draw, paint, and cut

Bulletin Board: Dancing Giraffe

2011-08-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a few pictures of the new bulletin board. I like to start the year out with something fun to look at. Everybody loved the dancing giraffe and a couple of teachers said they want to steal it and put it in their room. If you haven’t figured it out already, the bulletin board is based on the book “Giraffes Can’t Dance”.

Excited About Brush Shaper

2011-08-19T09:42:00.001-07:00

One issue I often run into is the bending of paintbrush bristles. I try to teach my students to place wet brushes, brush up, so that they dry properly. There is always one or two that still get stuck in the bucket the wrong way. It makes it very difficult for students to use the brushes and I hate having to throw them away. I came across this product when ordering supplies and tested it recently. As you can see in the picture below. It works very well. I am super excited about giving some of my brushes a “lift”.

Website: Art in the Picture

2011-08-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

I ran across this website when I was looking for ideas for one of my camps. It had great images and lots of great information about different artists and art movements. When you are looking up one particular artist, the artwork, history, and quotes are all contained in one place and easy to find. I was thinking this would be great to use in lessons and to even use as an art webquest.

Check it out! http://www.artinthepicture.com/

This video was featured on the website and I thought it would be great to use when I teach 6th grade portrait drawing. It shows how often Van Gogh painted himself.

Photoshop and Animoto

2011-08-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

One of my first camps this summer was the digital art camp. This is the second year having this camp and it is one of my favorites. The kids get to do things that are completely new.

One of my favorite projects was inspired by Video Art in Photoshop and Video Art and Photoshop for Kids by Nicole Dalesio. She is another great educator and blogger. She has some fun projects using video and Photoshop that are very easy to follow.

For one of the projects the kids picked a theme that would be easy to film short clips. For this project the them was “kids at play”. The kids went out in groups and picked something to play on in the playground. I showed them how to film at different angles to get more interesting compositions. It was important that they keep the videos short.

Then, I taught them how to edit the length of their clips and apply adjustment layers to their videos using Photoshop.

Once all the videos were complete, I finished the project by uploading the video files to Animoto. Here is the final result.

Check out Nicole Dalesio’s website to see how to apply the filters to video in Photoshop.

Back from a Blogging Break

2011-08-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hello all! It has been a while since I posted anything substantial, mainly because of a busy summer. I have been working hard trying to finish a professional certification program, teaching five camps, and cleaning and preparing for the new school year. The great part about not writing for a while is that I have some new things to share with all of you. I will be posting real soon (tonight). Hope you all enjoy and learn something new.

I couldn’t resist.

“70 Million” Music Video

2011-07-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

I could not resist posting this music video from a band called Hold Your Horse that show the band members posing as different famous paintings. I first saw the video on Free Technology for Teachers blog and thought it was great.

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

6th Grade Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest

2011-05-26T09:37:00.001-07:00

Every year the Rotary Club has a sidewalk chalk art festival in May. They unfortunately canceled this year’s event because of scheduling conflicts. I had one of my student’s parents mention holding something on the school campus. At first, there was no way I was going to attempt a chalk art event because of the upcoming art show to worry about. It was last minute that I changed my mind and decided to throw something together for my 6th grade students because I knew they would have a fantastic time and gain some lasting memories of their 6th grade art class.

I decided to group the 6th grade art class into teams of two and they were to pick a picture of a masterpiece to reproduce with chalk. When I told the kids that I got permission from their teachers to take them out of class all day they were excited! We did a little practice and they were told to dress comfortably because they would be sitting on the ground drawing all day. Here are some of the pictures from this fun day for chalk drawing.

The beginning of the day. The pavilion was a blessing because it was shaded and there was always a breeze.

First, set up a grid and then sketch the drawing.

Building up the color.

Blending and mixing color.

Chalk art is the best! YAY!

Everyone finished and pulled up the tape around the artwork and taped down the original image.

Christina and Bethany

Picasso

3rd Place - Nicole and Chris S.

Van Gogh

2nd Place – Chase G. and Hunter

Warhol

Patrick O. and Chase M.

Dow

Luke, Michael, and Scott

Kandinsky

Cal and Billy

Munch

Jamie, Katherine, and Whendy

Here is the square I worked on. I just love working with chalk pastels. I couldn’t resist.

Georgia O’Keeffe

“Asian Poppies”

It was an awesome day and we had some great parents that brought drinks and snacks for everyone to enjoy. I could not have asked for a better day of art.

2nd Grade: Mono-print Houses

2011-05-18T05:36:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the prints from this year’s 2nd grade print houses. I posted instructions here in a previous post. Enjoy!

