Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists

Dolvin artists in Youth Art Month show

2012-02-25T19:28:00.000-05:00

Every year, our county has an art show featuring works by all the schools. Here are the submissions from my classes this year. I am very proud of their expressive and colorful pieces of art!

"Views of Mt. Fuji" by 2nd graders Jessica and Stevie, crayon and tempera

"Evergreen" collagraph prints by 3rd graders Onhwa, Jack, and Cora

mixed media "Starry Night" by 1st grader Lindsay

Gee's Bend style quilt -"Louder Crazy Quilt"- by 3rd grader Carrington

Thank you, Dolvin families!

2012-02-23T11:16:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers I received today in honor of "Dolvin Rocks! Teacher Appreciation Week 2012." They made my day so bright! The PTA has spoiled us with gifts, a yummy breakfast, and I can't wait for tomorrow's luncheon. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

A handmade rose by 5th grader Bela - who knew duct tape could become something so pretty?!?

5th grade Face Jugs, part 1

2012-02-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

Fifth graders are beginning our annual tradition of building clay Face Jugs. We started out with this great video from PBS, which shares the origins of face jugs in Africa, and how they ended up the the U.S. Thanks to ArtMuse67 for sharing this video - we loved it!

Watch Face Jug on PBS. See more from History Detectives.

Next, we looked at examples of face jugs in Georgia, created by members of the Meaders family of potters in the North Georgia mountains. We also looked at modern potters and designers who continue to produce face jugs in a variety of styles, such as artist/designer Jonathan Adler. Both of these artists often stylize their jugs by exaggerating or minimizing the size of the facial features.

one of the Meaders family

Meaders Ugly Jug

Adler, throwing a pot on the wheel

Adler's stylized face pots

Students chose a style for their jugs - either "traditional ugly", animalistic, or realistic - and formed the jugs from two sealed pinch pots. Stay tuned for the finished glazed examples, coming in a couple of weeks - here's how they're shaping up so far -

Paper Community Quilts, inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend

2012-02-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

*These 3 quilts were made by members of the Pettway family, more history and images can be seen here: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm*

A few years ago, I had the great privilege of seeing an exhibit of quilts at the High museum that were made by the women of Gee's Bend, Alabama. I can honestly say that I have never been so emotionally moved and, at the same time, creatively intrigued by an art experience. These quilts were some of the most interesting graphic pieces I had ever seen, and were equally personal. To me, this is the ultimate combination in art, and not easy to achieve. It's amazing that these folk-art quilts - made from old clothing for keeping warm, by women who lived in a tiny, rural, poverty-stricken, isolated community - could rival any modern masterpiece hanging in any museum today.

Another Pettway piece, lovingly made by a mother and daughter using work clothes from the father, who had passed on.

Here's a little info about Gee's Bend: this small community in South Alabama was once a cotton plantation. It is almost completely surrounded by a bend in the Alabama River. There was no school there until the 1940's, and the people who live there are descendents from emancipated slaves, who continued farming the land and eventually purchased it from the government. Quilting is a skill handed down from generation to generation and is still enjoyed in the community to this day. The beauty of these quilts became known through photographs taken for a government study, and ever since, these quilts have adorned the walls of many museums around the world.

For our lesson, we began with a viewing and discussion of the style of the quilts, and how they were different from some traditional quilting styles, where symmetry and repetition are more common, as seen here:

Each 3rd grader made two quilt squares from paper, attempting to represent an article of clothing or other piece of cloth from their memory - a favorite dress, a baby blanket, a father's tie. Then we cut our squares into sections and traded within our classroom community in order to get a variety of patterns and colors. We pieced the sections together in interesting ways, keeping in mind the asymmetrical patterning of the Gee's Bend quilts. Finally, we titled our quilts with a meaningful name. Here are some pics of our process and results.

creating "quilt squares", inspired by fabrics from our personal memories

trading our squares within our classroom community

a beautiful, colorful collection of our own work and our neighbors'

Assembling the final designs...

I can see that their Matisse influence is still lingering from 2nd grade...

A Very Pinteresting Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T14:54:00.000-05:00

Pinterest has been a big hit with art teachers and parents alike. Here are two Pinterest inspired valentines from today - the "army man" one was made by my son Mak and myself, and the heart crayon was a gift given to me by 5th grader Jackson.

Here are a few more valentine activities from today... hope it's been happy!

lovebirds inspired by MaryMaking blog
http://marymaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/lovebirds.html

Georgia Folk Art, 2012: 1st grade

2012-02-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

First graders looked at the works of some of Georgia's most well-known folk artists, including Howard Finster, Mattie Lou O'Kelley and Nellie Mae Rowe. Some of the things these artists had in common were growing up on a farm with a large family, and little or no schooling. They were self-taught artists who painted scenes familiar to them and used materials they had available - notice the sheet of notebook paper as the background in this drawing by Nellie Mae Rowe:

The notebook paper reminded me of several artworks I'd seen on Pinterest that used book pages instead of blank paper, so we used some old books that were damaged and waiting to be recycled for our backgrounds. We also looked at examples of folk art quilts - another example of reusing materials on hand for art-making - and made a "frame" from patterned paper squares. The uniqueness of all the chickens really makes me happy!

