Pinch Pot Monsters!!

In this lesson the students first learned about texture.  We discussed different ways to make marks to show different kinds of texture such as bumpy, smooth, fuzzy and pointy.  They then practiced making different marks on a texture worksheet.

Next we came to the rug to learn about making pinch pots out of air dry clay.  We discussed sculpture, properties of air dry clay, how to use our hand as tools as well as special clay tools.  After our clay monsters bodies were created with a pinch pot method - we then learned how to add eyeballs and tongues by "scratching and dabbing" with our tools and water to make a glue to help the appendages stick when dry - otherwise they will fall off!  They then used some tools to make texture marks, and other details for their monsters.  On the second class - when the monsters were dry - we used watercolors to give them color and life!  Watercolors are great because they allow us to still see the wonderful lines and textures added to the clay.

Square One Art!

All the classes have been hard at work on finishing the Square One Art project.  Square One is a wonderful fundraiser for schools.  Families will get home order forms and stickers with a digital image of their child's very own artwork.  They will have the opportunity to order from a long list of items, such as mugs and pillow cases, with their child's artwork on the item.  What a fun and creative way to raise money and support the school!

This year I chose to base the project on Jim Dine!  Jim Dine is a pop artist who has many famous paintings - particularly his heart art.  Pop art focuses on simple designs with many bright and bold colors.  The students have all done a wonderful job creating their very own unique pop art heart designs for Square One submissions!

Oh, and not to worry - the original artwork will be sent home when it returns to school at a later date!

Here are some images of the beautiful art....

Letting our imaginations SOAR!

This project was very enjoyable for the students.  We started out by reading Imogen's Antlers by David Small.  The story is fiction - which means it was made up and not real.  We talked about how the author must have had quite the imagination!  The story follows the main character Imogen who wakes up one day with antlers growing out of her head.  Her family tries desperately to hide them in many ways unsuccessfully.  The students were able to create their very own head with something unique growing out the top!  We review composition in art and how we were going to have their heads peeking out of the bottom of the paper to make it look more interesting.  It was a nice fun way to start learning about portraits which we will be starting soon.  Here are some of the fun and creative outcomes of the lesson....

Snowflakes!

We read the story No Two Alike by Keith Baker.  It is a cute little story about how there are many things in the world that are ALMOST the same - but are usually slightly different!  We specifically looked closely at snowflakes.  I had some wonderful illustrations of many different snowflakes.  We discussed that snowflakes are drawn by making many lines and shapes.  Snowflakes are a wonderful example of radial symmetry - the same pattern repeating all the way around in a circle.  So, if the artist made one circle shape on a snowflakes arm (line) it would have to repeat all the way around on all other arms.  We used our creamy oil pastels with the magic color of white!  When we painted our blue sky over the whole paper - the magic white color would appear!

Snowmen at Night - A lesson on painting highlights and shadows!

I am trying a new Web 2.0 tool out for size! Let's see how it works!

Here is the link about this fun lesson!! Enjoy!

http://animoto.com/play/7Yv01SCwTAY4I2cZuDN0Qw