3rd Grade: Cereal Box Design

2011-05-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite projects and probably one of the student’s favorite projects. We talk about cereal box designs and advertising and how color, cartoons and tempting toys are used to entice a buyer. Students were to think of something gross to eat and try to create a design that would be tempting to eat. The kids get so creative with it.

Bulletin Board: Artists in Action

2011-05-15T18:00:00.001-07:00

I saw a bulletin board I liked so much that I had to make one just like it. It is found here at Bulletin Board to Remember. I really love this blog because it is so easy to find BB examples. Some times a teacher needs a little inspiration.

Saving YouTube Video’s to Your Computer

2011-03-23T17:48:00.001-07:00

At times I like to use YouTube videos to enhance my lessons and give more visuals. However, streaming at my school is not great all the time and ads pop up all the times. I recently discovered a way to easily download YouTube videos that I thought I would share with all of you.

Start by downloading Real Player. It is free and easy to download. Just go the website and click on the orange button. After download you will probably need to restart your computer. All you do is go to YouTube, select a video and there will be a button at the top of the video that will say…

Just click and it will download to real player even when you are watching the video online. I have been able to download other file types as well. It is so easy and I have I am able to show the video in class without streaming issues and ads.

YouTube and Real Player make a very happy art teacher.

Here is a video just in case anybody needs extra visuals.

Here is one of the videos I downloaded to my Library. It is on my computer, no ads, no streaming issues, and no rude comments. Oh, joy!

1st Grade: Mouse Paint Color Wheel

2011-03-23T17:35:00.001-07:00

So I had seen a couple of other art teachers do a lesson on Mouse Paint and thought they were so cute. I have been wanting 1st grade to do more coloring mixing so I thought it would be a cute idea to create a Mouse Paint inspired color wheel.

First, we read the book. I also created a power point that went over Primary, Secondary, Cool, Warm, and Complementary colors.

Then, I showed them how to draw the mouse. As a guide with the size they folded a piece of paper into 8 parts.

They drew six mice and cut them out.

I went with the Deep Space Sparkle painting technique using a plate with the primary colors. The students paint their primary colors.

Mixing up some green. Just a little bit a blue is enough.

Paint the Secondary colors.

Glue the mice on the paper.

I had them finish by adding tails and painting the ears. You could even have a title at the top.

Enjoy!

Kindergarten: Paul Klee Inspired Portrait

2011-03-21T19:03:00.001-07:00

Recently, I had kindergarten study Paul Klee and his painting “Senecio”. We talked about portraits and how there are all types of portraits. Some realistic, some that are abstract. I had the students look for basic shapes that form parts of the face.

You can see where I am using the Document camera to draw the face and I have Paul Klee’s painting right next to my drawing. That way the students can see how I am creating a portrait like the “Senecio”.

These are a couple of examples I showed them. The students loved them and thought they were so funny.

Bulletin Board: Have a Blast Exploring Art!

2011-03-14T09:22:00.001-07:00

I so loved the rocket ship lesson that I saw on Deep Space Sparkle, Mini Matisse and a couple of other blogs, I just had to try it out myself.

I ended up coming up with a really great bulletin board design. The teachers and students have really been commenting on how much they like the display.

I was trying to get more of the rocket ships in the picture.

Art ROCKS!

2011-03-10T20:19:00.001-08:00

So, this week we had teacher appreciation week. For one of the days, students had written notes telling their teacher why they appreciate them. I walked into my classroom with a pile of notes tied up with a lovely bow. I couldn’t resist showing you a couple that I found so sweet.

I love the little “h” with an arrow pointing to the sun.

Lindsey, I totally agree. Art definitely rocks!

Great Zoetrope Idea

2011-02-08T06:01:00.001-08:00

I saw this really cute project on the Craft: blog about how to make a zoetrope out of coffee can. I think this would be a great project for 4th or 5th grade. I just need to come up with something other than a coffee can to use. I really loved the little animation that the artist made. Here is the full article. I’ll let you know if I use the lesson.

Watercolor Landscape: Drawing

2011-01-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

I have to admit that this project takes several classes but I feel it is worth it. It took me a couple of years to master teaching this project. I hope this tutorial will be beneficial for all of you who are considering teaching your students landscape drawing.

Materials:

Image of a landscape – I let them pick their own.
18” x 24” white paper
Pencil
Black Crayon
Crayola Watercolors(used next post)
Watercolor Brushes(used next post)

It was important that the students picked images that had a good use of space(foreground, mid-ground, and background) and color. Snow scenes are not the greatest.

I always have students start by drawing a horizon line. Even if they cannot completely see the line in the picture, it is a good guide for positions objects and it also continues to reinforce overlapping shapes.

