Birch Trees, 4th Grade

This 4th grade art lesson began with an Emaze presentation!! This amazing visual experience gave us a up close and personal look at Gustav’s Klimt’s, Birch Trees series! We really felt like we were walking around an art gallery looking at the work of this famous artist! We used our observational skills to answer the following questions, what do you see? What you think? What do you wonder?

After answering questions, we discussed how artists create a sense of space in landscapes. We observed that things closest to us were darker, more detailed, and larger in size. The opposite was true about things further away. They appeared lighter and smaller in size.

Day 1 got started with a demo using different sized masking tape to block off our birch trees and create our realistic background. In order to make sure our tape wasn’t too sticky, we used lint from our clothing, to take some of the stick off. We also created and illusion of depth by making our trees thicker in the foreground and thinner in the middle and background. Next, we created a horizontal line that separating our sky from our ground. We used warm and cool   watercolors to bring our landscape to life. We practiced different watercolor techniques like wet-into-wet, dry brush, and lifting.  If there was time, students could remove their tape from their birch trees shape.

On Day 2, we focused on creating the textures observed in the fallen leaves and birch tree. We learned how to reuse old credit cards as stamps, dipping them in black tempera paint and scrapping them on our birch trees shape.  This created the black and gray horizontal marking found on real birch trees. Lastly, we used our paint brushes to create quick dashes of autumn colors for our fallen leaves.  This texture was similar to the the one found in Gustav’s Klimt’s, Birch Forest I.  I’ve been wanting to do a birch tree art lesson for years and this one did not disappoint! It was so much fun from start to finish. These autumn landscapes are just fantastic!

Our autumn birch trees are currently outside the art room! They have gotten a lot of attention from parents, staff, and students  walking by!

Falling Leaves, 3rd Grade

This is a lesson near and dear to my heart. This is the third year I’ve taught it, and it just keeps getting better! This year, our third grade artists choose the time of day they wanted to capture their falling leaves.  Third time’s the charm! I just love the emotion and personality in each work of art!

Enjoy these beautiful falling leaves, created by our 3rd grade artists.

A batik is a traditional method of producing colored designs on textiles by applying wax and dye. Instead of using the traditional materials, we created our batiks by using crayons, oil pastels, tempera paint and white paper. We began by studying our leaves organic shapes and texture. We arranged our leaves so there was balance and harmony in our composition. The texture rubbing technique was used to create each leaves shape and veins. We used oil pastels to mix and blend colors inside the blade part of our leaves, making them look so realistic!  Our 3rd graders did a wonderful job blending colors, creating values, and making their leaves look so delicate and beautiful.

We began the batik process by first wrinkling our papers into a ball, making sure that our artwork was on the inside. Carefully, we unfolded our paper and smoothed out the creases. Next, students brought their papers to the painting station, where they covered their whole paper with blue and purple tempera paint.  Lastly, students brought their projects to the sink area, where we ran water over our paper and watched as the paint ran off our leaves. Our backgrounds (negative space) held the paint and made for a beautiful backdrop to our vivid fall leaves. Our 3rd graders captured all that is sweet and special about Fall, the slight breeze, rich color, and crisp air.

Exploring Lines, Kindergarten

Kindergarten is flying high in art!

Can you guess the element of art our Kindergarteners have been busy exploring? If you thought lines, you are correct!  Our Kindergarten friends have been learning all about lines. Our unit on line got started with a special poem titled, “Larry the Line”.  You can find this wonderful poem on Cassie Stephens art blog! After learning the words and the hand motions to the poem, students got to meet Larry (the stuffed animal snake) and practice creating lines with his body. We put all our knowledge to great use when we began creating our hot air balloons. We used a variety of lines (vertical, diagonal, horizontal, spiral, curved, and angle lines) to decorate the inside of our balloon shape. Next, we explored color and learned how to use our paint brushes like a ballerina, (on their toes not on their bottoms).After being introduced to tempera paint, students began adding colors to their hot air balloons to make them look realistic. We decorated squares with vertical and horizontal lines to make them look like realistic baskets. After cutting and attaching string, Kindergarten was ready for take off. Art has been such a sweet adventure with TG’s youngest artists! Oh the places you’ll go in ART!

Check out our first project of the school year, now on display outside the  cafeteria. We are currently learning about shapes and have been busy creating Indian corn, leaves, and Monsters. Stay tuned for those projects. They just went home with your budding artist!

The sky’s the limit!

Character Counts!

Our final three collaborative murals are now complete!  Take a look at the work of our Kindergarten, First, and Fourth Grade Artists. They used the elements of art to illustrate their grade levels character values.

Grade Four, Citizenship                                            Kindergarten, Caring 

Grade One, Fairness

It was so nice meeting my Monday classes yesterday, and finally getting to piece together our mystery murals. Students enjoyed working together to create one unified piece of art! I love the rainbow of color now filling the hallway outside the art room. Check out all six pillars of character! 

T.R.R.F.C.C. 

First Grade Alligator Weavings

Our First Grade Artists just finished these Grand Gators inspired by our TG mascot, Tucker! We crafted our Alligators by first learning how to weave.  Students learned terms like loom, weft, and warp and used them to create their alligator’s body. To create visual texture, we used 2 different size weft strips and a variety of green colors. We pulled our weft strips over and under our loom’s slots to create a checkerboard pattern in our weaving.

It was so much fun watching as strips of paper transformed into a colorful and functional masterpiece.  I just love the magic of hand weaving! On our second meeting day we created our alligators head, tail, 4 legs, teeth, and eyes. All of these details really brought out gators to life! I love the character and color that these reptiles exhibit!

Some of our Gator’s swam over to Board Office, for our TG Art Exhibit up now until Friday, June 12th. Enjoy the work of our TG Artists!

