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.

 

The shoes are finished!

After working diligently for several weeks, Ceramics students finally finished their shoes! The inspiration for this assignment came from Van Gogh's expressive series of shoe paintings. Students have enjoyed trying to match the shoe to the student artist that created it.

Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day is on Friday! In honor of the event, kindergarten completed portraits of their grandparents using tempera paint. Here is the result:

 

 

 

Shoes

I am all about Vincent Van Gogh this quarter! He is one of my favorite artists and his work offers so much inspiration. Check out this GE sponsored installation at London's National Gallery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=541_ke_ADl0

 He is famous for a series of paintings of shoes. They have such an expressive quality; they are almost like portraits, as they can tell you so much about their owners. These paintings served as the inspiration for our current ceramics project. Students are working from observation to create a shoe sculpture that tells the viewer about themselves. Below I have included pictures of two projects that are approaching completion: a soccer shoe and worn-in Converse. I am absolutely floored by the quality of these pieces. This is easily high school quality work! I would love to enter them into an art contest, if I can only find one.

Royal Pooches!

This is a work in progress by 3rd graders. In response to many requests to draw animals, we are creating "Royal Pooches". We will be painting them with watered down tempera next week. I decided to paint my dog, Remy, as an example. Check out their preliminary sketches!

 

 

Thanks to Deep Space Sparkle for the idea!

Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

3rd grade traveled south of the border to discover Halloween-like traditions celebrated by other cultures. In Mexico, Halloween is not so scary. The celebrate "Dia de los Muertos" or "The Day of the Dead". It is a joyous occasion that remembers past friends and family members. Children dance in the streets with skeletons, decorate with marigolds and sugar skulls, and eat the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Our class painted sugar skulls (these are sweet treats eaten and displayed during the festivities) with tempera and then added glittery embellishments.