Drawing foreground objects first will help them later when they need to overlap.

When drawing trees I always start with drawing the trunk and maybe some branches. Then I draw the foliage.

When the kids were working on tree and bush foliage I would draw examples of different trees using the document camera to project my drawings. I would go over pine trees, oak trees or whatever the kids needed me to show them. We would have a “tree drawing session”. I would sometimes point out that the Ed Emberely drawing books had some good examples of foliage.

Tree examples

The kids favorite Ed Emberley book. I think I love it just as much as they do.

A page from the “Make A World” book that shows you how to draw trees and bushes. So cute!

Another thing I tell the kids is no details until they get all the main shapes are drawn. The kids tend to spend WAY too much time on details, so I make them do it later in the drawing.

READY TO PAINT! Stay tuned, I will go over watercolor painting techniques in the next post.

New Year, New Blog, New Challenge

2011-01-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

I love being an art teacher and I devote so much of myself to my students. One thing I struggle with is creating artwork outside of the classroom. I’m sure many of you understand this dilemma! I have found that having this blog has been a great motivation to share and work on new ideas. I decided to start a personal art blog and I am challenging myself to just create something new each month. I welcome all of you to follow me and even to take on an artistic challenge of your own! Click the picture below to go to my new blog, Chromo Life.

Happy new year bloggers!

Christmas Time!

2010-12-16T11:29:00.001-08:00

Here is the Christmas projects that some of my students worked on this season. I only have a few classes create Christmas projects because usually the other grade levels are finishing projects. I got the nativity plate lesson from The Artist Woman.

Kindergarten Christmas Trees

2nd Grade Nativity Plates

1st Grade Angels

3rd Grade: Watercolor Landscapes

2010-12-15T10:57:00.001-08:00

Here are some finished landscapes. I really feel this year’s third grade class did an outstanding job with their landscapes! I really went into detail about wet wash and dry brush. I really saw them use the brush techniques that they learned and apply it to their painting.

Do you think this could be real?

2010-12-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this video on stumbleupon.com had to share. Do think it is real? It sure does look like it. Either way, it inspires me to try some finger painting with my students.

Projects in Progress

2010-11-30T19:08:00.001-08:00

Work, work, work, work! This is a busy time of the year and it get’s a little hard to post new project details. I wanted to at least share what each grade level is working on. I will be posting pictures of finished artwork as soon as I get a chance.

Kinder’s

Pinch pots

1st Grade

Angel Collages

2nd Grade

We are getting ready to create Nativity Plates this week thanks to The Artist Woman and her great project.

3rd Grade

They just finished their Watercolor Landscape and the Christmas drawing contest for the local newspaper.

Next week we will be creating Stuart Davis inspired Initial Design.

4th Grade

Bible Narrative Paintings.

5th Grade

We are getting ready to start the Paper Mosaic Collage.

6th Grade

We just finished a Roy Lichtenstein inspired Enlarged Comic Panel.

We are going to start the Watercolor Still-Life drawing very, very soon. I really love the outcome of this project.

1st Grade: Angel Collage

2010-11-17T08:30:00.001-08:00

Last year I had 1st grade create watercolor resist angels just like this. However, I do so many watercolor resist projects I decided to change up the medium.

Materials:

2 - 12x18 white paper
Black Crayon
Tempera paint
Pencil

1. I had the first graders draw with me step-by-step. I gave them a few options on drawing the facial features and I let them choose what their hair will look like.

2. Paint with tempera paints. We talked about tints and mixing white with a color to create a tint. Make sure they do not paint over the crayon line too much. If they do you can retrace.

3. With blue tempera, completely paint the second sheet of paper.

4. Dip and lightly tap with the tip of the brush to create stars.

5. Cut, cut, cut. Oops! I forgot wings. No problem. It’s an easy fix.

6. Glue and DONE!

Here are some finished angels that the students made. I changed my mind and decided to let the kids color their angels with crayon.

Finished 2nd Grade Monsters

2010-11-03T05:07:00.000-07:00

Of course I had to make a bulletin board with all the 2nd grade monsters. Everyone just thought they were the cutest things. Here are a few pictures close up. There were so many go ones.

Kindergarten: Overlapping Hands

2010-10-26T16:23:00.001-07:00

My Kinder's just finished their overlapping hands recently. We talked about the difference between line and shapes. Lines are open and Shapes are closed.

They took a black crayon and as a group we drew 3-4 hands. They would trace a hand and turn the paper, trace another hand making sure to overlap. There were times I would circulate the room and help students position their hands so that they are using their space wisely.

