Fall is all around us.....

Fall is in full force in the Kindergarten art room!  These few weeks we have been working on being observers as the seasons changed.  We looked closer at the trees and how the the leaves are changing into beautiful warm rich colors before they fall off the trees.  We studied pictures of trees as the leaves change and fall and noticed how we can start to see the shapes of the tree branches as they become more visible.  The students notices that the branches twist and turn as the reach to the sky and ground.

 We worked on a paper bag sculpture of trees to capture the new changes of the season.  The students were able to use their fingers, hands and whole arms to squeeze, bend and twist their paper trees into shape...all beautiful.  Tissue paper leaves were added to complete their designs.

Next we traced and drew many leaves after studying several different varieties of real leaves.  Students noticed the shapes, colors and even details like the veins of the leaves.  They used realistic colored crayons to add color inside their leaves, some solid and some changing colors.  They then used a "magic" technique of adding wiggly white circles of white crayon around their leaves.  The magic happens when added the blue watercolor wash over the entire paper and the crayons resist the paint.  We talked about imagining the leaves had fallen into a pond and were creating ripples in the water - they were all excited to see the magic white rings appear when adding the blue! They are beautiful.  Warm colored leaves in contrast with the cool blues of the water!

Back to School

Summer was wonderful for myself, as I hope it was for all my Placentino students and families.  We are back at school now, deep into some wonderful learning in the Kindergarten art room.  This was my first Fall back to school teaching so it has been a busy time of the year.  Lots of new faces in my room and lots of new projects to share.  Here is a quick catch up of some of the projects underway these past few weeks...

Kandinsky Circles

Students learned about abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky.  They learned he created famous artwork in the early 1900's and was from Germany.  The style of artwork he made was abstract - which the students understand is artwork often times made with simple shapes, lines.  They studied a few of his paintings but focused on his Concentric circles.  They observed he repeated the circle shapes inside squares.  We discussed that his circles were kind of wiggly - not perfect.  Students also noted that his color palette was often bright and juicy colors.

Our little artists then got their turn to create their own circle painting like Kandinsky.  They drew 3 circles in each square - one small, one medium and one large.  They then traced over all their pencil lines with Sharpie marker (which they understood we had to use so when we painted watercolors on top the marker wouldn't wash away).  The students finished off their circles by adding many bright watercolors to each shape in their piece.  They did great!

Sunflowers

Students were able to look at several photos of sunflowers, one of my favorites.  They noticed the different textures that sunflowers have when you look up close the the blooms.  Students saw the petals were smooth and soft and the inside looked bumpy or rough.  This project allowed them to practice drawing, cutting and gluing.  Some even took the challenge to practice curling paper to add a pop-out look to their petals. Others chose to leave them smooth and flat.  The very last step involved using circle shaped sponge tools to stamp on brown paint to show that the texture on the inside looked bumpy and realistic.

Abstract Sculptures

We reviewed what we learned about abstract art - remembering our Kandinsky style circles.  We then looked at several examples of abstract sculptures.  We talked about what made a sculpture unique and different than a 2-D drawing.  Students learned that a sculpture is artwork made with 3-Dimensions, or it has shape and form.  Students noticed many simple lines in the examples we looked at.  Wavy, zig-zag, swirly, straight and curly q.  After a quick discussion on materials and how to use them - model magic and coated wire - the students set to work sculpting their own abstract artwork.  They really enjoyed this!

Owls....HOOT!

 

 

We read the story Owl Babies by Martin Waddell.  After the story we looked at some photos of owls.  We discussed what we noticed about owls.  They have BIG eyes that help them see at night.  They have lots of fluffy beautiful feathers - some quite fluffy.  Their bodies are ovals shaped and sometimes they have pointed feather ear-like tufts on their heads.  Students then got to create their very own owls at night using oil pastels in light colors to contrast on the dark paper.  They then added fluffy torn paper feathers to the owls body - some even gluing them down in a pattern!