Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

The kindergarten students in Mrs. Brandi's class made these awesome Chicka Chicka Boom Boom pictures.  After I read aloud the book by Bill MartinJr. and John Archambault, the class identified key elements to the illustrations: an orange background, a coconut tree and lots of letters.  From there, we got right to work and began color mixing.  We talked about primary colors and how mixing yellow with red will result in orange.  We put this to the test and used great BIG brush strokes to cover the background of their artwork.

On day two, we had a gluing lesson and began to stick down all the parts of our coconut tree.  We began with the bright purple boarder around the paper which really framed the composition.  Then we  practiced our cutting skills but cutting a brown rectangle into two equal parts to stretch the coconut tree up the paper.  Then we made zig-zag lines along green paper to make the design of the palm leaves.  We also added the coconuts and sun to the picture,  Last, we stamped our letters going up the coconut tree.  What fun!

Fall Birch Trees

This lesson incorporated abstract art and pointillism.  Students looked at images from artist, George Seurat, and discussed his technique of using tiny dots of color to create his paintings.  I asked the students to use a similar technique while making the foreground of their pictures with oil pastels.  After we laid down our masking tape trees, we pulled out fall colors from the boxes of oil pastels.  We used reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and greens, and began making tiny motions to full in the ground with dots as if all the leaves had fallen off the trees.  To get the "smudged" appearance, students used baby oil with q-tips to blend all the colors.

Step #1 - Laying down the tape trees

Step #2 - Adding a pointillism style foreground.
Half of the picture has been "smudged" with baby oil and the other half has not.
Can you tell the difference?

After completing the foreground, students then worked on the sky.  Dramatic skies were the focus, making sure to incorporate more than one color.  We looked at images of dramatic sun sets and stormy skies to help with their ideas.  We used watercolors to paint in the skies and I love how each have a different personality.

Apple Still Life

First grade students embarked on a still life project which began with tempera paint and color mixing.  Students shared how apples come in many different sizes and colors - red, yellow, green and often a combination of two or all three of these colors can appear on an apple.

Each student traced an apple template onto their paper to help make fill the paper.

Next, came the paint!  Students explored using two colors while painting and letting the brush blend the colors right on the paper instead of mixing paint at their tables first.

Day two was all about collage making!  Student set up the background of their artwork by gluing a large rectangle for a table, a piece of burlap for either a sac or basket, and then students were ready for their apples.  Each student then cut out their three apples and placed them on top of the burlap.  We then jazzed them up by adding leaves and stems.  The finished products are delicious!

Glue and Pastel Self-Portrait

Third grade students made these gorgeous self-portraits using pencil, glue, and pastels. Upon listening to the book Two Eyes, A Nose, and a Mouth by, Roberta Intrater, they made a list of key features to include in their portrait. They drew their faces with pencil and then outlined the drawing in glue. Once dried, the glue made a raised boarder to help make definition for the face. Students then colored in their pictures with pastels and dabbled with blending techniques.

Here's a peek at the pastel process.  Very stunning and realistic results from this crew :)

Come back soon to see the finished results!

Texture Apples

Kindergarten students are creating texture apples to decorate the art room.  As a class, we discussed the word texture and touched a variety of different materials to deepen our understanding of the word.  We gathered a sampling of different red papers, fabrics, and odd recycled goods to fill out collage apples with.

After our texture discussion, students went back to their groups and used an apple template to trace an apple shape on their paper.  Teamwork was emphasized so that one peer held the template down while the other student was tracing.  Once all students traced an apple on their paper, I demonstrated how to operate a glue stick.  Too much turning of the dial leads to a stick mess, fast.  We learned that you only need a small amount of glue and to only turn the dial when necessary.

Love these textures: rough, smooth, rubbery

Glue sticks in action!

Day two was all about embellishing these texture collage apples.  Students began by adding more texture to their apples and review gluing techniques.  Next, students used crayons to color in the empty white spaces inside their apples to add another layer of color to the stems and leaves.  Students used markers to trace and outline their apples using red for the fruit, brown for the stem, and green for the leaves.  The final step was practicing cutting skills by reviewing how to properly hold and operate scissors.  These kindergarten students did a WONDERFUL job!!!

Just look at how beautiful this texture tree came out!!

Radial Symmetry Exploration

Radial symmetry found in nature

Radial symmetry found in architecture

5th grade students were presented with these images of radial symmetry to appreciate how art and nature often mimic each other.  In radial symmetry, a pattern is repeated around a center axis. Students were given an 11x11 square paper to then fold into eight equal triangles.  We used hinge folds - folding the paper forwards and backwards on itself to make the crease more pliable - and then section off the square into eighths.  

Students were then told use their name to fill in an entire triangle.  Once the first triangle was filled in, I demonstrated how to transfer the image to the second triangle using a rubbing technique.  By applying pressure to the paper, the graphite from the pencil will appear as a mirror image in the next triangle.  This pattern of tracing, rubbing, and transferring is then repeated until all eight triangles are filled.

The beginning stages of transferring.

Look at these students go!

More to come as the projects rolls out!

Line and Pattern 3-D Fish

What is a line?  

This question began a group conversation with my 2nd grader students.  We discussed how lines are all around us - we use them to file in the hallways, help us write neatly on paper, connect dot to dots, however, we all agreed that a line can look very different when drawn on paper.  Together, we shared our ideas about lines and recorded how we see lines on a group chart.  We then labeled the examples and practiced using this vocabulary: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zig-zag, curved, loop-d-loop, bumpy, etc. The class then transitioned back to their work areas and began using these lines to create their gigantic fish.

An example of the interactive anchor chart created by Mrs. O'Neil's class

As students began to design their fish, I demonstrated how to fill the paper.  Each student was working on a very large piece of paper - 18x24 - so I showed the class how to start with the tail on one side, then fill the inner space by drawing the fish's body, followed by adding fins to fill in the top and bottom of the paper.

LOVE the eye and eyelashes on this fish :)

This student is working hard tracing his hammer head shark!

During the second class, students began using sharpies to trace their fish and practice patterns to create the "scales" of their fish.  Students divided their fish's body into 7-8 sections and then made different line and pattern combinations in the spaces.  I modeled the first two as a group using suggestions from the class and then let students complete their fish "scales" on with their own artistic imagination.  The remainder of the class was devoted to adding color.  Students used watercolors to make a splash.

Such detailed lines and patterns

Look at those scales

Spreading out on the floor to add color to this school of fish

More to come as these fish go from being 2-D to 3-D!