Buried in Bricks

My husband has hobbies too!  He is really into building Legos now and he even started his own lego blog.  I think the title of his blog is cute and I love the picture he put on his heading.  Let me tell you, between my art related and scrapbooking hobbies and his Lego/Magic/comic book collections, we have no shortage of STUFF around here!  Anyways... there are no official Lego stores in Madison where we live, but one JUST opened an hour away from us in Wauwatosa, WI.  Andrew just started becoming involved with the local Lego group here.  (They're called LUGS-- Lego user groups)  Have you been to a Lego store before?  You know how they have all those floor models set up around the store?  Well, they usually send those to the LUGS for them to build.  Andrew spent a whole day in Kenosha with the Lego group there building all the sets for the store.  They had some really cool set ups.  So, when the store opened last week, we went out and visited the store.  Also, the people that volunteer to build the sets got discounts, so that made Andrew really happy as he was able to pick up some items he wanted for less money.

These are the feet that Andrew made!

I think this one was my favorite!

Here is Andrew and my little girl Daria.  I think Daria was more interested in her Hello Kitty book than anything else.

It's here!

Finally!  My copy of the magazine has arrived.

Featuring magazine was started by the lovely Marit in the Netherlands.  It is about art journaling, mixed media and other arts.   She had a call for submissions and applications to be a contributing editor and I was thrilled when my article and application were accepted.   After several months of brainstorming, interviewing and writing.. plus the countless hours Marit and her husband spent with layout, editing, printing and everything else... the magazine has been printed and delivered to my door.  I'm excited!  Go to the Featuring website to find out information on how to order.

Painting Fabrics

Here are some more of our painted fabrics.  They doodled on the muslin fabric with Sharpies... graffiti-style!  Then, we used liquid watercolor paints (with a little bit of water) in spray bottles and stencils to spray over them with color.  These are all going to be cut up and used in fabric collages. 

Backyard Sushi

I was going through my old emails and I found this one from a parent.  He had told me about this at parent-teacher conferences.  His daughter had made some art using backyard materials.. all natural!  She is a fourth grade student and very creative. 

"Backyard Sushi"

Birds and Nests by the First Graders

The first graders made these utterly adorable birds in nests this week.

We first made nests.  We used tinfoil to shape a nest-like shape.  Then I mixed up some goopy paper-clay and the kids covered their tinfoil nests with the goop.  Little sticks, hay and pebbles were added to the goop before it dried.

Here are the steps we used to make the birds.
We used Crayola Model Magic.  A big secret I discovered is that if you squirt hand-lotion on the Model Magic while you are using it, it will be stickier and softer!  We discovered it one day when a kid put on too much hand lotion while working with Model Magic.  So, I squirted hand lotion into the kids hands and handed out the Model Magic. They flattened it into a pancake. Then, we poured a squirt of tempera paint onto the Model Magic pancake.   Then, the kids kneaded it to make the color evenly distributed.  Yes, this was super messy!  At some point of kneading, most of the paint will slick off onto the ball and the paint will be evenly distributed and mixed into the Model Magic.  Add more hand lotion as needed. 

Next, form a cylindrical-type shape and pull the head up.

Have the kids set their bird on a paper towel and go wash their hands at this step.  Then, they should get a little hunk of Model Magic and squeeze it into a triangular beak shape.  Squish it onto the head.  Then, using an orange marker, color the beak.  Use a black marker to color eyes.

Bird in Progress

Then, poke feathers into the back for a tail.  Kids could add wings if they wanted.

The students who finished early were able to make baby birds or eggs.
Aren't these soooo cute! Squee!

Pictures from the Art Room

Here are some scenes from the art room this week!

 We are using appliance parts to build assemblages.

We are painting on wet fabric and will later cut the fabrics and sew theme together for a fabric collage.

Insects, Spiders, Bugs and More-- 2nd Grade

The second graders drew a bug of their choice on white paper.  I had photos for reference and showed them how to use the pencil to create shading and how to blend it with a blending stub.  (I call them "smudgy sticks").  Later, they cut out their bug and glued it to another background page.

The students looked at this image by Louise Bourgeois and answered some discussion questions about the artwork.

Then, they filled out a sheet which prompted them to detail their experiences with insects or spiders.  What is a memory they have of an insect?  What would they do if they were an insect?  How do they feel about insects?  Have they ever had a dream about an insect?  If they had no answer, they could leave it blank.  They used watersoluble crayons to color a background page.  Using markers, they drew images related to insects, bugs and spiders on top of the background.  They could illustrate the prompts they responded to or create new imagery of their own.  Then, the pencil drawing was glued on top.

Monochromatic Rhythm Paintings-- 3rd Grade

I love these monochromatic rhythm paintings!  The lighting was weird when I took the pictures, so I'm not sure the colors are as vibrant as they really are.  We talked about rhythm in art and how to create it by repetition.  The students learned how to mix shades and tints of one color.  Gold was added at the end for a final touch (so in the end, I allowed them to "cheat" on the monochromatic part, but the gold adds such a fun element.. what do you think?  Can it still be officially a monochromatic painting?).  I also love teaching the etymology of words like this.  I see if they can guess what the word means by breaking it up into parts.  Usually with the collective knowledge of the class, they can figure it out.