September 21st - "International Day of Peace"

Pinwheels for Peace - What an awesome idea!
Here's the "Pinwheels for Peace" website with some great videos and pictures of schools all over the world getting involved in this "International Day of Peace" event! Students loved it...even though I couldn't do this in my art class, the teachers were able to implement it into their lessons and it turned out really cool.

I found a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I felt summarized this event and I want to share it with everyone:

"What lies behind us,

and what lies before us,

are small matters

compared to 

what lies within us."

  

Our school is under construction and we have only a small area of grass so I had to be a little more creative. At least it made the fence look a little better for a few days!

Piccaso Portraits

I found this idea on a great website called Art Projects for Kids. The idea was to create a portrait based on the artist Pablo Picasso...which I know is nothing new. This idea, I liked because the lesson incorporated drawing half a face straight on and the other half as a profile. I however added a little twist by making sure that they used complimentary colors on each half of the face!

Landscapes Romero Britto Style

Over the Summer I did some research on more modern day artists and I ran across Romero Britto and his bright, bold pop art style! I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate his art into my curriculum.

Although most of his art is portrait and still life based, I managed to find one that was a landscape. So based on this image, I created a Romero Britto Landscape Art Project that my students loved.

The bright colors, patterns, implied texture and boldness really had them "oohhing" and "ahhing" over his work.

African Adinkra Bowls

Since we don't have a kiln and I'm not a huge fan of paper maché, I decided to use a paper making technique I learned in college. This was a great alternative and the results were better than I had anticipated! Way to go KIDS!

The Idea behind this project was for students to create a West African Adrinka Bowl using paper.

We used recycled paper...paper from copies that were incorrect, etc... and would just be trashed. The paper was blended up (in a blender) and then formed inside styrofoam bowls (which would too be recycled). After the paper dries, students painted the inside and outside of their bowls to represent the Adinkra bowls we've been studying. The middle of their bowls were stamped with ann Adinkra symbol.

Coiled Baskets

I just love doing this project. I did it last year with my 5th graders and loved it so much, I'm doing it again. The results are just AWESOME!

Headdresses

Native American culture is a part of our curriculum and it's one of my favorites because Native American art is so detailed and there's always a story behind it!

I got this idea from That Artist Woman's website and I loved the concept so much I decided to try it with my 5th graders. Although I altered it slightly due to time, I love how they all turned out.

Students not only learned about ceremonial art - art used in celebrations, rituals and ceremonies; they learned how to create a profile portrait of a Native American. We also discussed and used techniques such as overlapping, implied texture and radial symmetry.

"Weaving A Tree"

 

I have to admit, I didn't think this project up myself. I borrowed it from another art teacher - That Artist Woman. She has some interesting art projects on her site.

Although I got the idea from her, I changed things up a little to save time. Instead of dying the yarn, I bought thick yarn that was already green (various shades of green).



I also read them the book "Weaving A Rainbow" by George Ella Lyon to introduce the concept of weaving.

My 4th grade students loved it and their trees turned out fantastic.

Weaving Paper Plates

  

"The Weaver" by Thacher Hurd was my inspiration for this project.  
 3rd Grade students learned about weaving, folk art and expressive art - art that is created to show feelings, mood and emotions.

After reading the book, students created their own weaving using a paper plate to express themselves. We also discussed symmetry and patterns...which were incorporated into the designs of their plates.

Blue Dog Portraits

Today, student's learned about the artist George Rodrigue.

Student's watched the CBS News Interview with George Rodrigue and read his book "Why Is Blue Dog Blue". What a Great book!

The student's learned that a portrait doesn't have to be of a person. It can be of animals, too! Check out their great work and see if you can figure out their Narratives, too. (Narrative art - tells a story)

West African Masks

3rd Graders learned about West African culture and how masks are used for ceremonial purposes - art that is used for ceremonies, celebrations or rituals. We discussed the human characteristics that each mask had (eyes, nose and mouth), how they were symmetrical and were made from wood (things found in nature).  Students then created their own version of a West African mask.

Native American Masks