General Art News:
Fall is a wonderful time of year to be inspired by nature! This year our School-Wide Art Focus is on Nature and how it can inspire us in art. The trees are changing, the gourds are turning deeper shades of green, yellow and orange, and pumpkins are landing in our front yards! The children are excited by these changes and have been putting their observations to work in the art room. All of the classes have been working on different projects, but our common theme is Nature.
In Primary Art Class the students have been experimenting with watercolor, oil pastels, watercolor resist, and collage. Our focus is on experimenting with the art materials as well as learning how to find and use materials in the art room. Recently, the students explored the curves and "roundness" of the gourds and pumpkins they observed. Children are natural artists and have an innate ability to "play" with paint, make marks, try different approaches, and find joy in the creative process.
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Kindergarten Art Students have also experimented with watercolor and collage -- including 3-D collages (such as paper bridges and curly strips extending from the base). Earlier this year, inspired by our Nature Theme and what they were learning in the classroom about oceans, they made collages of the ocean. The students looked at a photograph of the ocean water and observed that it looks lighter up close, and darker the further away it gets. With this in mind, they created the backgrounds for their oceans, and then added fish, seaweed, etc.. The fish were created with painted paper and buttons. The backgrounds were made from tissue paper, shells and sea glass. Unruly green yarn was used as seaweed. One student demonstrated his understanding of camouflage by covering his fish with tiny pieces of shells. These collages are displayed in the school's main hallway.
More recently, as Halloween approaches, the students created collaborative "Halloween Monsters" by adding-on to each other's drawings. Although they could not see what their fellow artist had drawn, they had hints from lines that extended into their part of the drawing. The children were delighted and surprised to see what imaginative creatures they could create together!
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First Graders have recently completed their Mixed-Media Fall Trees (displayed in the Big Room, as well as the main hallway on the first floor). They worked on them for three art classes. The first step was to observe trees and their structure, and then make the background for the collage, showing a horizon line. The next step was to build the tree's trunk and branches with painted and handmade papers. The last step was to cut and add leaves, berries, and animals if desired. They are very proud of their focused work on this project. In addition to developing craft as they worked on each step, they observed, envisioned, engaged & persisted, and stretched their imaginations. All of these "Habits of Mind"** are ways of thinking that we practice in the art room. In addition, the First Grader's experimented with watercolor painting, oil pastels and watercolor resist.
**Eight Studio
Habits of Mind were developed by artists and educators associated with
Project Zero at Harvard. These “Habits of Mind” are identified as the ways of
thinking that are unique to learning in a studio environment, thus
demonstrating the real benefits of a Visual Arts Education.
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In Art Class the Second Graders have also been thinking like artists! They were recently commissioned by the Auction Committee (well, not exactly commissioned, but asked...) to create some beautiful bases for the table decorations. These decorations will be part of the Auction experience in November 2013, so don't miss it! In addition to this exciting work, they have been experimenting with watercolor, oil pastel and watercolor resist. Most recently, they worked on their observational skills and painted some fall gourds, delighting in the use of metallic paint. In the coming weeks they will be collaborating on some Halloween Monsters!
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Third Graders have been busy with drawing exercises (blind contour), painting, cooperative drawing, and mixed-media collage. For their Mixed-Media Collages they had the option of using a previous watercolor landscape painting for inspiration, or creating some sort of "Nature-Scape." The final collages are displayed in the main hallway and the variety is inspiring; there are polar bears in their habitat, volcanoes erupting, and the giant open jaws of a shark in the water! Each student created a background with a horizon line in mind, and then added the foreground with a variety of collage materials including handmade paper, sea glass, buttons, shells, ribbons, and tulle.
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Coming Up in ART: If your student is one of those kids who just can't get enough art in their lives, they might want to join a MOREART class after school, or during the summer. These classes are available for students in K-3rd grade. The after school class (on Mondays) is run as an open studio time with a variety of activities set up and choices made by the students. The summer class is based on several continuing projects focused around a particular theme. Each summer session is one week long from 10-1:00.
This year I will be doing one 6-week Winter Session, one 6-week Spring Session, and 2 or 3 One Week Summer Sessions of MOREART at CHS. Registration forms with prices and dates will be available later in November. Please keep your eye out if you are interested. Enrollment fills up quickly.
