April 20, 2011
Even More Matisse Paintings…
Fourth grade students in Mrs. Spotts and Lein’s class work on their paintings the day before Spring Break.
April 19, 2011
April 18, 2011
Spring Bunnies
First grade students spent two class periods creating their spring bunnies. We focused on the Element of Design texture. Students used a sponge painting technique and oil pastels to create their furry bunnies. Then they added supporting details. Projects are being sent home in time for Easter.
Learning about Egypt
Second grade students are beginning to learn about Egyptian Art. We have learned about mummification, heiroglyphs, and a special Egyptian hippo named “William.” William is the unofficial mascot of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. He is a ceramic figure decorated with designs of the lotus plant. When I visited NYC last year, I brought home a stuffed version of Willam. http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/FAQ/htm/willy.htmStudens are making their own hippos using model magic. They are going to be painted and decorated with black marker.
Check out this site to learn to write you name in hieroglyphs...
http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/interactive_fs.asp?swfpath=history/egypt/hieroglyphs.swf
April 8, 2011
Sunflower Paintings
First Grade students have been learning about artist Vincent Van Gogh. We learned about his many self portraits and practiced drawing our own.
The we learned about this famous still life painting of sunflowers.
More 3rd Grade Origami...
Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. White class had fun showing off some of their awesome origami pictures. Great work!
April 6, 2011
Learning about Cave Art…2nd grade
2nd grade students learned about the Lascaux cave and it’s discovery in 1940. We took a virtual field trip to the cave by looking at this website…. http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/index.php?lng=en#/fr/00.xml
Then we made our own cave drawings in our mock “cave.”
April 5, 2011
4th Grade…Ceramics and Matisse
Students in 4th grade have been busy glazing their clay pinch pots.
After glazing students are working on large scale still life paintings inspired by the artist Matisse. They are incorporating their new color mixing skills into their project. I can’t wait to see the final results!
April 4, 2011
1st grade happenings….Rizzi and Kandinsky
Recently, 1st grade artists have learned about Contemporary artist James Rizzi and Modern artist Wassily Kandinsky. Look at all the colorful artwork!
After School Art...Magnetic Paitnings
Students in one of my after school enrichment class have been learning more about the artist James Rizzi. We looked at some of Mr. Rizzi’s magnetic paintings (Click Here) for inspiration. What is neat about these paintings is that the viewer can interact with the work. There is a background and then several magnetic pieces that can be rearranged to make different pictures.
Look at the awesome results!!!
Soon, I will be sharing my students' Skype interview with James Rizzi.
April 3, 2011
Chinese Exchange Lesson, Part 2 (Dundee Students)
In the last post I shared some of the beautiful pictures that I received from students in China. The students attempted to “read” the paintings and learn about Chinese kids. 
Next, students created their own pictures to share with 3rd graders in China. We discussed ideas they could share about their life in the U.S. They were allowed to choose their medium. My only main requirement was that their picture “speak” to the Chinese students through the visual language of art.
I really enjoyed seeing all my students different ideas. All 3rd grade pictures are being sent to Lansing to be judged. Pictures will be chosen to be sent to China as part of the exchange program.
Chinese Art Exchange, Part 1 (Chinese Students)
This year 3rd graders are participating in a Chinese Art exchange sponsored by the local 4-H (through MSU). I was excited for students to get this opportunity, because it correlates well with our focus on Art Around the World. I received a few paintings created by elementary age Chinese children to view with my classes. I was very impressed with the pictures. Here are the examples….
This first painting was created by a 10 year old boy. I love the stylized bunny on the rainbow.
8 years old
This picture is titled Hide and Seek.
7 years old
The Harvest, 7 years old
I love this painting of kittens. The title is Brothers. Believe of not, this painting was done by a 5 year old.
3rd grade students and I discussed how art is a visual language. We do not verbally speak the same language as these Chinese students, but we can still “read” their picture. We discussed similarities and differences that we might have. For example, when I showed the painting Hide and Seek, I asked the students what was going on in the painting (I didn’t tell them the title). Being that many students live on farms, they instantly deciphered the corn and the game the kids were playing. Next, I asked how many kids have played hide in seek in a cornfield, and several kids raised their hands. Just by looking at this painting, we were able to infer that we have something in common. Isn’t art a beautiful thing!!!!
After we looked at these paintings, we discussed what we wanted to “tell” Chinese students about our lives.
Origami Pictures...3rd grade
This year in third grade we are learning about art around the world. We studied Japan and the art or paper folding, origami.
Cute Koalas!
Happy animals!
Penguins and a Frog
Pretty Kitty!
Pets Galore!
Raccoon in the alley
On the farm
Check out this website for more origami ideas….
http://en.origami-club.com//easy/index.html
http://en.origami-club.com//easy/index.html
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