Op Art

2D students are in the process of creating their first masterpiece. We studied the Op Art movement and then embarked on creating our own mind-bending pieces. Here are a few nearing completion:

2D Art: Fundamentals of Drawing

The first week of 2D Art, middle schoolers learned the basics of drawing. We focused our early lessons on learning to draw by observation...there will be plenty of time for abstract art later in the semester! The students began by drawing still lifes of simple shapes (cones, spheres, cubes, etc...) with value and contour lines. We also took a day to do a quick refresher on the color wheel. Students did a great job creating gradients with warm and cool colors. They worked hard to get the mechanics of creating a smooth transition between the colors. No Neopolitan ice cream allowed here! The week concluded with a rather tasty exercise. We drew donuts! They were, of course, allowed to eat them at the end of class.

 

I Have A Dream

In celebration of MLK Day, 2nd graders drew portraits of Martin Luther King. They did a great job studying the historical photographs of him. At the end of the project I challenged students to think of a dream they have for our current world. Here are a few of the results. Enjoy!

1st Grade Birch Trees

Chihuly recycled project

I love Chihuly! The kids love learning about this artist (the strange eye patch is always a topic of conversation) and examining his work. Last quarter Mrs. Ristow's 3rd grade class created this Chihuly-inspired installation piece using paint, recycled bottles collected at school, and a wire vegetable trellis.

Kandinsky color mixing

This week Kindergarten learned about the importance of color in creating an emotion or mood in art. We began the exercise by drawing a time when they were either happy, sad, scared, angry, or excited. Next they then had to fill in the picture with a color that best fit the emotion of that particular situation.

We then looked at abstract art by Kandisnky and discussed what emotions we felt when looking at his artwork. His art is a great example of how simply color and line can stir the imagination and create emotion without using recognizable objects. We practiced our color mixing skills by creating our own versions of Kandinsky's famous concentric circle painting. Students were given the challenge of creating as many different colors as possible out of only the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.

Galapagos Penguins

Just before winter break, kindergartners learned the basics of making art out of clay and took a field trip to the art room to check out the kiln. They were so excited to get a preview of where they will be having art class next year. They are such a well behaved and enthusiastic bunch...I cannot wait to have them in my room next year where we will be able to do more involved and complicated projects.

For this project, we decided to learn about and sculpt Galapagos Penguins. Students looked at pictures for inspiration but were allowed to make their own modifications. I appreciate the particularly chubby penguin that became a pregnant "mommy penguin". Another little guy mysteriously looks just like a chicken. After an extended  vacation the penguins are fired and ready for glazing. The photos below the glazing process in action. Check back in a few days for pictures of the final product.