I Am An Artist

It's A New Year

2011-09-10T20:21:00.002-04:00

We've started. I'm already exhausted. We are having fun. I always love the new kinders and their excitement at what I may do. We started the year learning our primary colors.

Our new first graders are enjoying more time in the art room. We started the year with my favorite dancing giraffes.

My new second graders are on a trip around the United States through art. We started with grizzly bears from Montana. Aren't they cute.

My third through eighth graders are learning about Hiroshige. We learned some chinese characters and attempted some origami. I had to bring in a guest to teach us how to make paper cranes. My 10 year old son, Nate. He did a great job.

Ending the Year

2011-05-15T19:15:00.000-04:00

Kindergarten Fish

First Grade Pirates

First Grade Crazy Birds

Second Grade Bicycles

Third through Eighth Grade Andy Warhol Pop Art

Eye Can See You

2011-02-27T14:50:00.000-05:00

We just finished our MC Escher study this week and wrapped it up with "Eyes". They all did a fabulous job! I did these with second through eighth grade and found the youngers did just as well as the olders! Maybe better! *wink*

Maggie, Grade Five

Katerina, Grade Two

Christian, Grade Four

First grade did some yummy ice cream cones, to work on their cutting skills.

Before Escher, we did Marc Chagall and we did some "dreamy" drawings. The students had to pick out a slip from three buckets that told them a location, an action and an animal. With these words they had to draw a dreamy picture.

squirrel, jumping, at the movies

woolly mammoth, singing, in New York City

an owl, sleeping, underwater

And back to MC Escher, the eighth graders had to make their own tessellations. It was harder than they thought it would be.

Catching Up

2011-01-22T21:32:00.001-05:00

We've been to school a big 11 days since my last post on November 29. We've had snow, snow and more snow here in East Tennessee and we just don't handle snow real well. Two inches can shut us down and it did! So I'm going to show off some of the art we did manage to squeeze in.

Second Grade Scarecrows

Renoir "Movement" Paintings

Their paintings needed to be of dancers and show that they were moving.

The kindergartners painted some Mayflowers.

We enjoyed our lesson on Splatter Monsters. They had to turn their blown paint splatters into some sort of person doing something. They were very creative!

Not sure why they are sideways.

We did some really pretty poinsettia paintings. Too bad we never went back to school after they were done so they never made it home before Christmas!

We've started the year off studying Marc Chagall and made some pretty crayon melted stain glass windows.

My Camera Broke

2010-11-29T18:40:00.000-05:00

I have failed to post many pictures lately since my camera flash broke and I need the flash to take pictures. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Kindergarten Owls

Second Grade Statue of Libertys

Audubon's Woodpeckers

2010-10-31T17:08:00.000-04:00

Audubon was known for drawing more than 400 birds. We drew 2. The woodpecker and the flamingo.

Brief Pause In Our Year

2010-10-20T18:59:00.000-04:00

I am still here! I have been out for 4 weeks while I enjoy this little bit but will be back real soon with fun new projects to share!

Secondary Colors With The Kindergarteners

2010-08-30T08:17:00.000-04:00

I was much better at giving directions this week. *wink*

Rembrandt's Stormy Sea

2010-08-20T14:22:00.001-04:00

For the next 3 weeks we will be studying about the artist Rembrandt. This week we read the bible story of when Jesus calmed the sea and did a stormy sea painting. We were replicating *wink* Rembrandt's version of the story.

Their pictures were done with black crayon for the ship, blue and green watercolors for the water, and salt to "foam" the sea water!

My First Kindergarten Class of 2010

2010-08-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

What a hoot! I was trying so hard to be very specific since most of them are unsure of art supplies in general and I failed. After tracing their hands I told them to "color their hands with the primary colors." Well, I should have said, "color your PAPER hands with the primary colors." It's going to be a fun year!

First Grade's Dancing Giraffes

2010-08-18T12:10:00.000-04:00

A New Year

2010-08-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

We started out the year with our Summer Story Quilts. It seems most of you made it to the beach! You lucky ducks!

Creating For You

2010-06-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

I am busy, busy, busy, creating art for you, all my wonderful students!

I am making lots of messes in my dining room.

I am studying all about new artists. (Check them out on the sidebar)

Kenzie is helping a lot. Or is she?

I am excited about all we will study!

Are you excited?

I Am An Artist

2010-05-21T21:10:00.001-04:00

Doodle Oceans

2010-05-15T15:43:00.000-04:00

Grandma Moses And A Little Bit Of Folk Art

2010-05-12T14:57:00.000-04:00

After several weeks of working on a little bit of folk art, most have managed to finally finish their checkerboards! Some even had time to sneak in some playing time during class!

Hot Air Balloons

2010-05-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

We did these step by step drawings the week the accreditation team used our art room.

1st Grade's Eric Carle Inspired Butterflies

2010-04-22T19:25:00.000-04:00

We started our project outside, painting our papers all kinds of fun colors!

