Looking Back at the Year in Photos 2013-2014

             To CREATE is to bring your imagination to life!




Southwest Landscape Collage:
Envisioning

Southwest Landscape Collage:
Developing Craft



Southwest Landscape Collage:
Observing

Southwest Landscape Collage:
Engaging & Persisting



Southwest Landscape Collage:
Stretching & Exploring



More 3-D Construction: Envisioning

Color Mixing with Tempera Paint:
Experimenting with Color

Sponge Painting Cherry Blossoms:
Playing with Paint

Weaving in Second Grade:
Engaging & Persisting

Under the Sea Oil Pastel Resist:
Self Expression

 Silk Hoop Painting:
Expanding Your Comfort Zone

 

Working on the All-School Project:
Collaboration

Painting the Snow:
Experimenting with Color

Assembling Portfolios: Accomplishment

Self Portraits:
Learning to Observe

Third Grade Watercolor Preparation:
Learning the Craft

Glazing Ceramics:
Envisioning

Painted Paper Collage:
Working with Space

Working Together:
Inspiring & Being Inspired



Collaboration and Reflection:
Learning Together

 

 

Talking With Young Children About Art: An Opportunity for Meaningful Conversation

      I once saw a cartoon depicting a parent talking with their child about a piece of art the child had created. The parent said, "What is it?" The child looked deflated.  How is it his parent couldn't see what it was... it was so obvious to the artist.  Talking with young children about their artwork can be tricky. Parents often ask me if I have any suggestions for starting meaningful conversations with their young artists.  I think it's helpful to think about what you hope to accomplish in this conversation. Some possibilities include:

• learning more about your children and their motivations 
• understanding how your child thinks 
• helping them feel accomplishment and recognition for their work 
• demonstrating your general interest in their stories and their creative voice
• sharing a bonding experience with them

      These are all wonderful reasons to have a conversation with your children about their art. Over the years I have learned some successful ways to approach young artists about their work.  I focus on their role as the artist and ask them to tell me about their work; "Tell me about your painting."  An additional approach is to focus on specifically on what I see and report my observations:

• I see lot of blue here at the top of your painting, can you tell me about it?
• I see so many different shapes in your drawing, can you tell me about them?
• I notice that tiny dots go all around the entire picture; can you tell me what you were thinking about that?

      Children often respond to these statements with information about their thought process while making the art. They tell me stories about what the blue meant to them, why it is there, and maybe even what it represents. A three year old might tell me that the blue is there because the sky fell down in the picture, or that the blue is a huge dragon who is swimming. One story can lead to another and pretty soon we are engaged in conversation.

      Another approach for continuing a conversation is to offer some feedback, not just what you see, but how you respond to it---but only if it seems to be appreciated by the artist! These comments are a bit more teacherly, in that you are starting to discuss elements of art with your child (color, line, shape, form, etc), and how their art might be viewed by others:

• I notice how you made these lines go all the way across the page; it makes the painting look so tall. What were you thinking about when you decided to do that?
• The circles over here are such a contrast to those sharp lines, it makes me feel excited and I wonder what you were thinking about.
• This part of your painting has a dreamy quality. Is there a story behind this?
• Your painting looks like it's coming off the page, what did you do with the paint to make it look like that?

      Once your artist starts telling you stories about their piece of art, you can begin to ask some more direct questions. But I tend to back off if the response isn't very enthusiastic. There are times when kids just don't want to talk about their work. I make a mental note, and try to return to the conversation at a later time. I might say something like, "Remember when you were making your tree collage? I noticed something you did with the leaves that I thought was interesting. You figured out a way to make them 3-D. I was wondering if you could tell me about that?" With a question like this you are helping them reflect back on their thought process and make connections.

 

      More direct questions and comments might include something like this:

• What were you thinking about when you painted this?
• What tools did you use to apply the paint?
• Can you tell me about what is happening in your drawing?
• What is your favorite part of this painting?
• Tell me about how you made this collage.

      I hope you find some of these approaches helpful the next time you start a conversation with your young artist! An additional resource for talking with kids about art (the art of others...in museums and galleries, etc), can be found if you follow this link:

http://tinkerlab.com/five-easy-steps-for-talking-with-children-about-art/

Spring ARTNOTES 2014

 

 

 

 

General Art News:

We are starting to work on our School-Wide Art Project. In our celebration of our year's theme, Nature, we are creating a Collaborative Art Installation using recycled materials. We will be weaving on old DVD's and CD's and then attaching them together. One small section might look like this:
You can help by sending in old DVD's and CD's. You can also send in the plastic mesh that is used for packaging clementine's in addition to clear plastic egg cartons. Many Thanks in advance for your donations!

Preprimary & Primary Art Classes:

  

The art students in Primary and Preprimary have been busy making art this spring. The Preprimary students now come to the art room, and Primary makes art in their classroom. In Preprimary art class the students have explored different kinds of paint, color-mixing, sculpture, clay and weaving.

 

Have you seen the wonderful drawings, paintings and ceramic models of the woodland creatures in the Primary Class Hallway? They were created by students in the classroom with their classroom teachers.

Kindergarten Art Students:

 

The Kindergarten art students have been exploring a variety of different mediums in art this spring. In addition to weaving, which you can see in the photo above, they have worked in mixed-media sculpture, observational drawing, and painting (including the snow!). Weaving in Kindergarten is quite an accomplishment and they succeed because of the support they give each other. Each student has a "Weaving Buddy". The Buddies have two jobs: the first is to watch their partner weave a row and offer encouragement. The second job is to help each other out with the technical aspects of weaving (i.e. which direction to proceed, over or under?). They have done a phenomenal job this year!

 

 

 

First Grade Art Students have continued to create art from around the world inspired by their Social Studies curriculum. Most recently they took a quick trip to Ireland and created silk hoops with Celtic Designs. Earlier in the spring they made Dream Paintings and Ceramic Boomerangs inspired by Australia, and Japanese Kimonos. Their next stops will include Mexico (weaving) and Africa (printing).

 

 



 

 Second Grade Artists are also weaving and painting, sculpting and drawing. They have frecently enjoyed creating ceramic Native American Fetishes inspired by images of work by Zuni artists.

  

 

Third Grade Artists are continuing to Think Like Artists! In addition to observational drawings, they have explored painting, self-portraits, weaving (plaid design), mixed-media projects and ceramics.

 

 

 

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. Contact me if you have any questions: jbennett@concordhill.org

 

 

 

 

 

November & December ARTNOTES 2013

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.

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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.