Last, is to color each shape that was created when they overlapped their hands. There are always students who don't quite get this or they simply forget. I make sure to repeat these instructions the second day working on this project.

Bulletin Board: Portraits

2010-10-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am on a role, at least I am according to one of my co-workers. I put this bulletin board up as a filler for a week or two. We are drawing portraits in 6th grade and I thought it would be a great idea to hang up different types of portrait art to inspire the kids as they walk down the hallway. I tore out the pictures from a art history book I got on discount.
I got the idea for this bulletin board from this book "Children's Book of Art". This book as wonderful pictures and really breaks down art concepts, art history and art techniques that are at a child's level.

Funny Post From a Fellow Blogger!

2010-10-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this! So funny! I know most of you will relate to several of these.

20 Things an Elementary Art Teacher Will Never Tell You! Posted by One Blonde Girl.

3rd Grade: Ceramic Fish and Some Clay Tips

2010-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

One of my main clay projects that I do every year with 3rd grade is the ceramic fish. The kids love this project and are always get excited when I announce what we will be doing. It has taken several years to perfect this project and this years clay fish have to be the best I've seen so far. I am excited to share them with you when they are done.

Drawing

Students start with a 4.5" x 6" piece of paper to draw their fish shape. I pass around images of tropical fish and show them step-by-step how to construct a basic fish shape. I make sure to tell them that they can be creative about the tail, fin or mouth shapes because I do not want all their fish to look exactly the same. Below is an example the fish images I pass around and one of my fish drawings.

Here are a couple of student drawings. You can see that one student was really enthusiastic about the color choices.Clay

This project is made from slab clay. Slab clay is when pieces of clay are pressed flat. You can use a rolling pin and yard sticks or...

a slab roller. This machine save you lot's of time pressing clay.Tip: Make sure that you do not press your clay too thin. You want to stay close to half an inch. If the clay is too thin your clay project may start to curl when it dries. You also do not want to pick up the clay too much because it might warp.

Students place their drawing on top of a piece of clay slab and trace using a pencil or clay tool. Lift drawing, retrace and then cut around the shape. I picked up a few butter knives from a thrift store that work really well cutting clay.

The kids then add texture and pattern to their fish using clay tools and other odds and ends that work well with clay.
Drying and Firing.

It is a good idea to let your clay air dry for several days. It is not a good idea to set it out in the sun because the clay could dry too fast and warp. So be careful. If you fire your clay and it is still not completely dry that is when explosions will happen. I have had my share of ceramics blown up in the kiln. It is not a good feeling when it happens though the kids get a kick out of the idea of something blowing up, go figure.

Tip: I recently found out that when you are firing your dried clay you can sometimes stack them to have more kiln space. I usually do this with clay fish. You have to be careful doing this because the clay is very fragile and brittle before firing. Here is an example of how I stack the fish in the kiln.

Underglaze and Glaze.

After I pull out the fired ceramic fish it is time to add come color. You have a choice of using colored glazes or underglaze that will need to be dipped in a clear glaze to make them shiny. Colored glazes allow you to paint and put it directly into the kiln to fire. I use underglazes because I think the materials last a lot longer and I get more uses out of it.

Here are the rules I give the students when they get ready to paint their fish:
1. Do not mix colors. (Because this is not like regular paint it is hard to know what final color you will get when mixing colors.)
2. Paint at least 2 coats. (The more coats you paint the darker and the more vibrant the color will be.
3. No more than 3 colors to be used on your fish. (It is a good idea to limit the number of colors because the kids tend to go crazy.)
4. Paint with one color at a time. When you are ready for a new color come to the counter and trade colors. (Because underglaze is so expensive I try to conserve it as much as possible. I have found that trading paint keeps them from wasting so much. It worked really well with the color construction guides.)

Dip and Fire.

When dipping your clay pieces make sure it is a thin and even coat. If you have too much glaze on the ceramic it will cloud the color. Make sure to place all glazed fish on stilts in the kiln, you do not want them to stick to the shelves.
That all I have for you. I will be posting some finished ceramic fish very soon. For those of you who are new to clay, I wish much luck.

Bulletin Board: Pinwheels for Peace

2010-09-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

So this year I decided to participate in Pinwheels for Peace. I saw a lecture about art advocacy at a FAEA conference and one of the projects they did with their kids were making pinwheels for Pinwheels for Peace on the national day of peace, September 21st. I had my students start designing their pinwheel the first day of school as an extra activity and then I had another day for the class to finish and assemble. I really love how the board turned out. Yes, yes, I know that the board is still purple. I promise to have a different color next time.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
¹Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:8-10

Bulletin Board: 1st and 2nd Grade Lines and Shapes Projects

2010-09-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

So here is another bulletin board showcasing some 1st and 2nd grade artwork. I have to say I do love the purple and lime green (two of my favorite colors). I would love to keep the color scheme but I have to put a little variety in my bulletin board designs so that they constantly look different and unique.