Wayne Thiebaud “Cakes”, 4th Grade

Our 4th graders just finished creating these colorful cakes in the style of artist Wayne Thiebaud. Wayne Thiebaud is famous for creating delicious looking paintings! At 94 years old, Wayne is still living and creating in Southern California. His subject matter is inspired by his memory of food served at birthday parties, family picnics, and holidays at home as a child. Wayne Thiebaud is one of my favorite artists to share in the classroom because of his playfulness with subject matter and color. His landscapes paintings are some of my favorites.

We began this project by first drawing our cake’s shape using contour lines. First we learned how to draw our cake’s cylinder shape. Students could choose to draw a tiered cake or a cake with a slice removed. We had fun choosing colors and applying oil pastel to create a frosting like texture. Students used oil pastels to mix and blend colors and create 3 dimensions. We used dark and light shading techniques to create value in our cakes. We created contrast in our design by placing our cake on a decorative; aluminum plate and using a background color to make out dessert stand out. Some student’s added designs to their background to create a fun wallpaper design. If only these were real cakes! This project made us so hungry, second period of the day. Good thing our 4^th graders have lunch after art!

Art.. Do not Eat!

International Polar Bear Day, 2nd Grade

Love Polar Bears? If so, then you will love this blog post! Our second grade artists created these loveable polar bears to help illustrate their beauty and importance in our world.

One of our roles as artists, is to study and document our surroundings. The focal point of this lesson was the polar bear, which has become the iconic symbol of our troubled arctic ecosystem. Our second graders used their creativity and unique perspectives to bring attention to this threatened species. We spent time during the lesson, learning facts about the polar bear and thinking of ways we can help save them. Check out the below link to see how you can help.

Polar Bears International 

We began this lesson, by learning how to draw a polar bear using basic shapes. Using charcoal, we created highlights and shadows on our polar bears to make them look realistic. We created our polar bear’s home, the arctic habitat, by creating a gradient of color in repeating centric circles. We learned that when we mix white with a color, it is called a tint. Paint bellows were used to cover our polar bear scenes with snow.

Our 2^nd graders finished this project a couple weeks back, and have been eager to share them. This week, they will be on display outside the art room in celebration of, International Polar Bear Day on February 27^th.

Enjoy these polar bear portraits, created by our 2^nd grade artists.

Winter’s Wonderful Work

Take a look at winter’s wonderful work, captured by our 5th grade artists.

We got started, by examining photographs of snowflakes, taken by scientist, Wilson Bentley, also known as, “The Snowflake Man.” When we studied snowflakes up close, we noticed how intricate and unique they are. We were amazed to find, how many different types of snowflakes there are, and how these tiny particles come to be. We learned that while their hexagonal shape and six sides stay the same, the details of their overall structure varied. Here is an incredible time-lapse video of how a snowflake is formed. What an art form! We created our 3 dimensional snowflakes by using Popsicle sticks for the arms and aluminum foil to create the wintery feel and sparkle. Our 6-sided snowflakes, demonstrate our understanding of radial or rotational symmetry.

“Splendid snowflakes” 

Our 5^th graders used color to create feelings of excitement and warmth or calm, and coolness. Using warm or cool colors, students got to work, creating snowflake designs as unique and special as the artists that created them. It was neat seeing our snowflakes transform through color, pattern, and unique shapes.

“Nature has been mastering itself for some time now, and it is an honor to be able to capture its beauty.” – Justin Beckett 

Bento Boxes, 5th Grade

Food Art 

Our 5th graders have been busy turning lunch into an art form, with these deliciously crafted Bento Boxes. We spent time admiring the art of Japanese cuisine through the preparation and arrangement of these lovable, yummy bento boxes.  An equal amount of time and care went into planning and  preparing our food items using materials like; construction paper, tissue paper, foam, felt, and yarn. Beauty is an essential ingredient in any traditional Japanese meal. Our 5th graders kept this in mind as they captured the color and textures of each individual food item.

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Students used their favorite foods and imagery to create a bento boxes that explored their individuality.

The Japanese believe that you eat with your eyes first!  Enjoy these works of art created by our 5th grade artists.

 Who wouldn’t enjoy receiving a lunch filled with so much color, texture, and of course love!

Hungry for more? Come back next week for additional photos.

It was fun seeing what “award” each student got for their Bento Box creations! We used this token response, art critique game, to look at, and talk about each others work. Students won awards for such things as;

Snow Angels, 1st Grade

Inspired by the book, “A Perfect Day”,  by Author Carin Berger, our first graders got to work creating their first winter art project of the year.  “A Perfect Day,” is truly a perfect story!  When I discovered this book, I searched high and low to find a copy. Traveling to JaZams in Princeton, I managed to run into some TG friends and the rest is history. I love the pairing of words and delightful use of illustrations. Our cut paper compositions, were inspired by a special page in the story when, “all together, everyone made snow angels.”

Our First Grade snow angels, were created using different colored construction paper and patterns. We got started by drawing our snow angel shape. We used different tints of blue and white to get our snowy white color. We even mixed in some shimmer and sparkle!  Then, we used light and dark blue to create the shadows in our snow.

To make a snow angel, we learned that our arms and legs must move up and down. Hopefully, we will have some snow to practice in soon!

Since my first graders come to art with their winter gear in hand, (snow coats, gloved, scarfs, and hats) we used this as inspiration for our snowy outfits. Using the special pattern papers, we added details and accents to our snow outfits. Some students decided to create snow suits, white others created snow coats and pants.

      Enjoy the work of 1E and 1C’s! These are currently on display, outside the art room, for all to see and admire. 1D’s snow angles are currently on display in their classroom!