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"

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.

Creating pictures of mosques

 The 4th-5th grade classes used an example of a multi-turreted mosque and drew their own then incorporated a variety of lines and other designs into each section. 

Lastly they used their choice of markers or colored pencils to complete the designs. 

The Kindergarten and 1st grade painted their pictures using metallic tempera and created a pretty great set of pictures too. 

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

Congress street bat bridge in pastel

This was a challenging for the group but as they got into blending the chalk pastels, they found a medium to   really love. It is a bit messy and rushing them to do the drawing and painting in one session elicited some grumbling. We are planning another one after the winter break to keep the momentum up. 

Painted cookies are a treat for the 3rd grade

To work with colors and textures can be a bit boring but not if the surface is a cookie. I baked sugar cookie rounds and bought windmill cookies. We used sparkle gels and several colored frostings. Each student was told to design the round cookie any way they wanted and to paint the design already on the other. They had to complete both to be able to eat the cookies. It took a lot longer than they expected to complet the project but the eating--very fast.

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. 

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!