Third Grade Rock Stars

Have you heard? Kindness rocks!  Have you found rocks in your neighborhood painted by artists, but left to be found by strangers?  Prescott's Social Worker, Nancy Hannah, mentioned The Kindness Rocks Project to me this summer, and she asked if I would collaborate to try the project at Prescott. The daughter of one of my friends was participating in the project through her school, and she was telling me how excited the kids were to participate.  Mrs. Hannah and I decided to plan a day in art class for the third graders at Prescott to participate in this project.

Mrs. Hannah came to third grade art this week, and the students designed rocks with a positive message to place around the city.  The hope is that a stranger will find the rock, and it will brighten their day.  I hope that this is a social-emotional learning experience, considering the idea is for them to part with their own artwork to benefit a stranger.  The kids just have to trust that their rock is found by someone who appreciates it!  Here are some photos of their work.  If you would like to read about the Kindness Rocks Project, check out this link.

Giotto and Fresco Painting

As 4th grade's final Renaissance project, they learned how frescoes are created.  They watched a video about Giotto and his frescos illustrating St. Francis and his life.  Here is an example of one of Giotto's frescoes showing him preaching to the birds.

Frescoes are painted onto freshly laid plaster so the paint and plaster dry at the same time.  The painting becomes part of the wall.  I had the students cover plates with spackling paste from the hardware store.  They used plastic knives and spread it onto the plate like icing on a cake.

I had them sketch drawings while the paste set.  I suggested fruit and had some sample photos for them to choose from if they needed a resource photo.  I thought this would keep the sketches simple and large enough.  Small details would be difficult with the watercolors.

Nate drew his grape sketch onto the plaster once it dried.

Maleah drew pears.

Madi is copying her sketch onto the dried plaster.

Once they finished sketching, they were ready to paint.  Here are some works in progress!

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

 

Third Grade Hot Dog Art

Pop artists love hot dogs.  Wayne Thiebaud, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons have all used hot dog images in their work.

Hot Dog by Roy Lichtenstein

I decided that the third graders could practice their clay sculpting skills and could continue their year of Chicago art projects by making their own hot dog sculptures... Chicago-style!  We listed all the ingredients they have had on Chicago-style hot dogs, and I let them get to work.  After they finished all the ingredients, they let them dry for a day and then painted.  I challenged them to mix colors and to not use paint right out of the bottle.  They competed for the most realistic colors and sculptures.  Here are some photos from the project:

Haley added poppy seeds to her bun.

Jia Organizing Works-in-Progress

Anthony Taking a Pretend Bite

Yum!

Grant Wood Landscapes

Grant Wood created landscapes such as this one, showing American  farmland.

The 5th grade is continuing their American Art study with a look at Grant Wood and Regionalism.  They created some amazing landscapes in his style, practicing perspective, blending, value and brush techniques.  Here are some pictures of the process:

Students began with value gradients in the sky and on the hills.

I encouraged them to add light, medium and dark values, and to blend the  shades with a clean and dry brush.

Jaren, Grade 5

Adilene, Grade 5

Ethan, Grade 5

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