Discover Artsonia!

Now that we have the beginning of the school year behind us, I have updated the student rosters on our Artsonia site.  Follow the link at the top of this page that says "View Student Gallery" to find your child's online portfolio.  Many families bought merchandise from the site last year.  Student artwork on magnets, key chains, phone cases, coffee cups and other items make great gifts.  20% of your purchase comes back to me in the form of a Blick gift card.  I use this credit to keep our classroom running.  If you did not fill out a photo/video consent form giving us permission to post photos of your child or their work, you will not find their name on the site.  I can activate their portfolio if you simply let me know it's okay.  Happy shopping!

Kimonos and Japanese Gardens

Ian, Grade 3

Christa, Grade 3

Tamia, Grade 3

Ava, Grade 3

Ally, Grade 3

The second and third graders have been learning about the art of Japan.  They made a paper doll with a kimono and obi, and they used bright designs to create the "fabric" for the kimonos.  After finishing the folding and gluing of the kimono, they created a Japanese garden in the background.  They were challenged to include a Japanese bridge, a pagoda, Mt. Fuji, koi and cherry blossoms.  I love how they turned out, and the students did a great job learning all the vocabulary associated with the project.  We have now moved on to trying out some simple origami. 

Frida Kahlo "Selfie" Project

The 6th-8th grade class has been working on a project that challenged them to think like Frida Kahlo.  Frida painted many self-portraits, and they had definite somber moods.  She achieved the effect of gloom in her work in several ways, one of which was the background.  She often used symbolism, colors and settings that showed the constant pain and suffering in her life.  Her facial expression reinforced the feeling.  The middle schoolers were asked to take a selfie and to superimpose it on a background.  Their challenge was to create a mood using colors, symbols or settings, just like Frida.  Here are some of the finished selfies...

Many Mona Lisas

Rylee's Minecraft Mona, Grade 5

Giana's Vampire Mona Lisa, Grade 4

Aria's Cat Mona Lisa, Grade 4

Keshawn's Angel Mona Lisa, Grade 4

Alex's "Frida Lisa", Grade 5

Manuel's Villager Mona Lisa, Grade 5

Samuel's Viking Mona Lisa, Grade 4

Analiz's Modern Mona Lisa, Grade 5

Melanie's Clown Mona Lisa, Grade 5

Lily's Chicagoan Mona Lisa, Grade 5

Victoria's Super Hero Mona Lisa, Grade 5

     The fourth and fifth graders began their Renaissance unit this month.  We began by comparing and contrasting art from the Middle Ages and Renaissance Art.  The students came up with an impressive list of characteristics of Renaissance Art including the use of perspective, the use of proportion, blending of colors, and more realism.  They began with Leonardo da Vinci and The Mona Lisa as their first Renaissance lesson.  You can see that they got creative with their own Monas, and I love to see that they are carrying over last year's lessons on value into their work.  Next week, we move on to talking about Michelangelo!

Honoring Frida and Diego

The fourth and fifth graders have been learning about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.  They learned about the lives of these two famous Mexican artists, and they chose one, or both, as the theme for the creation of an ofrenda for el Dia de los Muertos.  The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition celebrating friends and loved ones who have passed away.  By building festive altars, they welcome the spirits home to celebrate with the family.  Papel picado (cut paper banners), calaveras (candy skulls), and calacas (skeletons that 5th grader Jason decided were like action figures) are all decorations for the ofrendas.  The students created portraits as a review for drawing faces, they created a background for the boxes and a frame for the portraits, and then they had fun decorating their work.  I love how they turned out.

Melanie and Monica's ofrenda features a Diego "calaca" painting at an easel.

Quin added foil to resemble mirrors.

Manuel and Enrique added calaveras, calacas and the flag of Mexico to their ofrenda.

Lily changed the shape of her box so we could see her artwork easily.

Alex created a guitar from wood scraps for his calaca.

Silhouette Self-Portraits

Celeste

 Brian

Geno

Aliyah

Mason

It's harder than it looks!  That's what the 6-8th graders decided after their first week tracing silhouettes.  They had a discussion about Audrey Flack and Vincent Van Gogh's paintings that are sometimes considered portraits although they are still life compositions.  They then made lists of items that could be considered symbols of their own identities.  They will be drawing a collage-style background of these images to use inside the silhouettes in their own work, and they will create a contrasting solid or patterned background to use for the space behind their silhouette.  I look forward to learning more about them through this introductory project, and I hope to see them using their shading skills from last year in their work!

Past, Present and Future Collage Mobiles

The 5th graders are starting the year with a collage project that asks them to reflect on three questions:  Where have you been?  Where are you now?  Where do you want to go?  They began by sharing their summertime experiences, whether they included travel or simply activities around Chicago.  They then talked about where they hope to go one day.  They learned about how Paul Gauguin traveled to Tahiti all the way from France, and about how he wrote letters and made paintings to document his travel.  For their own work, they will be creating three postcards.  One will be their past, one the present, and one their future.  They will be connecting the three cards and displaying them as mobiles.  I love this project because they learn about different places as they help each other find appropriate images for their work in the magazines.  It's fun to hear their descriptions of places they have been.  They also get to know each other a little bit better, and I can get to know them.  Here are some samples from this week!

Melanie is presently in Chicago

In the past, Salvador went to Six Flags.

Lily is presently in Chicago.

In the past, Quin went to Florida.

Monica is in Chicago.

In the past, Jaiden went to Hawaii. 

In the past, Alex went to Ecuador

In the past, Adrian went to Ohio.

In the past, Antonio went to see the Ninja Turtle movie.

In the past, Lila went to NYC!