For 1st grade we start the year out with a cut paper collage project. I talk about different types of shapes, repetition, overlapping and balance. We covered basic cutting techniques and using glue properly. Dot, dot, not a lot!

2nd grade - Line and Shapes design. I usually start 2nd grade drawing line and shapes with the thin Mr. Sketch Markers but I decided to change it up. I had the class start by drawing 5-6 lines that overlap. Inside each shape they are to draw a pattern using repeating lines, shapes and colors. I picked this up from another blog that did it in black and white. I think choosing to do this in color turned out really well.

Video: Julien Beaver, 3D Street Art

2010-09-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

I already have the sidewalk chalk festival rattling around in my brain. I really want to come up with a great picture to draw this year. Here is some inspiration. If you have not see Julien Beaver's street art before, your in for a treat!

Elmo, Where Have You Been All My Life!

2010-09-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

One of the best tools for teaching art. If you are able to talk your school into getting one of these, I highly, highly recommend it. I can tell you that if my school did not have the money for this I would buy a web came and make some kind of stand to create a make-shift document camera. It is totally worth it! I have found that the kids are more engaged, I am able to show drawing, cutting and painting techniques without dripping that everyone can see. Amazing technology!

The Importance of Art: Bulletin Board

2010-09-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the bulletin board that I put up at the start of the school year. I decided to put facts about how important art is to children and their development. I am taking down the tree today and thought I would post for all to see. The Klimt tree took forever to make and cut out. I always end up doing projects that make me ask myself "what was I thinking". It turned out well and I was pretty happy with it.

2nd Grade: Monster Collage

2010-09-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

First, I have to give credit to Deep Space Sparkle for such a great project idea. I could not resist doing this project last year and the kids loved it. I decided to change it a up a little to make it my own. I hope you enjoy.

The first thing I start with is reading the book Where the Wild Things Are. The project is based on the illustrations, focusing on line, pattern and texture. When the students draw their monsters I expect them to use line, pattern and texture just like the book.
Next, I show them how to draw the body of the monster using basic shapes. I also show them an easy way to draw arms, legs and claws. I have put a step-by-step example of how to draw a monster below. I do make sure to explain to the kids that this is about being creative and they do not have to draw their monster exactly like mine. The last step to drawing the monster is pattern and texture with lines and shapes.

Paint with water colors. I suggest bright colors to complement the crayon colors.

Forest background. Using crayons I show the students how to draw the forest. We talk about the horizon line, the importance of overlapping, and that objects that are further back in space get smaller, object that are close are larger.

Paint with blues and greens.

Cut out the monster.

Paste to background. The kids really like this project and love drawing different kinds of monsters. Here are some examples from last year. I decided to add the background in this year.

Art Room

2010-08-25T05:25:00.001-07:00

I decided to put up some pics of my classroom and share a little bit about how my classroom flows. I work for a small private school so my room is not as large as most art rooms. I can't complain because I feel blessed just to have my own room. You can see my classroom rules listed above my dry erase board. I like to keep a visible calender mainly for my 6th graders because they have more deadlines than any of my other art classes. If only I could keep my class room this clean all year.

The drawers you see in the back of the room hold all my art examples. I also have a big cabinet out in the hallway to hold all my student work. The school asks that I try and "hide" things, but it is very difficult to do. I'm definitely not a magician.
Every year I have trying new ideas for discipline and rewards. My newest attempt at this is the ART CHART. I keep the letters ART on my white board. If the class is too loud I take down a letter. If the T is taken away we are on whisper class, if the R is taken we are on silent class, and if the A is taken the next class will be silent class. If the class keep their "ART" they will receive a star on the art chart. Three stars will give them a free seat day. I am also thinking about a larger reward for so many free seat days. Not sure about that idea yet. So far this system is working well and the kids are paying attention to the ART Chart.

Clay Kids Camps

2010-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

This was the first clay camp for K-2nd graders. It was a learning experience. I found that I do not like air dry clay to much. It is a bit too fragile and kids art work broke easily. Overall, I was able to fire a majority of the clay projects and have them ready for painting by Friday. I plan have more clay projects that will be fired in the kiln next time and have the kids come back for an extra day to finish painting. Here are some of the pictures. I will post images of the final glazed ceramics in about a week or so.

Clay Turtles

We used acrylic paint on the air dry clay and then covered it with modpodge on the to make it shiny. For most of the ceramics we used underglaze that I will glaze and fire in the kiln.

