First Grade Organic Shape Monsters

Books can be such a great inspiration in the Art room. First grade read "There Was an Old Monster" by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley. It's pretty silly, so I heard lots of giggles while I was reading. Students then learned what an organic shape is and how this is different from our "math" shapes, like triangles, circles, squares, etc. Students then used a tied string on construction paper to create an organic shape that would be the body of their monster they would create, and then traced around the string in pencil. Next, students used tempera paint (polishing our paintbrush skills) to paint the monster and possibly a background if there was space left over. Finally, students added details with oil pastels. They certainly came up with some creative creatures.

4th Grade Asian Ink Paintings

One of my favorites... 4th grade is learning what value is and how to use this in creating artwork. We first measured, marked, and created a watercolor value scale (Value is the lightness or darkness of a color). Students learned about the process and skill of *Asian ink painting and first practiced a special technique for painting bamboo. Next students painted on long scroll-like paper and started with a very light value wash, slowly adding darker and darker value layers. We are putting the finishing touched on and they should be completed very soon.

Here's an example of a value scale:

 4th grade Asian Ink Paintings...

* Asian ink painting has been a very prestigious skill in China and Japan for well over a thousand years. The subject matter is based on animals, landscapes, people... in nature. The traditional ink paintings are created with water and an ink stone and bamboo brushes. There are different techniques for painting - a special flick of the wrist for bamboo leaves, a drier brush for a more textured brushstroke, etc. Some paintings may have a pop of color in them. They are usually created on silk or very thin rice paper and often the items or animals portrayed have a distinct abstract style to them. The red squarish seal (or chop) is usually the stamped on with a red paste, which is the signature of the artist.

4th Grade Michigan Bird Paintings

These tempera paintings are of non-migrating Michigan birds. We started with a list and some research on those particular birds. I demonstrated drawing one of the birds and we created a sketch in our sketchbooks. Next we drew in pencil on our final paper, making sure to create an interesting background and our bird large enough so that it could be our focal point. Students learned some paintbrush techniques for creating texture and mixing colors and they turned out phenomenal!

Here are a few from Mrs. Essenmacher's class...

2nd Grade Winter Landscapes

Second grade created these winter landscape using tempera paints and oil pastel. I demonstrated mixing tints (adding a color plus white) and shades (adding a color plus black), to create many different hues for a snowy landscape. Students learned about shadows and the appropriate way to place those on their paper for a more "real" looking painting. Details were added with oil pastel after the paint dried, which allowed for a more textured look. Their unique takes on winter landscapes make me smile! :)

5th Grade Birch Tree Paintings

Right now we are working on some watercolor birch tree paintings. This lesson really helps us understand depth and perspective, and how to create this illusion on a flat space. First we created trees out of masking tape to keep the paper underneath the tape white. After our tape was down, we drew a horizon line. Next we mixed different values of watercolors, many of us created very light values of blue or violet for snow. Then we painted the sky and discussed placement of shadows on the ground. Soon we are going to peel the tape off, add shading to the white trees (Ms. Hatch even has some birch tree bark to pass around - she grew up in the middle of the woods), and also add details. Watercolor also really helps us learn patience- you just can't rush watercolor! More photos coming...

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

Happy Dia de los Muertos! (Day of the Dead). Art class is a great opportunity for learning about other cultures. If you're curious about all these skulls you might be seeing, these are calaveras, which is spanish for skull. We have been looking in particular at sugar skulls, which are a popular figure of Dia de los Muertos. We've been learning about this holiday and creating calaveras in different ways for the grade levels: 2nd grade painting, 3rd grade mask-making, 4th grade permanent marker drawing, and 5th grade printmaking.

Kindergarten Color Mixing Finger Paintings

Color mixing is one very important component of Art! In Kindergarten we learned the Primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and how we can mix them to create new colors (green, orange, purple). We used fun finger paints on paper to create an entire rainbow of colors, and while we were at it, we created different kinds of lines in our paint after we were finished mixing the colors.

First Grade Abstract Art

First Graders learned about the abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky for their first lesson. We looked at Kandinsky's paintings and found and described the different shapes, lines and colors he used. Since Kandinsky was inspired by music to create his paintings, we listened to "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash while we drew a moving and changing line all around our paper. We traced the lines in Sharpie and then added more lines, patterns, and shapes in crayon inside the different sections created by our line. To add much more interest and color, we used watercolor paints on top of our crayon. We sure have some fabulous first grade abstract artists!

3rd Grade Geometric/Organic Shape Designs

3rd Grade has been working on these Geometric/Organic shape designs. We used geometric shape stencils to create an interesting composition or arrangement on our paper with pencils. Some of us built a specific animal, person, or object, and some of us created an overlapping design. We traced the shapes in Sharpies, added color using markers, and then painted with water and paintbrushes. Since the colored markers are water-based, the ink dissolves in the water and you can paint your paper. Our last step was to look for changes of lightness and darkness, as well as changes of color, and to trace these interesting lines and organic shapes with a detail Sharpie.

2nd/2nd 3rd Grade Multi-age Scarecrows

2nd Grade and 2nd/3rd Grade Multi-age has been working on some watercolor scarecrows in Art. These were drawn in pencil first and then traced in Sharpie marker. Everyone created such unique scarecrows and very interesting details in the background. Next, we used only the primary colors, black, and brown for painting, so we had to mix the secondary colors. Finally, we glued some raffia in place where hay or grass might be. There may be some of these in local business windows for the Scarecrow Festival this weekend!!! (Oct 5,6, and 7)