5th Grade Fireflies and Moonlight

Here are some finished 5th Grade Fireflies and Moonlight paintings for the artist, Charles Burchfield.  I love that they learned about an artist near and dear to Buffalo, how to show space/perspective, how to create different values, etc.  But, next time, I think I'll try to come up with a way that they don't all look alike:-(

*Thanks again to MaryMaking for the great idea!

Second Grade Self-Portraits with Mexican "Turquoise" Necklaces

My Alden Elementary Art Curriculum is set up so that all the students, grades K-5, learn about the same artists or cultures throughout the year, but create different art projects that are age/skill specific.  It is great as a teacher who teaches 6 grade levels to create one huge display/learning center instead of 6 different displays, but more importantly, my curriculum was designed this way so that siblings would be able to carry on the art discussion and learning at home.  So many times I'll hear a student say, "My brother is learning about this artist, too!" Or, a parent will let me know that they heard all about an artist at the dinner table and each child had something new to contribute to the conversation.

So, that's why you'll see every grade level doing a project based on the same artist!

Second Grade artists drew beautiful self-portraits, but I have to say that my, and many of the other teachers, favorite part of this project was the Mexican "Turquoise" Necklaces the students added to their self-portraits.

After learning about Frida Kahlo and how she would dress up in lots of fabulous Mexican clothing and jewelry, the students discovered the history and tradition of Mexican turquoise jewelry.  Next, the students mixed turquoise paint with Crayola's Model Magic to create a beautiful "clay" relief pendant that was strung with beads and used to accessorized their self-portraits.

Second Grade Artists coloring their self-portraits...

Picking background papers...

Putting it all together with their homemade "turquoise" necklaces...

Kindergarten Self-Portraits

Kindergarten artists made these fun self-portraits after studying the self-portraits of Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican painter.  They traced an oval for the shape of their head, but the rest was done all by themselves.  I taught this lesson using what I call my "follow-the-leader" style. It's amazing what young children can accomplish! The colorful backgrounds were inspired by the book "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!"  We painted colorful patterns, just like the boy in the story who painted his leg like an Easter egg.

*This idea was inspired by another art teacher who read this same book to her class and made self-portraits...which I could remember who it was to properly thank her or him...

Alden Community Education: Pottery For Kids

I wish I had in-action photographs of my Pottery for Kids class offered in the evenings through the Alden Community Education Program, but my hands are just way to messy to touch a camera when I'm teaching that class:-)

The students absolutely love the class.  I now offer the classes as "Special Projects."  The first night the students create their clay pieces.  The second night they glaze all their pieces.  I usually offer 3 special projects during the Fall semester and three special projects during the Spring semester.  Some students have taken all 6 classes this year!  It's for all students, grades K-6.

So far this year, we've made hand-built ceramic kitchen sponge holders (frogs, snakes, flowers and monsters galore!), fish platters, mother's day coil-build flower pots and plant markers, pumpkin plates, turkey bowls, and Christmas ornaments!

Third Grade Favorite Book Self-Portrait

This has truly become one of my absolute favorite projects of all time (also, a very time-consuming one as well!)!  The 3rd graders first studied the life and art of Frida Kahlo, with special attention to her many self-portraits.  Then, we very carefully drew realistic self-portraits.  It is amazing to see the quality and care that they put into their portraits!

Once the portraits were finished, it was time to incorporate reading and writing into the Art room.  Students wrote a book review for their favorite book and then acted as illustrators, designing a new cover for their book.  I just loved how they all wanted to bring their book to Art and were so excited to share the book with me and others! 

 Perhaps a future author and illustrator?

 Designing a cover illustration.

intensely working...

5th Grade Inspired by Marc Chagall

5th graders just finished an in-depth unit of study on Marc Chagall, a famous painter known for his dream-like paintings of love, workers, musicians, animals, and his many memories of childhood and village life.  Chagall arranged his memories in paintings that were slightly cubist in style, which means that he showed many different viewpoints and ideas on a single picture plane.  His paintings often look like a dream world with figures floating, forms dissolving and strong, vibrant colors inspired by emotions, not reality. 

For this project, 5th grade artists first learned about the art and life of Marc Chagall through storybooks based on his autobiography and discussion of his artwork.  Then, the students studied on of his famous paintings, Paris through the Window, and created their own mixed media (painting, paper, oil pastels, and digital photography) visual story story based on the same elements and principles of art demonstrated in Chagall's work.


5th Grade artists started their work of art with an abstract background like Chagall used in his painting.  To re-create the "shattered mirror" feeling of a Cubist painting, our students used a straight edge to divide the background of their artwork into many angles and planes.


Students used just the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) and white to create unlimited colors for their background.  Sponges gave the perfect texture and look for the image!