Clay fish, pinch pots, and name plaques.
More clay fish, coil pots and necklace pendants.

Clay vases. This was my favorite of the projects. I just wish we had not done it with air dry clay. You live and learn.
This is what it looks like from the back. The vase holds the flower and also keeps it standing up right.Some of the finished projects.

K-2nd Creative Kids Art Camp: Summer 2010

2010-06-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I know I have been gone for a while. I have had a pretty busy summer so far and took a break from blogging.

I had an art camp last week with K-2nd graders and had a really fun time. I was able to experiment with new techniques and try out some art projects from my fellow art teachers in the blogging community. Sharing is just grand! I wanted to post some images of the kids and their projects so you can see what we are up to. I will probably break down a couple of the projects.

Also, I am starting a new blog called Click and Drag. It's focus is on exploring technology. I have been teaching computer for the past couple of years and want to share some of my ideas and experiences. Next week I will be having a digital art camp so for all you art teachers who are looking to integrate some technology and art, you might want to take a peek.

I found this at Miss Tabarcea's blog. She had a great video lesson on this project. The kids really enjoyed it and it was very easy to do.

These projects are from Deep Space Sparkle. It was the "Red Fish, Blue Fish" project she did that was based on the Dr. Seuss Book. I showed the kids how to draw the fish either standing up or from the side. I just love how bright and colorful these paintings turned out.

We also did scratch art, evening cityscapes. The kids colored with oil pastels that filled the entire 9x12 piece of paper and then painted over the pastels with black acrylic paint. The kids then used scratch sticks to draw in the skyline. Pretty easy!

We did a few more projects and I will post more of those later.

OCS Spring Art Show

2010-05-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the photos I took of this years OCS spring art show. We hold a music program that the kids perform and afterward the parents are able to come into the fellowship hall to view their child's art. I was happy at this point because this was the final art show for the year and everything came together beautifully.

4th Grade: Finished Clay People

2010-05-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished clay people. Some the character here include Two Face, girl artists, army guys, athletes and I think there is a Yoda in there some where. The kids love this project.

5th Grade: Ceramic Plaque Relief

2010-05-20T05:27:00.001-07:00

Every year I have the 5th grader create ceramic plaque relief. I give the students two classes to draw their design on a square piece of paper that is the same size as their clay. I give them options to choose from for their design such as an animal, landscape, space scene, architecture, etc. They can draw their design from their imagination or use an image to help them.

The class before we start working with clay, I will give a demonstration on the steps to creating their design on the clay slab. They are to use a square template to cut the shape out.

Next, they lay their square drawing on top of the clay and trace.

Then, they take pieces of clay and start attaching the pieces to areas of the design they want to raise off the flat surface. One thing I suggest to the kids is to raise the areas that are closes to the viewer. Meaning if there is a tree in back and a tree in front, raise the tree in front more than the tree in back.

After I fire all the clay, I spray paint the ceramic with flat black so that when the kids paint over it with acrylic they will end up with black lines and bold color.

One thing I have trouble with is keeping the plaques from curling while they dry. I am trying to figure out a solution and will post what I come up with.

Here are some of the final results. You can spray paint a clear gloss coat to help the art work look shiny and finished looking.

2010 Rotary Chalk Festival

2010-05-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

Every year the Rotary Club of Orlando holds an annual chalk festival. I usually have two 6th grade groups participating and I tend to work on my own square. If you haven't had the chance to do a chalk drawing, it is an amazing experience that will totally hook you and your students. Though, neither myself or my students won a prize we all had a great time getting messy!

David and Frank

Rachel and Tiffany

The square I was working on.
Before.

After.
I know, I know. I have some proportion issues.

Drawing Books

2010-05-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have those few students in each of your art classes that always finish way sooner than anybody else? I certainly do. I usually would let them work on free draw which has worked out really well over the last couple of years. Not to0 long ago I got an extra How-to-Draw book from the librarian and used this as a free draw option. The kids loved it. When I went looking for some more free draw books I stumbled across a series of drawing book by Ed Emberley. Apparently, he has been around for a long time. His drawing are just wonderful! Students from all different ages really enjoy his books because they are easy enough for kindergarten and have a lot of variety that the older students enjoy.

Pinch Pots and Tempra Paint

2010-04-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

About a year and half ago I went to a art teacher convention. I had a great time learning new projects, meeting other art teachers and of course the free samples. I was in the show room looking at ceramic tools and different underglazes for clay projects. I ended up talking to this other art teacher and we both commented on the fact that paint for ceramics are always so expensive. She mentioned to me that she had some tempera cakes and used it to paint on the fired ceramic pieces. To give the paint a glossy look and bring out the color she said to add a glossy spray paint on top of the tempera. Well, I just tried it out in preparation for my summer clay camp and I had great results. This is the kind of stuff that I love. Finding a way to use materials in different ways and saving money is awesome!