Illustrating a character: 4th grade

2012-02-09T12:22:00.002-05:00

Fourth graders learned about shading and value by illustrating one of their favorite characters from a storybook or a mythical character. We looked at different interpretations of characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood or Bigfoot, by a variety of illustrators - I found these nice examples on Pinterest:

This lesson provided the kids an opportunity to express their ideas any way they like - abstractly, realistically, symbolically - and the only restrictions were that they must use at least 6 values from their value scale. Since we were using pens, hatching and cross-hatching was our shading technique of choice.

We looked at a few examples by one of my favorite illustrators, Edward Gorey, who has done many famous black and white illustrations for Masterpiece Mystery! and other books, as seen here:

We began with a shaded value scale and ended the project with a trip to the computer lab to select and print fonts which add to the mood of our character portraits. We really had fun working as illustrators and putting our own personal spins on some classic characters. I am very pleased with our results...

My teacher-made example

Warhol's Ink Blot Monoprints: pet portraits

2012-02-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a little snippet of the video we watched to prepare for our lesson.
"Fantastic...yeah." - probably what Andy Warhol would have said seeing our second graders in action, creating his style of blotted line drawing monoprints, or a print that can only be produced once. Warhol created his own unique style of drawing in order to stand out in the crowd of graphic artists looking for advertising jobs. This technique, which involves drawing with ink on a tracing paper sheet and rubbing newsprint over the top, gives a very special line quality to a drawing - some parts are thin or thick, fuzzy or smoth. It is definitely a challenge for students who are concerned with things being neat or perfect - it was an exercise in staying loose and having some surprises in your work! I am a huge fan of this kind of art because it is so expressive and has that special handmade quality.
Andy Warhol made a number of artworks about his cats, all named Sam, so we took that idea and made our own pet portraits. Enjoy!

Smartest Artist of the Month: February 2012

2012-02-04T09:33:00.001-05:00

Megan A. Sun is our featured student artist for the month of February. Megan is a 3rd grade student from Ms. Pickering's class who takes her work seriously and remains focused on improving her skills during her art time with me. There's nothing I appreciate more in a student! Her work is always well-crafted and creative, and her classroom behavior is top notch. Megan would like to share that her "favorite hobby is art, especially when it is artistic and creative." Here are a few of her creations from this year - keep up the great work, Megan!

A fun, yet completely unfinished, week...

2012-02-03T12:21:00.001-05:00

Some weeks everything is just "in progress" - here's a sneak peek of some really nice work that should be finished soon ...

Paper "quilt squares" for a 3rd grade Gee's Bend style quilt

5th grade face jugs, safely waiting in plastic for step 2

5th grade helped me put to use some saved "recyclables" that had overstayed their welcome

2nd graders made ink blot prints like Andy Warhol - Pet Portraits

1st grade Georgia Folk Art, beginning stages

4th graders learn about value, shading and cross-hatching as they illustrate a favorite fictional character

KDG Stamp Print Architecture 2012

2012-01-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

It's time again for our kindergarten art unit on architecture - so fun! This post is similar to last year's, with a few additions. We started our unit with the book Where We Live, and we looked at examples of architecture in our own city of Atlanta. We saw the modern white forms of the High museum, designed by architect Richard Meier, and drew our own plan for an art museum using combined shapes. This was a great warm-up for our next activity - stamp-print architecture. We use cardboard and other gadgets like marker tops, legos, and sponge shapes to stamp white patterns onto the paper. Usually I leave these with simple white lines on dark paper (see here), but my paper this year wasn't as dark as I like so we added some elements like wood, brick, and stone with our markers for a little more contrast. Next up, we build some 3-D forms using paper strips!

Great book on shelters in history

High Museum in Atlanta

stamping the lines with matboard and white tempera

adding details with gadgets

Step 1: complete

adding elements with marker: bricks, stones, wood, etc.

ready to take our blueprints home - rolled up into a tube, just like architects do!

Snowman Snapshots: using point-of-view

2012-01-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

Third graders discussed using point-of-view as an artist and how to create a composition using a viewfinder. Photographers are artists who create visual compostions all the time, using their cameras to zoom in or out for just the right angle.

nice details

a different layout

like the one melting in the sun

creative backgrounds

check out the ice skater in the distance!

reference to Starry Night in lower left corner

VIP: Very Important Painting - Starry Night (2012)

2012-01-24T12:27:00.002-05:00

Teaching the story of Vincent Van Gogh and the creation of Starry Night is, to me, one of the greatest moments of the year. We have studied this painting in many different ways in my room. The book Visiting Vincent Van Gogh is a great introduction for younger students. It discusses his town, his house, his friends, as well as an age appropriate description of his illness. We discuss the beauty of the night sky, and how Van Gogh found it especially wonderful that night, one of his first nights outside after a long hospital stay, with twinkling stars, a swirling breeze, and a cozy little village all tucked in under a glowing moon.

