1st grade - wax resist watercolor egg paintings

Yesterday and today the first grade classes have been creating wax resist egg paintings using watercolor paint. This is the same method used on real Easter eggs when you draw on the egg with a white crayon before dying it.

Yesterday the students used a white crayon to draw patterns, shapes, and words onto their eggs.

Today was the watercolor painting. We talked about how to treat the paint set so that the colors remain true. We also talked about brushing with the paint brush instead of scrubbing. Students also learned that watercolor painting literally means to paint with colorful water (not the actual paint). The students did very well.

A common problem found amongst the youngest art students is that they think everything needs to be done quickly. They race through an assignment, trying to be the first one done, thinking that this makes them the best. I have explained to the students that being the fastest is not always the best. A rushed art work never looks as beautiful as a well thought out one. I want to encourage as much unplugged and unhurried time as possible to your little ones, so they can learn to enjoy the process, not just the end result.

3rd grade - clay pinch pots

Our first project in the third grade is a clay cup using the pinch pot construction method. Each student was given a chunk of clay and guided through the process of building a cup. The cups have dried and have been bisque fired. Today and tomorrow students will be painting 3 layers of glaze onto their projects. I expect to do the first glaze fire in the kiln Wednesday night and finish up on Thursday night. Expect the students to bring their projects home on Friday!

We had a few absences due to illness or travel. Only one student did not get back in time for the bisque fire. He will be able to complete his project next week.

The students have been having a FABULOUS time on this project!

1st grade - weaving a 'basket'

The first grade students have started their first project! They will be creating an Easter basket multi media picture.

The first step is to weave the 'basket'. This is really an exercise in fine motor skills. The picture above is an example of what they have been doing in class. I would encourage allowing your son/daughter to do more of this at home whenever he/she wants. Manipulating the strips in and out of the weave is a great way to develop the fine motor skills needed to tie shoes and perfect handwriting.

To create the warp (the up and down 'strings'), just take a piece of paper, fold it in half, then cut lines that don't quite go all the way to the edges. Then open the paper back up. The weft (side to side 'strings') are simply strips of paper. The students are doing a checker board weave, because that is the easiest to master.

Welcome 3rd and 1st grades!

Welcome to the final term of the 2008-2009 school year! It is amazing how fast this year has flown by!

Please feel free to explore this web site and the links found on it. If your son/daughter is ever absent from art, make sure you check back to this web site to see what happened in class during his/her absence. On the side column, you will find links to grade level specific posts, as well as links to various extra credit opportunities.

Goodbye 4th and 6th!

Thanks for all the fun times, boys and girls!

Sixth graders, I will miss you and wish you the best in your new life adventures at Junior High! Work hard in computers, that class is essential for success over the next 6 years!

Fourth graders, have a wonderful time in computers and over the summer until I see you again in 5th grade!

4th grade - CLAY PROJECT!!

FINALLY!!! The clay arrived and students have been happily making coil construction vases. The goal of this project was to be able to roll out the parts and successfully attach them to each other. All classes have finished building and the projects have been bisque fired in the kiln. They look fabulous! Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent glazing, then Wednesday night and Thursday night the glazed projects will be fired again. Look to bring them home either Thursday or Friday, depending on the class.

6th grade - Final homework assignment!

Homework

2 POINT PERSPECTIVE

In class today, we covered the basics of two point perspective. HORIZON LINE, VANISHING POINT, BIRD'S EYE VIEW, NORMAL EYE VIEW, AND WORM'S EYE VIEW have all been added to the vocabulary list.

Please use the reference papers I gave you to help you create a 2 point perspective drawing of your own initials. For 10 points, the assignment should look something like this...

For BONUS POINTS you can do any combination of the additional items listed below.

For +5, create one of your names instead of the initials. This could be first, middle, last, or nickname.

For +10 instead of +5, create your full name. This can be first and last, nickname and last, or first, middle and last.

For another +10 points, fully illustrate it in color to present an artwork quality assignment!

As you can see, this 10 point assignment has the full potential of 30/10, or 300%! That would be a fantastic way to boost your grade in art!

This assignment is due next Wednesday, March 18th.

Good luck and have fun!

6th grade - Plates are nearly all finished!

The final batch of plates should be going into the kiln tomorrow! Remember that there will be not school on Monday for the students, so Mr. Christofferson's class (the last class in the kiln) will get their plates back on Tuesday.

The number on the digital readout is the temperature inside the kiln at the time the photo was taken. At that time, the temperature was still climbing to a maximum of approximately 2200* F!

Just a quick reminder,

~ treat your plate like the artwork it is!
~ yes, you can eat off of it, but make sure you hand wash it... NO DISHWASHER!
~ keep it out of the oven and freezer. We want to prolong the life of the plate for as long as possible!
~ ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR USE ON THE STOVE OR IN THE MICROWAVE!!!!!!
~ avoid sudden extreme temperature changes

and of course,

~ enjoy it for years and years!

6th grade - Tessellation

Sixth grade is working on the concept of Tessellation. A tessellation is a pattern that interlocks in some way. The patterns we are doing are not true tessellations, but are extremely fun, just the same!

Each student received a planning paper to design four different patters. Using a ruler, marks are placed on all four sides of each 3"X3" square on the planning paper. A design is created in the square that only touches the sides at the designated spots. After tracing one of the patterns onto a separate 3"X3" paper, the student then tests the pattern to see if all sides match up. If all went well, the student can then trace the pattern again on 8 more squares.

As you can see by the images at the top, rotating the squares in various formations will result in many different overall patterns.

Escher and Tessellation

The most famous artist who did tessellation was M. C. Escher. Here are some examples of tessellation done by Escher.

Islamic Mosaics

Islamic Mosaics is another connection to this assignment. In the Islamic culture, images of people are forbidden. Instead, beautifully scripted sayings are interspersed with mosaic tessellations as decorations in homes, shops, and mosques. Below are some examples.

4th grade - shading assignment

For the next couple of days, the fourth grade students will be working on shading cylinders on a worksheet, trying to make them look like the No. 10 can seen in the picture above. This is very difficult, so try not to be discouraged! Try to identify the Highlight, the Half Tones, the Core Shadow, and the Reflected Light (or reflected shadow, as the case may be) on the can. Notice that the Cast Shadow is not the same shape as the can.

As I said, the can is very difficult to do, but it should prepare you for the project of Shading a Sphere. After the canister, the sphere will feel incredibly easy and will look fantastic!