Vegas trip

A few weeks ago we went to Vegas for a wedding.  I had so much fun taking pictures of everything I saw.  It was also great to see some friends that I don't see very often.

This is a Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio hotel.  Gorgeous!

Vegas at night

Vegas at night

This was a kid's mosaic mural at the airport.

flowers

me, Carol, Carrie

gorgeous cake

The other post were pictures I took night.  My brother and sister-in-law came over tonight and we played a game called Konexi and then had fun playing around with the letters.  They were given this game as a gift by their friend Rachel, so we arranged letters in her name and sent her some pictures.

Collage

Collage with beeswax, raffia, paint, burlap, random flowers, paint markers, copper foil

Third Grade Habitat Collages

3rd/4th grade Non-objective drawings

The students learned how to identify realistic, abstract and non-objective art.  The 3/4s worked on a non-objective graphite drawing.  Using only shapes, lines, texture and value the students drew an interesting non-objective design.  Non-objective art is art that has no recognizable objects.  Value in art is the degree of lightness or darkness.  The students completed a value scale using pencil.  They learned how to create contrast by placing dark shades next to light shades, rough texture next to smooth texture and incorporating a variety of sizes in their art (tiny, small, medium, large).  Their drawing needed to have a variety of lines, texture using texture rubbings, contrast, use of pressure, layering and blending, and five values (white, black, light gray, medium gray, dark gray).  One of the artists they looked at is Wassily Kandinsky. 

YARN BOMB!

This was a yarn bomb in my city!! Check out the video. It is awesome!


http://www.wrn.com/2010/09/knit-wits-yarn-bomb-state-street-video/

Fall collage

 

Acrylic paint, watercolor paint, stencils, foam stamps, muslin fabric, fake leaf, spray paint

The best part about being an art teacher?  

Being able to play around with art materials all day to test out new things!

Does anyone know if there is any "safer" spray paint that kids can use that doesn't have fumes?

Happy Halloween!

Here is another Halloween lesson I borrowed from a website long ago.  I do not remember where it is from.

Halloween Silhouettes for Kindergartners
1.  Create a wash of sunset colors on paper. 
2.  Cut out spooky images using black, orange and white paper.
3.  Glue to background.

New Fall Collage and Scrapbook Page

I have been busy making art.  Most of it ends up being scrapbook type pages or random collages.  Here are two examples.  I'm SO excited.. my sister-in-law gave me her old sewing machine that she never uses.  It is a huge improvement on my other sewing machine that didn't work! 

And here's Daria in her elephant Halloween costume!

Fabric and felt Microorganisms

The 5th/6th graders made fabric and fiber representations of microorganisms.  This is a great tie-in to Science class.  These are actually going to be displayed in a real art exhibition!  To make a fiber microorganism, the 5/6s are cutting a large piece of felt into a desired shape.  Then, they are layering other shapes of patterned fabric or solid color felt on top.  These shapes are glued together and were embellished with stitching, beading and sequins (if desired.)  The students looked at pictures of microorganisms, but were allowed to use their creative license while making their microorganism.  Check out this link for the "Our Tiny Friends and Foes" exhibit.

 

Radial Pattern Design

 

These were made by 3rd graders.  We learned about radial balance and patterns.  To make a radial design, use a compass to draw 5-6 circles around a center point.  Draw shapes and patterns around the rings.  Color in some of the shapes solidly with black markers.  Color can be added or just small black lines and patterns. 

Adventures in Stencils and Spraypaint

 Mixed media collage in progress

What should I do with these stenciled and sprayed papers?  Maybe some scrapbook pages?

Mondrian Trees

  Trees in the Style of Piet Mondrian--
The 4th/5th graders drew trees to complement their studies in Science class. 
How can line be used creatively to make a stylized picture?  How can we capture a mood using color?  How can oil pastels be used effectively?  These are the questions we will explore during this unit.  Theyhad a color mixing and blending review.  They learned to use line creatively and made stylized art. 

Piet Mondrian's abstract trees were viewed:

More Halloween Thumbprints