Pop and Op Art Heart

3rd grade students were inspired by Jim Dine and Andy Warhol while making these Pop Art Hearts. Like this Dine seen here:

 When creating we discussed contrast and different color theory such as warm and cool color families. We painted the backgrounds first, then collaged hearts on top. Here are some great examples of artwork the students made:

4th grade students learned about Op Art when creating this Optical Illusions of Hearts. I was inspired by a lesson I saw on Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists blog (one of my favorites). After discussing line, shape, pattern and color theory students got to work on these eye crossing works of art:

If you wondering why so many heart projects? Well, at my school we do a fund raiser with a company called Square 1 Art, this year I decided to do a heart theme with the entire school, to go along our school's theme of Kindness, I thought a heart would be most fitting.

What's happening

I'm sorry there won't be any pictures with this post. My home computer is on the fritz so I can not upload any photos, hopefully soon though so be on the look out. But I still wanted to update everyone on what is happening in art right now.

Kindergarten will soon be finishing their primary color birds. This is a great lesson where students learn about their primary colors for the bird then mix the secondary colors for the background.

First graders are starting to work on their backgrounds to the Modrian inspired animals. They did a great job of using thoughtful craftsmanship when painting!

Second grade learned about Value and did some color mixing. Now they are starting to turn all that wonderfully painted paper into a Tropical Bird collage. Thank to you Deep Space Sparkle Blog for the idea!

Third grade just finished learning about Geometric Shapes and made some really creative Robots. Soon we will start making a Southwestern Landscape.

Fourth graders are learning how to weave. Creating circle weaving's using different color families, inspired by the Aztec "sun stones". Next step backgrounds.

Fifth grade students are being challenged and learning to draw using 2 point perspective. And they are passing the challenge with flying colors, I couldn't be happier with the results! Thank you to Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artist blog for both my fourth and fifth grade lesson ideas.

Happy "The Dot" Day

September 15th is International "The Dot" Day. And all this week has been Celebrate Art Education Week.

So in honor of all that, we read "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds. If you have not read this book I highly recommend that you take a look.

Here are some of the "DOT" inspired artwork that we did to celebrate the occasion. We used crayon and watercolor. Resist is one of my favorite techniques. Enjoy!

 

Back to School

It's almost over...Summer Break. Though here in Florida we do not get the much needed break in the heat that we would like this time of year, we are on our way back to school. My how time flies when we are having fun. I know that I have had a relaxing and exciting Summer. I was able to go to Washington D.C. this summer and visit some amazing museums in our Nation's Capital. Which have given me some great ideas for lessons for this up coming school year!

If you would like to help us make some amazing new art this year, there are a few things we will need:

• Craft Materials---> Burlap and other Fabric, Beads, Buttons, Wire in a variety of color, Yarn Cones, Sand Paper, Wood Scraps (no rough edges please:)
• Toys--->Plastic Cars, Plastic Dinosaurs, Legos, Instruments, Play Sand (Or Beach Sand)
• All types of magazines, but sports magazines would be the best!
• Art Supplies---> Containers with lids (my favorite are the cream cheese and baby food), Flat boxes (like used for soda flats or the lid from a ream of paper)

And then there are the basics that I have listed on the top right side of my blog that we are always in need of each year. Just remember if you sending in a container that once held food, please WASH it thoroughly before sending it to school. Thank you!

I can't wait to see all my students and hopefully some beautiful artwork that was done over the summer!

Summer Time

Well... it is that time of year again, SUMMER TIME! When the weather gets hot and kids (and adults) are out of school. Even though Mrs. Myers isn't around to teach you new art lessons, that doesn't mean that you should stop creating ART! Here are a few activities that you can do to help train your eyes, hand and brain to work together. And to fight off those two dreaded words..."I'm Bored".

• Set up your own Still-Life and draw what you see. Pull together a collection of random objects from around the house or empty out the junk drawer. Put your still-life near a window or lamp so you have a light source. 
• Experiment with new art materials or mediums. Find out what kind of media you like best if you are painting try tempera, acrylic and watercolor. Drawing try pastels, chalk, charcoal or a pencil.
• Create a sculpture from junk. Collect all those recyclable materials, that with a bit of glue and imagination you have you self a sculpture. 
• Going on a trip? Don't' forget your sketch book and camera. Take pictures or draw interesting things you see along your travels and write a few notes down. You can look back on these to help create future artwork or stories. 
• Who is your favorite artist? Go to the library and do some research on different artists. Find an artist you admire and study their work. Try to draw or paint in a similar way, learn from the masters. How did they use the Elements of Art? (Line, Shape, Color, Value, Texture, Space, Form). 

But most of all have FUN! Have a wonderful summer and save your artwork I would love to see them when we return to school! 

Mrs. Myers 

Starry Nights

Mark your calendars, our Art Show is right around the corner!

May 22nd will be the annual Starry Nights Art Show! 

Bring your family and friends out to enjoy what should be a fun filled evening of the Arts. Kindergarten thru Second Grade students will be singing and Third Grade students will be playing recorders. Not to mention the fabulous artwork that will be on display, every student will have a piece on display. Along with refreshments, we will be taking donations, all money goes directly to help support out Art, Music and Reading Programs. There will also be clay stars on sale (in honor of Starry Nights) to help support the Art Program. So don't miss out on this great opportunity to enjoy and support the ARTS! 

Clay Landscapes

After painting landscapes with 3rd Graders, they learned about Form and created a 3-D landscape with clay.

This landscape was submitted for consideration to our annual District Art Show

Mondrian

1st Graders learned about Primary Colors, Shapes and Lines. Along with artist Mondrian, they started by drawing an animal, any animal real or fantasy. Then they drew vertical and horizontal lines inside just like Mondrian. Then came the color, only Primary Colors were used in this project, which is easier said then done for some, the temptation to mix paint is a strong one. :)

Rainy Day Cityscapes

5th Graders learned about Value and Symmetry while creating these cityscapes. I found this lesson on incredibleart.org, one of my favorite sites to find great lesson plan ideas!! But I tweaked it a bit, the original lesson can be found at this link: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/elem41.html.

First students designed a cityscape on half their papers, then selected one color with all of its different values, from water soluble oil pastels. Then selected its complementary color and that was used for the sky. They reflected their cityscape simply on the bottom and with a wet brush blurred the image so it looks as though the city is being reflected in the water. Or as if the color washed from the buildings onto the sidewalk after a rainy day. Enjoy!

BUGS!!!

Well... I must have gotten a bad batch of clay or something, because more students then usual had blow-outs with their clay fish. But I didn't want any student to miss out of having a sculpture to take home. So we created insects from things we found outside. The next thing I know the room is infested with these creepy crawlies!!

Tropical Fish

These 2nd Grade students learned about Form and the clay process by creating Tropical Fish. This is a great lesson to introduce students to the 3 S's, Score, Slip and Smooth. First student wedged 2 pieces of clay then flattened them into a slab. I don't have enough rolling pins for everyone, but I learned a great technique from an art workshop, where student press the clay with their palm and flip as they press. I tell them to make it a "cookie" thickness but someone mentioned  it looked like a "crabby patty" from the cartoon Sponge Bob :)
After they have 2 "cookies" they draw, then cut a surfboard shape from the larger one. The surfboard is the body and the two crescents you have left are the fins and tail. After they were fired they painted them with acrylic paints. Here are a few examples of our fishes!