Georgia O'Keeffe Flower Studies

Jakyla, Grade 2

Ella, Grade 1

Bryan, Grade 2

Keshawn, Grade 2

Briana, Grade 2

Isaac and Laura, Grade 2

Olivia, Grade 1

The students in first and second grade have been learning about Georgia O'Keeffe.  They learned about her life and her love of nature.  They practiced looking at things closely like she was known to do.  In their first pastel project, they drew their own large-scale flowers inspired by real flowers.  They practiced mixing and layering colors, and they located lines, shapes and colors in their compositions.  Their artwork shows careful observation rather than drawing the typical first grade flower from memory.  I have decorated the art room with their colorful work.

Playground Engineers

Collaboration!

The Kindergarten classes are beginning to work on sculptural projects this week.  They were asked to use paper to build a playground.  Their inspiration image was one of Alexander Calder's circus assemblage sculptures.  They talked about what makes something a sculpture, and they practiced folding, curling and attaching paper scraps into forms resembling playground structures.  They had lots of fun, and are ready to move on to other 3-D projects!

Finding Balance in Art Club

The members of the Prescott Art Club just finished painting some colorful balance boards built by Coach D.  They used acrylic paint to add color to the natural wood surfaces, and then they added a sealant to help preserve the designs.  They are all looking forward to trying them out in P.E.  The Art Club meets Tuesday mornings at 7:45, and any student in grades 3-8 can join!

Insect Insanity

Sketch, trace, arrange, color, sculpt and design were all tasks given to our first and second graders as they worked on this fun project that combines science and art.  The students looked at artwork by famous artists who have studied insects and who have been inspired to use them in their art.  They were asked to invent an insect with all of the standard body parts, but with unique design.  They arranged and traced their sketches in a repeated pattern on a large paper to create balance through repetition.  They colored their sketches with their own colorful pattern, and those who finished up quickly tried sculpting their insect from modeling clay!  These photos from Mrs. Kirshner's class show their creative minds at work.

Carlos Sculpting a Beetle

Caylin's Dragonfly

Ella's Bee

Christina's Completed Work

Kiarie Building her Bug

Ally Nearly Finished

Images from the Upcoming Middle School Art Show

Keyshana, Grade 8, Study of Frida Kahlo

Keyshana's sketches, revisions, notes, research and inspiration images used in the creation of her painting

     Since February, the middle school classes have been working on a long-term project.  I could not be more proud of their work.  Most of them have never completed a painting on canvas, and they had previously worked mainly with the traditional elementary school tempera paint.  As a class, we researched various art movements including Pop Art, Impressionism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Fauvism and Realism.  The students brainstormed ideas for a painting or chose a famous painting they liked.  Their assignment was to create their own painting that connects with the work of a master painter.  Some students had to find a painting that matched their own ideas.  Other students chose the painting first and changed it to something with personal meaning.  Many did both.

Alexa, Grade 6, Study of Vincent Van Gogh

     Through their work, we discussed aerial perspective and depth in backgrounds, value, color theory, texture, scale and proportion.  They learned a lot about using acrylic paint through trial and error, but we also had demonstrations in blending, glazing and sketching from a grid.  This project required the students to be as patient as the teacher because every work of art was completely different.  I grouped students who were working on similar tasks, and these groupings changed as the paintings progressed.  They are adding final details and are reflecting on their work.

     The local public library at Lincoln and Belmont has agreed to display their paintings for the first 2 weeks of June.  Be sure to stop by and see the completed works.  We all worked very hard and learned a lot.  Some of the reflections show personal connections the students made with their work.  This is very advanced for middle school, and it makes me excited to see what they can accomplish next.  

Lashonda, Grade 6, Study of Wayne Thiebaud

Sara, Grade 6, Study of Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali

Kayla, Grade 8, Study of Henry Tanner

Juan Karlo, Grade 6, Study of Pablo Picasso

Jackie, Grade 7, Study of Mark Rothko

Taylor, Grade 6, Study of Paul Gauguin

Corey, Grade 8, Study of Rene Magritte

Javier, Grade 8, Study of Cezanne

Yaxeni, Grade 7, Study of Gustav Klimt

Carmelita, Grade 6, Study of Georgia O'Keeffe

Sally, Grade 7, Study of Salvador Dali

Dejana, Grade 7, Study of Claude Monet

Connor, Grade 6, Study of Alex Katz

Jordan, Grade 8, Study of Roy Lichtenstein

Geno, Grade 6, Study of Georgia O'Keeffe

Daimony, Grade 8, Study of Takashi Murakami

Isabella, Grade 6, Study of Grant Wood

Gerardo, Grade 7, Study of Henri Matisse

Kenny, Grade 6, Study of Rene Magritte

Jammah, Grade 8, Study of Henri Matisse

                                         
                                           

Kinder Gardens

Bamike's Garden

Kimani the Happy Gardener

The Kindergarten classes are creating vegetable gardens this week.  They are getting great practice using fine motor skills as they fold paper into furrows and place beans and tissue in rows to create a garden.  I have asked them to make patterns as they plant their veggies.  They are excited to make signs for their gardens as a finishing touch.  This project follows a painting project where they drew and painted root vegetables like carrots and onions growing underground.