Circles and Matryoshkas

This week the fourth graders finished their shrink art circles that show radial symmetry.  They turned them into a pin or a hanging decoration for a window.  They were so excited about how much smaller the pieces became.  I love how much detail you can see in the finished versions.

 The third graders have been creating matryoshkas or nesting dolls.  They are in the middle of a unit about art that tells a story.  For this assignment they are working as a team in groups of four.  Each group has drawn four characters from a fairy or folk tale.  Then they are turning those characters into a set of nesting dolls.  On each doll they are illustrating one part of the fairy tale.  Below are just the beginnings of this project.  There has been a lot of sketching involved and brainstorming of ideas, so it is taking us several weeks to finish.  They are enjoying having a chance to do some collaborative learning in groups.

Above is a student sketch of ideas for characters from the story The Little Red Hen.

Rain Drops Are Falling On Our Heads

The Kindergarteners have been creating art about weather. 

This week they drew self-portraits of themselves in the rain.  Then they used bingo dotters to add brightly colored rain drops.

Picasso Masks

I finally finished firing all the clay masks from 4th grade, so today the students were able to complete them.  They added hair and other embellishments to their clay pieces, which were inspired by Picasso's mixed up portraits. 

Below are some images I forgot to post earlier from when the 2nd graders were creating artwork about families.  They made story quilts after reading the book Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold.  Each of their story quilts tells about an event that happened with their families.

 Today the second graders in Mrs. Carter's class made sketches in preparation for next week's clay project.  We will be creating imaginary space bugs from clay, so today they sketched ideas for their pieces.  These are just simple drawings from their sketchbooks, but they very filled with imaginative ideas.

 The Kindergartners created some beautiful faux stained glass for our library windows.  We looked at the work of Henri Matisse and the way he uses organic leaf shapes in his work.  Students chose to use either warm or cool colors for their stained glass. (This idea was adapted from an article in the Arts and Activities magazine).

Drip, Drop, Splat!

Raindrops are falling into our artwork in Kindergarten.  We've been creating artwork related to weather.  This week students are creating abstract raindrop collages using chalk and paper.  I love the free lines they drew in the background before gluing the drops on top and the way the bright colors create a cheerful mood.  Plus this was a perfect opportunity for the kinders to keep practicing their cutting skills.  I love the results!  (Can I please have one to hang in my house?!) 

The fifth graders have started a unit on Op Art.  We are looking at the ways artists create optical illusions through repetition of lines, shapes, and colors.  They created animals and their habitats using paper printed with optical illusions.  Take a look at their great work, but don't stare too long or your eyes will start to hurt!