After we painted our paper and let it dry, we drew our butterflies and cut them out.

Kindergarten's Eric Carle Inspired Seahorses

2010-04-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

I love how hard they concentrate on their cutting skills!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-15T19:09:00.000-04:00

This past week we were working on shamrocks.

Here is some of our Kandinsky art from the last few weeks.

Sorry

2010-03-09T10:18:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry for my lack of posts the last few weeks. Our Kandinsky art took longer than usual and I forgot my camera a few times. Check back later this week and I should have a new post up!

Wassily Kandinsky

2010-02-08T08:47:00.001-05:00

This week I introduced Kandinsky. An abstract artist from Russia. He painted this.

We started our own version of this print with paper and our fingers for the older classes and paper and scissors with the younger!

Stay tuned for their finished projects!

Cardinals

2010-02-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

This past week in Kindergarten - Second Grade we drew step-by-step cardinals. Once again they are amazing!

What's Out Your Window?

2010-01-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

First and second grade were introduced to Matisse's style of painting. They were told to draw a window and the walls around it. Then they needed to draw what they saw outside the window. They were quite clever! I have yet to take the pictures of the art but will solve that tomorrow.

2010-01-11T18:21:00.001-05:00

Step-By-Step Nutcrackers

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-21T11:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

I am so thankful for your children.

Mondrian Inspired Art

2009-11-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

This week I introduced Piet Mondrian who is famous for this style of art.

The students brought in canvases so we could reproduce this art. First they drew out their grid, which gave them a good lesson on horizontal, vertical and parallel lines. Then they needed to randomly paint their squares and rectangles. Once dry they needed to put in their black lines using electrical tape. Some are still working on that step.

Check back next week for the finished project!

Fall Trees

2009-11-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

This week while we collected everyone's canvases we did a fun project. This project involved paint and straws and lots of hot air! They needed to drip their paint and blow it where they wanted their tree to go.

The finished projects were so fall!

Kindergarten Self Portraits

2009-10-28T15:13:00.000-04:00

2009-10-23T08:33:00.000-04:00

Owls
Kindergarten - 4th Grade

We enjoyed this very messy owl project. The kindergartners had a pre-drawn owl to cover with their ripped paper but the first through fourth graders had to draw their own owls. They did a great job! Enjoy!

We also are working on a cool calendar project for the holidays. Watch for more information. The students are very excited.

2009-09-24T18:11:00.000-04:00

Durer

Our new artist is Albrecht Durer. He was born in Germany and was a painter and a print maker. We had fun this week as we made prints from their designs. They were instructed to draw or trace an item onto a piece of Styrofoam. Usually I would not let them trace something but there were so many steps that we would never have finished if they needed to draw their own item.

Once their design was ready they came up to the printing station and once inked they made "stamps" of their design. It was so fun to see their excitement when they lifted their paper and saw their design. Most of the students made 2 prints. We all agreed it was a fun project to do.

The seventh and eighth grade classes made their prints on wood using a hammer and flathead screwdriver. Their arms were tired! They underestimated the weight of a hammer over a long period of time.

2009-09-11T15:11:00.000-04:00

Neutrals

This week's lesson for third through sixth grade was on the neutral colors of gray, black, brown and white. Strangely it took them a lot longer to do their project than I thought it would so they are not done. They will be done next week and I will post the pictures. I also had camera trouble (batteries were dead) so I did not get a lot of pictures of them creating but I will make it up next week! Check back! And make sure you check out the art exhibit in the back hallway during Parent/Teacher conferences next week.

2009-09-07T19:20:00.000-04:00

Introducing

I'm excited to introduce Artsonia. Artsonia had a dream that artwork created from kids around the world can be shared and enjoyed by everyone. By creating their dream this means that you can not only see your child's artwork online but you can also purchase it in different formats like mouse pads, on a canvas, coffee mugs, note cards, etc. It is also a great way to let friends and family see what your child is creating. It is the largest children's art museum on the web. This is not to replace the blog but to embellish it since everyone's art will be displayed.

To visit the site just click here. I will be sending home a log-on code to find your child's art. These will be sent home on your child's art day (Tuesday or Thursday).

I hope you enjoy the new site. I love finding ways to display their masterpieces.

2009-08-31T19:29:00.000-04:00

Dancing Giraffes and Florentine Reliefs

This week in first and second grade we made dancing giraffes. It was based on the great book "Giraffes Don't Dance." The students did a great job following directions and making their giraffes dance.

In grades third through eighth we did Florentine reliefs to mimic the style of work that Ghiberti practiced when he made the "Gates of Paradise" doors on the Florence, Italy baptistry. Now he used gold and we used foil but the effect was fun and impressive.

2009-08-14T13:25:00.000-04:00

Welcome Back

After a great summer it was nice to get back to doing art with my favorite students. Since it was the first day of school I did an easy project to leave time for rules and such. The students made story quilts that told of their summer vacation. It was a good way for them to get to tell where they went or what they saw. I'm including some of my favorites.

