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.

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.

Windy storm inspires pictures 3rd grade

 There was an exceptionally windy storm the night before we get that project. I tried to use the idea of what they heard during the storm and saw in the morning to inspire them on their drawings.
This project was done with oil pastels on regular drawing paper.
 It was fun to discuss with them what they might look like and how it might move around the in their drawings.
They were also given a choice of black or white paper so that they could do their designs.



 They turned out pretty good.

Learning pastels

When I told the kids we were going to begin our drawing with crayons they were not too pleased with me. I drew along with them and drew this rooster. Once they had all of the elements of the rooster drawn then we took out the pastels and began to add color. I worked with them on different ways to spread the color and blend it. We have not previously used oil pastels and the color is fabulous. The roosters were done by the third grade class.

The fourth and fifth grade class were told that they could draw what they wanted to draw for this project and then experiment with using the oil pastels. Subjects ranged from a picture of themselves to penguins and tanks. A couple of them added lots of stars or other design elements. We used both oil and alcohol to promote blending of the pastels. The still think that the alcohol works better for blending.

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. 

I am excited to be offering a 3 day mini-art camp as part of the summer program at the school this year. We will be taking students from age 5-13 in a series of camps that let the students have a real hands on experience with art materials and science from a slightly different perspective. It also gives me the chance to help raise funds for the school science lab. See the list at the side bar for details.

 Painting and clay projects

Winter scenes in pastels and crayons

The kindergarten and 1st grade have been working on their drawing skills in addition to getting to use pastels in creating these winter scenes. The 1st  grade class was told to draw a box for a window and the draw the winter scene outside the winter. I did one on the board with them suggesting what might be outside the window. They were to draw in crayon then use pastel to paint the picture blending with their fingers and a wet q-tip. The results were wonderful. Of course a trip to the handwash location was in order. The kindergarteners got to draw another snowman with cuing on what might he have: hat, arms, mittens, etc. They then got to add lots of color. Pretty good job on including details and using the whole paper.

2nd grade bat bridge in pastels

All of the classes this month are getting to try out pastels. I had done an example for the afterschool group and decided to use it for this group as well. Last week several of the students helped draw the bridge on regular manila drawing paper. It has enough tooth to work for the chalks and is easy to run through the copier (sometimes) The class studied about bats and we discusses the way bats fly. Some had been downtown to see the bats leave from under the bridge. They used mostly their fingers for blending and q-tips. Great versions of the sky and a chance for us to talk about how reflections work.

After school group paints barn in the snow

We took on a challenging project again and the group really excelled! This design is painted on a 5"x7" pine board. The students drew the design then used a scribe to add detail to the barn and shed. They learned how to wash on colors and even mastered some patience in the 3 day process to complete the project.


 We used a gift I recieved as the "original" and went from there. Trees were a bit tricky but everyone got the trees looking great and of different heights. Then there was the spattering of snow to finish the work off. What a fun mess. Everyone signed their work and as far as I could see there was not a frown on any face--far from it.


I am posting this larger than normal to be able to see the detail in the work. Hard to believe the group are 4th and 5th grade students. 

Kindergarten draws animals and more

This has been the week for drawing using the books from the library collection. We started with the basic shapes and added details and color once the drawings were completed. Most of the students added a final "free time" drawing on the back of the page. A couple of them had trouble with the idea of imagining something to draw from the shapes even after the lesson reverting to hearts or scribbles but it was fun for all. 

Art in the classroom again--alien names & plant cells

  The kindergarten started the day trying to find alien space creature names in their names. this was a conceptually advanced project that really had problems getting off the ground. They had to fold the paper, then outline their names in chalk to transfer and retrace their names. They had fun, drew lots of pictures but really had a tough time with this one. Some great creatures did appear in the end. 


The 3rd grade created a plant cell with a legend on the lids from plastic produce boxes. They got to chose which items to use for which of the portions of the cell and really did a great job!
Next time we'll create posters of the life cycles of various creatures and plants. 

Catching up on art in Wells Branch

It has really been a busy and productive couple of weeks for the artistic at the Wells Branch Community Library and the classes I teach at the Renaissance Academy. We have been drawing up a storm everywhere and with all ages. I learned to make an awesome claydough in colors for the school that let us make massive totems with the 3rd grade class. This followed last week when they painted and beaded native american medallions. Adults and teens drew and painted the best realistic sunflower (me too although mine is not complete) as a part of the Picturing America activities. 
Kids at the library and at the school painted and embellished an apple tree scene for Johnnie Appleseed's birthday--including the sleeping in the tree--they all had stories about what was going on in their painting. 
Next week foil fish==sounds like fun!