2nd Grade - Print Houses

2010-04-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

Students were to design a house and yard using line, pattern and texture.

Materials:

9x12 white paper
pencil
black pen
Scratch-Foam Printing Plates
Print-making ink
Brayers
Ink tray

1. I gave the students some images of different houses and architecture for the students to draw from and use as inspiration. Student started with pencil drawings of their design.

2. They taped their drawings to a piece of Scratch-Foam and traced over the pencil with black pen and pressed hard as they worked. Using black pen gives me a finished second, pen and ink project.

3. Students lifted the drawing off of the foam and retraced the lines directly on the foam with pen.

4. Inking! Below are some images of how I set up my materials to get ready to print. I have the ink tray and brayer on the right and a piece of paper on the left. Because I did not have enough printing materials for each students. One table was for printing the other was for students to finish their work or free draw and wait for their turn. I show each student how to roll the ink on evenly and not put too much ink on their foam.

A few student examples.

The Importance of Art

2010-03-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

I know that there are a lot of art teachers struggling with their schools to keep their art programs. I pray for all those teachers and support their efforts.

4th Grade Clay People

2010-03-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

This week I was finally able to squeeze in clay people. My class schedule is really tight this year and I had to maneuver classes so 4th grade had enough time to work on clay. Clay projects are best done in one sitting because it is hard to store the clay for a week. Kids love this project but it can be a lot of work.

Materials:
Clay
Clay tools especially the a needle tool for etching
Bucket of water
Newspaper or a small white board
Toilet paper roll

A class before we work on the clay people, I have students sketch at least 3 ideas for clay people. I also show them how to construct the clay person so I do not have to explain as much and the students are able to work more.

I set up the buckets and baskets of tools before class and if I have time I will put the boards with pressed clay slabs and the toilet paper on the table as well. I have created a "cheat" sheet for the student to refer to as they work on their projects. I have included the sheet and will allow anyone to use it.

Once students have put together the basic body they are able to move on to figure details. I really make sure the students understand it is important there are no cracks around the area they have attached pieces of clay. I have had a lot of breakage when students did not secure their clay parts.I will ramp dry the clay in the kiln first to make sure that nothing breaks. I fire the clay in a kiln at cone 04 and at a slow speed. It usually take a good 48 hours for the clay to ready to taken out of the kiln.

The clay people can be painted with an underglaze, clear gazed coated and fired at cone 06 in the kiln for that glassy look. Another alternative is to spray paint the pieces with a flat black and then paint with acrylic paints. The black spray paint helps the color become more bold and bright.

This is a really wonderful project and the students look forward to 4th grade so they can create their clay person.

3rd Grade - Stuart Davis inspired Initials

2010-03-21T19:24:00.001-07:00

I found that this project was a really big hit this year. I know one reason being that the kids were able to use sharpies, something they almost never are allowed to use. Also, this project is great for students who struggle with drawing because they are working with a lot of familiar elements.

Materials:
18" x 24" white paper
Pencils
Sharpie
Mr. Sketch markers

I have found that teaching younger children how to following instructions it is best to really break down the steps. Give them an example of the first step and then let them follow.

For this project the first thing I showed them is how to draw their initials. I talked about size, overlapping and balance being very important. I also showed them some examples of how to draw block letters and bubble letters. When I was finished with the example they were to draw their own initials. This gave me a chance to help students with drawing letters and catch those students who drew their letters too small so they could correct their errors.

Even with some students still working, I had everyone pause and began showing them the next step. I added basic shapes into my composition. I again pointed out size, overlapping and balance. I also made sure to talk about repeating shapes like Stuart Davis had in his paintings. When I finished students were to finish their initials and begin adding their shapes.

I continue to break up each step to the project in this way. I had them add repeating lines and even words that explain special interests.

When students finished with drawing the next step is tracing the pencil lines with Sharpie. I laid down some ground rules about the sharpies. No writing or drawing on others, no drawing on ourselves, when not using Sharpie it needs to be closed. That was pretty much it. They did really well because they did not want to get this special privilege taken away.

Finally, COLOR! The best part of course.

After the kids erased all extra pencil lines, they used their markers to color in each shape with a color. Some larger shapes are divided by lines and they are to color each shape a different color. I told the students to stick to 4-5 colors and to repeat those colors like Stuart Davis. I also show them coloring technique, trace around shape and fill with even strokes moving in one direction. You can see from the pictures that the kids were enjoying the project.

