'Don't draw what you KNOW, draw what you SEE'

Today was a day to practice drawing skills.

Step one is to find the hidden shapes and put them on the paper. It is VERY important that you find the right shapes and put them in the right places, or the drawing with never turn out right!

Next, Build the drawings on top of the shapes.

Then you erase the hidden shapes.

Finally, add the finishing details to the drawing.

We also discussed a normal misconception that children have when drawing. Draw what you SEE, not what you KNOW. Children know that the top of the cup is a circle, so they draw a circle on the paper for the top of the cup when, in reality, the top of the cup appears to be an oval because of the angle we see it.

Student edition of Salt Lake Tribune and Desert News... online!

Parents and students! Here is a link to access the eEdition of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News for students! This free service is provided by the papers for the students of Utah.

www.nowutah.com/education/student.php

Once on this login page, the user name for my students is harvestart and the password is 1234.

I am hoping for articles and news on art that can be used in the art classroom over the course of the year, but students and parents can access it for many other reasons, too! Enjoy the news!

Safety Day

Today is the school wide Safety Day. Students go to various stations around the school throughout the day and learn safety rules and procedures in the school. Because of this, there will be no specialty classes today. I look forward to seeing all of you on Monday; have a fantastic weekend!

Welcome back everyone!

Welcome to an exciting new school year! Welcome back returning students and we are all very excited to welcome our new students, as well!

This blog is dedicated to all of the students and parents of Harvest Elementary, and to our mutual love of art! I encourage you to check this blog frequently for updates about what your child is currently doing in art. I will post curriculum, assignments, and photos as often as possible, so check in frequently!

The last gasp of summer!

Here we are, just 2 weeks away from the start of the 09-10 school year! Summer seems to have flown right by. I hope it has been as fun and relaxing for all of you as it has been for me!

I am looking forward to seeing all your smiling (and probably tanned) faces soon, until then, enjoy the end of summer!

Summer city festivals

Looking for some adventures but short on funds? Why not try one of the nearby community summer festivals? Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days are over, so is the Orem City Fest. However, American Fork's Steel Days are coming up in July and there are lots of family friendly activities that don't cost an arm and a leg! Click on the link below to check it out!

http://www.afsteeldays.com/

Here is the link for Lehi City's Round-Up Celebration, also in July!

http://www.lehi-ut.gov/roundup/

And, of course, Provo's Freedom Festival!

http://www.freedomfestival.org/

Steel Days Art Show

American Fork is host its annual Steel Days Art Show July 16-18! They are sending out their Call For Entries this weekend! Anyone interested in entering the art show can click on the images above to read everything you need to know in order to enter!

My kids and I have entered this art show for many years and it is always fun! We have even occasionally won prizes! The Steel Days carnival is in the park right next to the library during the show, so there is lots of fun for the whole family!

Please feel free to post any questions you might have!

Summer Software Giveaway!

Hey all you Harvest Artists! Here is a summer challenge for you!

Find the EXTRA CREDIT on this blog. Learn about one of them and report in! Add a comment to this blog post and the first TWO reporting in will WIN A COPY OF THE SOFTWARE SHOWN ABOVE!

That's right! I will mail a copy of Crayola's Print Factory AND Magic 3D Coloring Book to the first two blog readers who respond!

Here are the ground rules:

1. You must be one of my students at Harvest Elementary (yes, my exiting 6th graders can still participate!).
2. You can have a parent help you!
3. You must tell me something about what you discovered in the EXTRA CREDIT section. Please don't write a novel!
4. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR PERSONAL MAILING INFO IN THE COMMENT! I will announce the two winners in the next blog post and give you the info you need to contact me privately so I can mail you your prize.

That's it! The software is older, I make no guarantees that it will work with your system... but since it is FREE you might as well give it a shot!

Good Luck!

Belated composition post

SORRY! SORRY! SORRY! I told the 3 grade classes that I would post these pictures of their composition pastel artworks after Mother's Day so that I wouldn't ruin the surprise for those giving them to their mothers as gifts. Then, I forgot. OOPS!

However, better late than never! Here they are. They turned out absolutely stunning! I just love how vibrant pastels are. These were done on black paper. That really shows how powerful the medium is.

Notice that the two center bottom images bear a striking resemblance to each other. Two students decided to share an image and view finder to do the same composition, then colored it in their own unique way. LOVE IT!

Walker's Coloring Page for June

Every month, the Walker's gas stations have a coloring page for children. If you click on this image it will load alone. You can then print it and color it in. If you take it to a Walker's during the month of June, you will receive a free prize! This one came from the Walker's in American Fork on Main Street. Have fun!

SUMMER!!!

Thanks again for all the wonderful times this year!

Keep watching the blog all summer, you might find fun things and important information if you do!

Portfolios come home today!

Please watch for art portfolios in backpacks today! Take a moment to sit down and look through it with your son/daughter and talk about all the fun things they made. I encourage the kids to pick one or two items to keep, then they can recycle the rest. It is just impossible to keep EVERYTHING, so it is good to choose!

Cleaning Day!

Today all art classes are spending their time cleaning the classroom. You might think this is an end of year ritual and that it is a waste of instructional time. Not so!

Every term the students have a ton of fun using the art supplies and making big messes. We all enjoy it immensely! However, I explain very carefully to them that it is not right to leave our messes for other people to deal with. Therefore, every term there is a 'Cleaning Day'. The students made the tables and chairs grimy, the students clean them off. They actually have a really great time doing this. I have had many students comment that 'it is so much more fun to clean the classroom than doing my chores at home!' I think it is because it is done together with friends.