Kindergarten Patterned Paintings for Self-Portrait Backgrounds

 

These paintings became the background of the Kindergarten students' self-portraits (photos coming soon!).  For this part of the project, Kindergarteners learned basic painting procedures and techniques while also focusing on line and pattern designs.  They did a wonderful job using their brushes properly and creating a variety of designs that filled their papers.

4th Grade Girl Scouts Earn Their Art Badge

 
It's always lots of fun to work with the local scouts on earning their art badge.  I truly feel honored when I am asked to help them achieve this large goal!  The girls did an amazing job creating value, form and realistic shapes with both pastels and charcoal.  Their studies on perspective also rocked.  Nice job, ladies!

5th Grade Fireflies and Moonlight

The 5th Graders at Alden Middle School just finished learning about the famous local artist, Charles Burchfield.  Burchfield is known for his romantic and often times fantastic watercolors of nature.  Burchfield developed his own unique style of watercolor painting that included American landscapes, cityscapes, and of course, nature.  Charles Burchfield was born in 1893 in Ohio, later moving to Buffalo, NY.  Burchfield loved the streets of Buffalo and the surrounding countryside.  He started to paint in a realistic style during this time.

For this project, we learned all about Charles Burchfield and his unique style of watercolor painting through teacher created Power Points, class discussions and educational video clips (lots of great ones on YouTube and from the Burchfield Penney Art Center!) of his life and art.  Next, students focused on the elements of value and space to create a part fantasy/part realistic painting of moonlight, forests and fireflies.  The students added an extra element of surprise by making some fireflies 3-D and flying right off their painting!

I wish I could take credit for this great idea, but it was inspired by an amazing art teacher at MaryMaking.com.  She has wonderful ideas- definitely check her out sometime!


Above: First step in learning how to create a range of values by mixing white and blue for the moonlit sky.  Students added wonderful "echo" lines to mimic the use of lines in Charles Burchfield's art.

 
Above: Students learned how to show space and perspective by creating some trees higher up and smaller on the picture plane (to look far away) and paint some trees lower down and much larger on the picture plane (to look closer).  We looked out the windows at all the trees going down the street to check this out in real life!  The students also created highlights and shadows on the trees to further practice value.


Students made little fireflies on black paper with metallic gel pencils and added metallic wire antennae.  These were raised off the surface of the painting for a 3-D/pop out effect.  What fun!

5th Grade Frames for Frida Kahlo

I  know it's been a while since I last updated this blog.  It's been very busy (as always!) these last few weeks.  Here's a few more shots of the 5th Grade Mosaic Portrait art project for our Frida Kahlo unit of study.



The students created a watercolor frame (after viewing and critiquing The Frame by Frida Kahlo) that were filled with images that represented themselves somehow.  I just loved the bright colors!

The next step was to learn how to make their frame 3-D and pop out.  You should have heard all the gasps and ooohs and ahhhs when Miss M. (my student teacher who created this outstanding lesson) showed them this step.  They really thought it was awesome!

Here's some finished projects- aren't they incredible?

Kindergarten Ladybugs

Our youngest artists are just starting to build their ladybugs after learning about Eric Carle and painting paper just like he does!  This project focuses on basic art skills: painting, tracing, cutting, gluing and composition.

1st Grade Butterfly Gardens

First Graders are continuing their work on their Eric Carle inspired Butterfly Gardens.  The Eric Carle projects take a little longer because of the painting and collaging processes, but so worth the wait!

Here's a photo of some of the first graders cutting their great gardens out of their painted, textured papers.



Look at the great flowers below!  Who knows? Maybe one day these students will be famous children's book illustrators just like Eric Carle!

5th Grade Mosaics

5th Graders are continuing their self-portrait mosaics for their study of the artist Frida Kahlo.  They should be finishing all the processes and steps on Friday- I can't wait to see their finished products!  This lesson was designed and taught by my student teacher, Miss M.  It's a great project that teaches several different art techniques.

 5th graders working on mosaic self-portrait.


5th grade artists working hard on their mosaics!  Great job, students!

5th Grade Frida Kahlo Mosaics

5th Grade Artists are learning about the famous Mexican Artist, Frida Kahlo.  Frida Kahlo is most known for her very personal self-portraits.  For this lesson, 5th graders are combining several art skills and techniques.  Their first step was to learn how to draw a realistic self-portrait with proper proportions.  Then, after learning about mosaics, the fifth graders are creating a paper mosaic over their self-portrait.  The final step will be to create a wax resist watercolor frame that will become a 3-dimensional feature of their artwork. It is taking a lot of hard work and persistence, but the 5th graders are really up to the task.


This is a snapshot of 5th graders working carefully on their paper mosaics. Great job, 5th grade artists!

3rd Grade Elephants! Elephants!

Third Grade Artists are working on their fantastic Eric Carle style Elephants- a mixed media collage.  These are turning into some of the most spectacular elephants ever!  Students started with an elephant tracer and their painted papers and then were allowed to create their own amazing works of art. 

