Week 1

This week I introduced to the students just a few drawing media choices for their artwork.  I didn't want them to get overwhelmed with the amount of choices that they had access to and have their artwork suffer as a result.  Instead they took their time getting to know the idea station and work on ideas they have been saving for just the right time to draw.  Next week we will add a new media to our list most likely painting, because the students are very familiar with this process.  It has been a great week and everyone seems excited about the freedom of choice and all the possibilities ahead for creativity.  Here are some of the fabulous pictures that we worked on this week.

2nd Grade

This is just the beginning to a 2nd graders picture.  He loves to create stories about his artwork as he goes along.  This one is about a truck that has been struck by a meteorite that passed through the sun. 

This young man is working on a dinosaur museum.  He knows a lot about dinosaurs and it shows in his work.

Though we may be a large school we are in the heart of farming country.  I have several boys that just love their John Deere tractors.

As a new addition to the Art Room I have added chunky crayons (pictured below) that I made by melting old crayons in my oven.  ( What a mess! I am waiting to do more until the summer sun will do the melting  for me.) This student's picture was a experiment to see how those crayons worked.  Love the pattern and the direction of the lines.

 This young man worked the whole time on this fabulous gorilla.  He and several other students really enjoyed working with the drawing books to help develop their skills.

Another drawing book inspired picture.  I know this student is planning a great background that he will be adding next week.

A jungle coming to life.

Even though I have showed students how to create new colors by mixing I never see too many apply the idea to their art.  This young man used several colored pencils to get the texture and color of the bricks just right.

A student came to me and said she was having trouble with the roof of her house.  She was realizing that when she drew the shape of the roof it didn't look quite right on top of the building.  She was realizing the need for perspective on her own, so we sat down and discussed perspective.  This was the result.  I know that she had doubts and struggled, but I was so pleased with her effort and perseverance.

 1st Grade

Going through postcards of artwork and architecture this student came across a photo of a Japanese building.  Even though the photo was in black and white the student selected his own colors to bring it to life.

The beginning of a camping adventure.

Two girls were using the same dolls as models for their artwork.  As I approached I was nervous that this would lead them to copy one another.  When I started to ask them about their art they explained to me that one of them was having the figures be fashion models on stage while the other girl was showing the figures as girls collecting seashells on the beach.  I was so proud.  They also made sure to share the story of their pictures with the classes explaining how they used the same tools, but made their own unique pictures.

Kindergarten

This may be the start of a scary picture.  Beware we have a werewolf and a zombie on the loose!

This young lady found a picture of a bird in my files that she really liked.  She worked very hard to illustrate the details, by mixing and layering crayons to get just the right effect.

Another experiment with mixing crayons.

Keep in mind that most of these pictures are unfinished and as they continue to work on them I'll keep you updated on their progress.

Meet Witchie-pooh

Growing up I was exposed to a lot of art.  One of my favorite pieces as a student was a Witch that was created by one of my mother's High School students as a 'Screamer' project.  Several years ago she had to completely move out of her classroom.  (There was 38ish years worth of things she stored for projects not to mention, the supplies, tables, art, and everything else an Art Room needs to function.)  She began to return student art to the students who had given it to her over the years.  When she asked me if I wanted the Witch I had nicknamed Witchie-pooh I said YES!  Witchie-pooh now presides over my classroom and it is always funny to see the students reaction to her.  Most just go about as normal, but there seem to be a few like me that really like her.  Last year a student made a card for me to give to her and this year I had a portrait of me with Witchie-pooh in the background.  I was impressed with this quick drawing, because of the details that he tried to add in the short time he was working on it.  Plus I love that Witchie-pooh and I have our pictures together.

Slowly Shifting into a Choice-Based Classroom

As we make the transition to a full Choice-Based Art Room we are taking little steps to get there.  Too many choices too fast could be overwhelming for some and the quality of students' artwork would might suffer.  Instead the classes are starting with just a few choices of materials and we will add more choices as time goes on.

Just before we left for break I started this idea, but didn't fully explain to students where we were heading in making our Art Room Choice-Based.  (I instead choose to share that with them after we came back from break.)  Even though we were just getting started on our journey I could see there were going to be great things to come.  Here are just a few of the stories that happened in art before Christmas Break.

This is a drawing by a 1st Grade boy.  He used one of the houses from our Idea Station to draw.  After working on the house for about 30 minutes this is what he created.  I was really impressed with how much improved this drawing was over his normal drawing level.  He was really proud of the results and so was I.  You can see his attempts of trying to understand perspective and he is only a 1st grader!

This snowman was painted by a 2nd Grade boy.  I love the personality that come through on the snowman's face.

A 2nd Grade girl came to show me her painting after she was finished.  I was really impressed when she told me how she had fixed her mistake.  (This is something I always encourage my students to try to do.  When they actually try this instead of turning it over they are always really proud of their hard work and they come up with the best solutions to fix their mistake.)  She had made a mistake behind the sleigh and she decided to turn it into a present with a parachute that Santa was sending to a child's house.  We both thought this might speed up Santa's deliveries!

This painting was also by a 2nd Grade boy depicting his football team.

Finally, one more painting by a 2nd Grade girl.  I love the color she chose for the background.  It really makes the snowman stand out.

1st Art Show

Finally in my 4th year of teaching, I figured out a way to do an Art Show of student work that did not seem overwhelming.  Trying to include all my 600 students and have a variety of artwork saved to include has always seemed like a daunting task.  Every year, each grade level has a music program, so I decided to do an Art Show in conjunction with these programs.  Rather than having one large show each year, I will have 3 small shows spread out throughout the year.  This not only made it more manageable for me to handle and set up, but the parents are already planning to attend the music performance so it also makes it easier and more convenient for them.  Our first Art Show went up without a hitch.  One show down for the year; just two more to go.  Here are some pictures from our first show.....

I was really proud of my students and their selections for the Art Show.  It was fun and exciting for them and me when they picked out their artwork for the Art Show.

Splats, Scraps and Glue Blobs: Voice Level Chart for Art Room

I discovered this just recently.......I love it!

Splats, Scraps and Glue Blobs: Voice Level Chart for Art Room: I've been trying to teach my students to use appropriate voice levels during art. One of my schools uses the voice level terms school-wide. ...

Pattern Fish

I have started looking for books that I can use to incorporate into my lessons or build new lessons around.  Last year my school began RtI (Response to Intervention) with a focus mainly on reading at this point in time.  I am a book lover anyway and thought that using books to inspire and reinforce what we are already learning would be a great idea.  I noticed in a catalog last spring a book called Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris (published by Milbrook Press, 2000) looked interesting.

  

Not only does the book have beautiful illustrations but they all relate to the pattern that is mentioned in the rhyming text.  As I read the book, my students would spot out all the different ways the pattern had been illustrated though out the page.  For a purchase on a whim to see what it would really be like I could not be more pleased.  I am putting together a lesson where the students create patterned fish (that all demonstrate various pattern) to make a mobile.  When I have more on that lesson, I'll make sure to put it up.  I also have plans to order Trudy's other book Pattern Bugs.  I sure it will be just as good!