Anyway, the classroom will be sparkly clean by the end of the day!

Summer art ideas

As the year draws to a close, I want to thank the students and parents at Harvest Elementary for another fantastic year! We worked hard, and we played hard, and that is the way it should be!

During the lazy days of summer, there may be a time when you are looking for something to do.

DO ART!!!!!

• Simply taking some art supplies out under the shade of a tree or porch is a fun and creative way to spend a summer afternoon.

• Sidewalk chalk is fun and temporary. The first rain or sprinkler on the sidewalk will wash the chalk away. Take turns laying down and tracing each other. Then turn the outlines into a story telling artwork. Look for the post entitled RECIPES for a recipe for sidewalk chalk!

• Gather all the old magazines in the house and let the kids cut and paste together a collage to their heart's content. Pick a theme, like 'in my dreams' to help get the creative juices flowing.
• If you are planning to travel; give your little artist a journey book! This book should have blank pages and can be filled with sketches of people, places, and events along the journey. A simple pencil, eraser, and dollar store colored pencil box complete the set!
• Make home made salt dough "play-doh" (again, see the post entitled RECIPES) and sculpt!
• Look for summer art classes offered by local city Arts Councils! These are usually inexpensive and only last one week.
  

RECIPES - Sidewalk chalk - eggshell

Eggshell Sidewalk Chalk

Ingredients

4-5 eggshells
1 tsp. flour
1 tsp. very hot tap water
food coloring (optional)



Directions

Wash and dry eggshells, put in a bowl and grind into powder. Throw out any large pieces. Pour flour, hot water, and 1 tsp. of eggshell powder into another bowl. Mix until mixture looks like paste. Add food coloring now if you like. Shape and press the paste into the shape of chalk sticks. Roll up tightly in a strip of paper towel and allow to dry for about 3 days.

This chalk is only good for sidewalks.

RECIPES - Salt Dough - NO FLOUR

No Flour Salt Dough

Ingredients

1 c. salt
1/2 c. cornstarch
3/4 c COLD water

Directions

Stir all ingredients together over low heat. Stir constantly to prevent burning. In 2-3 minutes it will thicken and can no longer be stirred.

Turn out onto waxed paper or aluminum foil and cool. When cool, knead until smooth. If the dough dries out, add some water. This recipe makes nice ornaments that are rolled and cut with cookie cutters or designed freehand. Allow to air-dry.

RECIPES - Salt Dough

Salt Dough

Ingredients

4 c. flour
1 c. salt
1 1/2 c. hot tap water

Directions

Pour the hot water and salt into a bowl and stir for 1 minute. The grains of salt will get smaller but should not dissolve. Add the flour and stir until the water is absorbed. To color the dough, add 1/4 c. liquid tempera paint to the water BEFORE adding the flour.

Knead for several minutes -- it is ready to use when the texture is smooth and pliable.

After you finish your sculptures, bake the dough on a cookie sheet at 325* F for about 2 hours. Bake until dough is hard on all surfaces, and the thickest parts should seem solid.

Paint or use permanent markers to color your creation, if you wish. To protect them from moisture in the air, you can spray them with lacquer (from the hardware store).

THIS RECIPE IS NOT FOR EATING!

RECIPES - Sidewalk chalk

Sidewalk Chalk

Ingredients

• 1 toilet paper tube per chalk
• duct tape
• waxed paper
• 
  
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 c. plaster (from the hardware store)
• 1-2 Tbsp. tempera paint color(s) of your choice
• 
  
• plastic container to mix in (make sure you are okay throwing it away) an old ice cream bucket works great
  

Instructions

Place a roll of waxed paper inside the toilet paper roll.

Duct tape off the bottom of the toilet paper roll completely.

Place the plaster powder in the plastic container. Slowly mix in the water, then the paint until you have an even consistency.

Pour the mix into the waxed paper lined toilet paper tube. Leave it 'standing' to dry for 6 hours.

DO NOT POUR LEFT OVER MIX DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!! IT WILL RUIN THE PIPES!

Peel off the paper tube and the waxed paper. Leave the 'chalk' out to cure and completely dry for 2 or 3 days.

Enjoy!

Friday Fun Day with Modelling Clay!

For our last Friday together in the art room this year, we played with the modelling clay! The students had loads of fun building whatever struck their fancy. At the end of each class we walked around and looked at what everyone made, then talked about what we liked and why. At the end of class everyone washed their hands thoroughly!

The Art Show!

I want to send out a great big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in and attended the Evening with the Arts on May 1st! It was a very fun evening!

Above is a collection of photos from inside the library that evening. My daughter also took some photos of the hallways. When she downloads her camera to the computer, I'll 'borrow' some of her shots to post on this blog.

While I didn't take pictures of the musical half of the evening, I want to give a great big CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Cox, the orchestra, and the choir! What talent! Hey, choir members! That mini musical you did called THE BOX is great preparation for auditioning for musical theater in Junior High! If you thought it was fun, you should definitely consider theater in the junior high and high school! My husband, daughter, and son were also very impressed, so I'm not just saying it because I'm your art teacher!

There are many artworks left from the art show still in my classroom. If your artwork was displayed in the library for the show, we had to remove them to make room for the book fair that is coming Monday morning. Please stop by my classroom sometime this week to claim your artwork!