. 

We also did projects identifying textures and shaping them which is very popular. students brought items from home to add to my offerings to have a "touch table" then used the items to create the designs. The picture at left is from the 2nd grade class.






The 4-5 grade did an interpretive mixed media picture using yarns, tissue and drawing based on the story of Moby Dick. Great depictions of whales with its blow hole and other detail of a wily whale that had survived many hunts. One of the students added the boat and little speech bubbles. 

Our lines and curves drawing day turned out so much better than the examples I brought. 2nd grade did scarecrow complete with crows and  the 3rd grade is abstract blocks. 




This year our 6-8th grade students are all participating in art instead of signing up for an optional group after school  I had them draw the Spanish buildings then paint them in watercolors. Watercolors are a bit of a challenge to get just the right amount of wet into everything but by the end they did a great job and some went on to do a 2nd picture.