One thing I also had to warn students about is making sure there is even light colors and dark colors. It is very easy to get too dark.

Cute Video!

2010-03-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

I watched this video that was posted on the "art is the best part of the day" blog posted and loved it. I just had to spread it around and post it on my blog as well. Enjoy!

5th Grade Metal Repousse's

2010-03-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Though my class is way past this project I wanted to showcase some of the Repouse's. 5th grade projects always take a lot of time, especially this project. The great thing about the Metal Repousse's are that we get two projects out of one. Student start with a pencil drawing and trace over the pencil with black pen which creates an imprint on the sheet of metal. I know there several teacher's who attempt this project and the key is to use a thicker gauge of sheet aluminum. After tracing their drawings, students lift the paper and use a clay tool to press the lines deeper into the metal. Student will flip the metal piece over to the back and press inside the lines so that shapes will pop out, creating more of a relief effect. At times students will need to flip back to the front and and repress the lines. The last step is to cover the entire front with indian ink, let it dry in the sun for a few minutes and then rub off high areas of the metal with a piece of steel wool.

I will be posting some images showing the process soon. While you are waiting, please enjoy a short video showcasing the projects.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

They Run on Brains, Not Batteries

2009-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

So I was reading another blog and was watching the video clip on how crayola crayons were made. While looking around I found this classic crayon commercial and thought it was cute and very realistic. I know that I spent many hours drawing and trying to think up names and create stories for my characters. This video really shows you that not much changes over the years when you hand a pack of crayons to a child.

In Full Swing

2009-10-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

This year is already flying by. School is in full swing and so are all my art projects.

Kindergarten is doing Overlapping Hands.

1st grade is almost finished with the Jungle Collage.

2nd grade just finished the Still-Life Drawing.

3rd grade just started Landscape Watercolor Resist.

4th grade also just started the Still-Life Oil Pastel.

5th is really close to finishing the Metal Repousse.

and 6th grade is struggling through Straight-Ahead and 3/4 Viewpoint portrait drawings.

K-5th projects are going well and are very familiar at this point. However, 6th grade life drawing is a struggle each year. I try and change it a little each time I teach it to make lesson a little easier for the students to understand and apply. The students quickly get bored and lose motivation. I believe they are not feeling successful enough. When ever I see a the "light bulb" go off and the student understands the techniques I am teaching them are able apply those techniques to their drawing. They become much more enthusiastic about their work and want to keep going. I am following a curriculum that was set up by the current middle school/high school art teacher. I respect him so much but there are times I struggle with one or two of the projects. Sometimes it is hard to remember that this is my classroom and I have to do things that work for me and my students.

"An Artist's View" Bulletin Board

2009-09-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

So, blogging is quite a new experience and I want to share all my experiences from teaching as much as possible. However, I may be a little slow posting until I can get into the swing of things. I apologize for the delay and hope to do better.

Last year I was given a large bulletin board that was hung up in the hallway by my door to display art and more. I love creating fun board designs and I enjoy seeing what other art teachers do for their boards. So I am posting a picture of my recent board design in hopes to inspire others. I hope you all enjoy.

I made different types of frames and put a painting by different artists inside each frame. Under each picture is a art quote from that artist.

Man Ray's Rayographs

2009-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

So I was reading on another blog about Man Ray and his Rayographs and decided to google some images. I think his work is really interesting and is a great inspiration for some art projects.

Bowl of Fruit

2009-07-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

This project was done during the first week of art camp for k-2nd graders. The focus of the drawing was how overlapping objects can create a sense of space and how to layer the oil pastel colors to add shadow.

1. Start by drawing an oval for the opening of the bowl. Then a half circle for the front of the bowl.
2. Draw the fruit. I talked about drawing the fruit closest first, then draw the fruit behind it. Usually the younger kids want to draw the whole fruit so I made sure to point out to the kids that you would not see the bottom of the fruit because of them overlapping.
3. Draw the horizon line behind the fruit to represent the table and the wall. Remind kids to be careful not to draw through the bowl and fruit.
4. Fill the shapes with oil pastel.
5. Shadows. I made sure the kids study where the shadows are on the fruit and on the table and how to layer the shadow color over the original pastel color. The last tip I gave them is that a shadow is the shade of the color that it is casting on. Meaning if the apple is a light green, the shadow is a darker green.

Welcome!

2009-07-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone to my blog. I will be posting a lot about the projects and other experiences teaching art to kindergarten through 6th grade. I hope you find lots of useful information and thanks for stopping by!