 Creating grass from painted, textured paper.

 Check out the bows and stars!  Isn't this one of the most adorable elephants ever!?!

2nd Grade Ocean Scenes

Second Graders are in the middle of creating their wonderful Eric Carle style ocean scenes.  They are wonderfully creative!  So far there have been sharks, fishing boats, mermaids, jellyfish, dolphins, pirate ships, turtles, whales and more!  I just came up with sailboats and a sunset for mine- they are so much more imaginative! 
Here's some great pictures of the students at work:

 Second Graders cutting and gluing.
 Check out those awesome fish!
 The start of a colorful sailboat!

Painted Papers and Color Mixing for Eric Carle

The 1st and 2nd graders learned how printers use yellow, cyan, and magenta to make the secondary colors.  Then, the students had a blast moving through each table "center" to paint 6 papers in the style of Eric Carle (1 paper at each table).  We had to move very quickly to get them all done in the time we have for Art Class, but it was sure worth it!  By the end of the day, we had approximately 720 painted papers drying in the Art Room!! Many students said this was the most fun they ever had in Art Class and want to do it again, but maybe once a year is enough;-)

5th Grade Bird Collages

Fifth Graders finished their Bird Collages in the style of Eric Carle this week and they are simply stunning!!! Here's some great shots of the students at work and some of the finished products.  I really wish that I could show you all 130ish of them, but there's just not enough room on this blog post!  You can see some of them hanging up in the hallways of the Middle School and some very special ones will be chosen to be hung at the Alden Ewell Free Library and the Alden Town Hall at the end of October through November.  Great job, 5th Graders!

 
  
  
 

Kindergarten Ladybugs and First Grade Butterfly Gardens

Over the next few weeks, kindergartners will be making Eric Carle-style Ladybugs and First graders will be creating Butterfly Gardens.  Here's a sneak peek...

 

Fifth Grade Painted Birds Part 1 and 2

 

Wow! What an exciting kick-off to 5th Grade Art!  The splatters! The finger painting! The smears, blobs and lines!  And to think we learned it all from an 82 year old man!

Of course, that man is the famous children's book author and illustrator, Eric Carle.  We saw a video clip of how Eric Carle makes his beautiful painted papers which he then turns into the illustrations for his books. 
On the first day of this project, students painted two papers for their birds.  One yellow and orange for details and "pops" of colors; one of whatever color they wanted for their bird.  I'd like to say the emphasis was on color and texture, but I believe the 5th graders would say the emphasis was on fun!  I heard over and over, "This is the best art class ever!" and "This is so much fun!"



On the second day of this project, students cut bird bodies, feathers, wings, beaks, and more out of their paper and arranged and glued them onto a sheet of black paper.  Each student must make a bird that represents themselves somehow.  These birds are starting to look fabulous, but you'll have to wait a few more weeks to see the finished products:-)

*We are all creating a bird because of the story The North Star by Peter Reynolds that we read on the first day of art.  The North Star is about following your own unique path in life, being true to yourself, and enjoying the journey.  It's a great story that children of all ages can learn from.  Anyway, in the story, a young boy meets many animals throughout his journey, but it is a wise bird that reminds the boy to take his own path in life and follow his own stars.  I'm hoping that whenever we look at our bird artworks, we will be reminded to stay true to ourselves and our values on this wonderful journey called life!

Second Grade: Ocean Scenes in the Style of Eric Carle

Second Graders started their sailboat pictures in the style of Eric Carle.  After learning all about Eric Carle and his techniques, students started their artwork by painting their paper they will be using for their oceans by mixing blue, turquoise and white paint and using paint brushes, paint scrapers, sponges and rollers for texture.  The next step is to learn how yellow, cyan and magenta can be mixed to create the secondary colors.  The final step will be cutting out shapes from their painted papers and collaging those shapes to create a beautiful sailboat scene.  Now, I'm saying sailboats, but I'm sure I will also see pirate ships, speedboats, submarines, dolphins, sharks and more.  Let's let those imaginations run wild!

Eric Carle: Elephants! Elephants!

Students are learning about the famous children's book author and illustrator, Eric Carle.  We watched a short video clip of how Eric Carle paints his papers and makes his fantastic collages.  I love that Eric Carle says that anyone can make artwork like him!

Third Graders will be creating an elephant in the style of Eric Carle using mixed media.  The focus of this lesson is on texture, value, and a variety of painting techniques. 



The first step to the actual project (after the discussion on Eric Carle) is painting our gray paper for our elephant.  Students mixed black and white paint to create different values of gray and then added texture to their paper with sponges, rollers and paint scrappers (just like Eric Carle!).  The students are so excited to make their fun, textured papers!  There have actually been applause in the Art room!

 Messy, but fun!

 Look at that great value and texture!

 (Don't worry moms, it's washable!)