Wednesday, August 31, 2011

art class tidbits for parents and students

from pinterest.com
Here are a few "housekeeping" items which the students often have questions about...

1. You may bring a t-shirt, smock or apron to class on your art day, or just dress in clothing that you don't mind getting a little dirty.  Most of our materials are washable, but there are a few items we use occasionally that can leave a stain. (You can find your art day on the schedule in the tabs above.)
2. We store all of our work, projects, and sketches in portfolios that will go home at the end of the year.  We need to keep the work for the many art shows and activities we participate in each year.  When your portfolio goes home in May, it's a great chance for you to select a few special pieces for scrapbooks or wall frames.
3. If you notice your child is wearing an "Art Star" sticker, congratulate them.. it's a big deal!  I choose one student to be the Art Star at the end of class who demonstrated outstanding participation, creativity, and behavior.  This earns them an entry in the end-of-semester raffle.
4. Students often ask if they can bring work from home to share with the class.  This year I am planning a "sketchbook sharing" day, which will occur in the second semester.  If your child keeps a sketchbook at home, which I highly recommend, they will be able to bring it in on that day, and maybe even earn a treat for extra credit.

We are off to a great start!  Thanks for your support of the arts at Dolvin.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Fourth grade Foil Figures

These are a nice 3-D addition to our intro on gesture drawing...




 
... each one is made from a sheet of aluminum foil, about 12" long.  Use this guide to make the cuts, then carefully bunch the parts together.  After the students made the figures and shadows, I did the gluing myself with a few dots of hot glue.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Action-packed first week highlights

What a great first week!  We had a very inspired five days of K-5 art classes, and here are some of the highlights...
Our recycling project from last year, now installed

Starting the year organized and tidy... for at least a few days

"What are we doing this week in art?"

5th graders posing for gesture drawings

5th graders warming up with gesture drawings

4th graders made gesture drawings and foil gesture figures

1st graders getting familiar with their art portfolios, which I adapted from another art teacher's blog,
"the art of education"... thank you for sharing your portfolio cover ideas! http://theartofed.com/

2nd graders read the book Ish...

...and made "ish" drawings for their sketchbooks

a few 5th grade classes got a head start on our lesson based on Jean Dubuffet,
finding figures in a web of gesture lines

Kindergarteners found many ways to make lines on their "magic carpets"... next week we add shapes
3rd graders gathered on our reading rug for The Dot

See you next week!




Thursday, August 11, 2011

Welcome back, Dolvin artists!

from pikaland.com
It was great to see so many of you at Sneak Peek today and I can't wait for another great year.  We have so many fun things in store for you.  Just remember... when it's your art day, it's not just another day...it's the day to create something beautiful!
See you real soon...

p.s. Click in the class schedule box above to see your art day and time.