I'll see you next week!

2009-07-07T09:28:00.000-04:00

On Display At Chik-fil-A

One of our Kindergarten moms brought the cow pictures to Chik-fil-A to display. Thank you so much Chasity.

2009-05-14T13:25:00.001-04:00

Action Jackson

This week we ended our last artist for the year. It has been such fun getting the opportunity to encourage all your artists to create. I have loved every minute of it. I am ending the year with pictures from every class doing their action painting like Jackson Pollock. I apologize for the paint they might have gotten on their uniforms- even with smocks some of them were like paint magnets. It was washable paint. If you use dawn dish soap and pre-treat, it will come out. Have a great summer!

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Sixth Grade

Seventh Grade

Eighth Grade

2009-05-07T21:32:00.001-04:00

Jackson Pollock

American Action Painter

This week we did a project that is super fun. It involved paint, marbles and boxes- oh and laughter.

2009-04-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

Ahoy Mates

Pirates
Watercolors and Crayons

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

2009-04-28T20:45:00.000-04:00

Kindergarten Cows

2009-04-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

Pop Culture

Andy Warhol

The 7th and 8th graders learned about pop culture today. Many of you remember the famous painting by Andy Warhol of Marilyn Monroe. Our goal was to replicate it with current pop culture. They always amaze me with their creativity.

2009-04-27T17:25:00.000-04:00

When we were studying Picasso last month, the 7th and 8th graders painted these plates. I forgot to show them off. (For some reason blogger keeps flipping them sideways and it will not correct itself. Sorry.)

2009-04-22T10:26:00.000-04:00

Kindergarten

This week I decided to do a fun project with the kindergarten class. It is always interesting to see what they make. This was our project.

Mushrooms or Toadstools

They have to work real hard to watch me and follow instructions. They love projects that I walk them through step by step.

Then they painted the tops of their mushrooms. Sorry to all the parents who are washing red paint out of their child's shirts. It is washable. We could really use smocks that are not men's gigantic shirts.

And lastly they added the white dots.

After they were done painting they were told they were the wind and they needed to dry their mushrooms. (This is where the paint on their faces happened!) *wink* I love these kiddos.

We may need to make some toads next week to go under our toadstools.

2009-04-21T18:40:00.000-04:00

Georgia O'Keeffe
Week Two

Here are the bulletin boards of this month's artwork.

Kindergarten Watercolor Flowers

And this is one amazing student's artwork for Georgia O'Keeffe. I just had to show it off because it is beautiful.

2009-04-19T19:21:00.000-04:00

Georgia O'Keeffe

Lover of flowers

This week we were introduced to our first American artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. She was born in Wisconsin on a farm. She lived to be 98 and died in 1986 (so when was she born?). She loved to paint flowers as if she were inside them. The kids made crayon prints of flowers radiating off the page in warm or cool colors. They are beautiful.

First Grade

Second Grade

Check back on Tuesday to see the the finished products.

2009-04-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

Paul Klee

Born In Switzerland
Abstract Artist, With A Love For Color

Inspiration Piece

6th, 7th & 8th Grade Version

3rd, 4th & 5th Grade

Paul Klee Abstract Art

I was thrilled today during 2nd grade to hear a child say they messed up on their paper and another child say, "You can't mess up in art because everyone sees art differently." That is so great to hear. It gives them such freedom to create and not worry about what their neighbor's art looks like! Especially those perfectionists.

I love these moments.

I will try to get pictures of Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd for next week. Those are big classes that need lots of help and I never get a moment to grab the camera and snap some pictures. Feel free to come volunteer for art one Tuesday (K) or Thursday (1st & 2nd) We'd love the help!

2009-03-19T14:43:00.000-04:00

Butterflies and Oil Pastels

This week in first and second grade we worked on a butterfly mural. The kids had fun using oil pastels for the first time. The finished project is such an impressive piece to welcome spring.

2009-03-15T19:07:00.000-04:00

Picasso Inspired Portraits

This week the older grades did oil pastel drawings for a Picasso inspired portrait. They needed to draw half of the face as a side view and half of the face as a front view. They did a great job.

2009-03-09T08:11:00.000-04:00

Picasso

-had 23 names
-was born in Spain
-painted over 50,000 paintings in his lifetime
-spent four years painting in only blue (sadness)
-invented cubism
-was left-handed

The project was to replicate Picasso's chicken drawing.

The artists were given step-by-step instructions to follow. For added suspense I did not tell them what they were drawing- it was a surprise! I'm not sure if told what they were drawing would have helped them or not.

Step 1- Brown Marker

Step 2- Yellow Marker

Step 3- Blue Marker

Step 4- Red Marker- Green Marker

We also worked on "artist" signatures.

Here are some of the finished projects from each class.

1st Grader
2nd Grader

3rd Grader

4th Grader