Van Gogh's masterpiece

First graders created their own interpretations of the Starry Night, including many of the artistic elements found in the original landscape - a sense of space created by overlapping, and a feeling of movement made by swirling brushstrokes. In years past, our landscapes were created with crayon resist - the details of the picture were colored with wax crayon and the papers were covered in midnight purple tempera and wiped down, as seen here.

Last year's resist method

This year, we tried a mixed media approach similar to one I'd seen over at For the Love of Art. Oil pastels make bright moons and stars, we painted our background and middleground, and finally collaged the cypress tree and village on to the foreground. We enjoyed the music of Beethoven's Moonlight during our creative time. Enjoy!

Surreal Settings: 4th grade collage

2012-01-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

This is a fun lesson for introducing the concepts of Surrealism. We looked at works by Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali and found elements that both artists use: symbolism, floating objects, and real objects combined in a not-so-real way. We started with a photocopy of a famous place, hand-colored it, and added magazine photos. This year, one class who had a little more time than the others (due to holidays and other unavoidable interruptions) tried it three-dimensionally - we popped the shapes up to create a relief in a box lid - it was really fun! Craftsmanship is super important here - our cutting and gluing skills need to be on point to create these illusions.

Dali

Magritte

Great news, kiddos!

2012-01-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

Our art blog was voted #1 Art Education blog for 2011! The contest was sponsored by The Art of Education, created by the multi-talented Ms. Jessica Balsley. This is a huge honor, and we are in the company of some of the most creative, insightful, and SHARING art teachers out there. I know that my teaching repertoire had become a little tarnished after 18 years, and since I've been blogging, the last two years have been highly energized because of connections with such inspirational teachers. Please check out all the top 20 nominees at The Art of Education - congrats to all!

So - smartest artists - thank you for making great art and letting me share it with the world - your work is inspiring people every day! I am so proud of you...

Kirigami, Notan, and Rice Field Art

2012-01-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

Second graders have had a wonderful time during our unit on the art of Japan. We are ending the unit with two papercutting techniques known in Japan as Notan, or a balance between opposites, and Kirigami, the art of folding and cutting paper designs. Thes were a great way to show the differences between radial and linear symmetry.
We saw a presentation about an amazing art event in Japan that forms in the rice fields. See the pictures below - how cool!!!

Kirigami snowflakes... it actually snowed a little outside when we made these!

a well balanced Notan design with linear symmetry

This is a rice paddy in Japan with farmers planting rice seed. (These pics were sent to me via email a few years ago - please add your link in the comments if they belong to you, and thanks for sharing)

an image starts to emerge as the plants begin growing..

yes - it's Hokusai's "Great Wave" - made from rice plants!

a close up view of the all-natural plants - no ink or dye is used

another field ... the kids really got a kick out of seeing this!

Calder style sculptures, 3 ways

2012-01-17T21:03:00.001-05:00

Calder

Third graders have recently been looking at the works of American sculptor, Alexander Calder, and discussing 3-D form, color schemes, and abstract style. Calder loved primary colors and black and white in his creations, often built with wire and painted metal and suggesting themes like "outer space" or "the circus." We tried 3 different techniques: the wire sculpture, the wall mobile, and the stabile sculpture. Here are some of our results...

Hallway display case

bird from wire, pipe cleaners, buttons and beads

my teacher example of a wall mobile

a table full of stabile sculptures using painted yarn cones

wall mobiles standing in the back

wire bunny - love the placement of the buttons - skillful!

black background makes them pop!

an amazing kangaroo w/baby in pouch... really detailed

nice hanging wire sculptures

stabile with "SUN" theme

p.s. - Don't forget to go see "Picasso to Warhol" currently on display at the High museum, where you can experience several Calder sculptures in person!

Vote for our blog - we're finalists!

2012-01-16T03:57:00.000-05:00

Attention Dolvin students, parents, and community friends - our blog has been nominated as one of the top 20 art education blogs in The Art of Education's contest. Let's try to make it to the top 10 - vote here:
http://theartofed.com/2012/01/15/finalists-announced-vote-for-art-ed-blog-of-the-year/. Also, you will find a list of other top art ed blogs, which are full of inspiring art lessons and ideas from around the country.
It is really exciting to know that our students' work is being admired all around the world, and we have been having fun learning what students in other places are doing in their art classes. For example, here's a new post from Ms. Katie Morris in Kansas about our Artist Trading Cards trade from the fall - http://artteacheradventures.blogspot.com/2012/01/atc-swap-with-mrsknights-smartest.html. It was so much fun trading with her students. Click here to read about their experience. I can't wait to post next week about all of our trades - our map is getting full!

Don't worry Winnipeg - I'll have you in the right spot next week ; )

Don't forget to vote for Dolvin's blog - Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists! Voting closes January 20.

Keeping track: K-5 Portfolios

2012-01-11T10:00:00.002-05:00

a 4th grade portfolio

We are trying out new portfolios this year, and I thought I'd share our progress at the mid-year point. We've always used paper folders for collecting our work, but this year I decided to try printed portfolios where we can keep up with vocabulary words, artist names and other important concepts so that students can easily recall these things throughout the year without having to sort through lots of papers. I am hoping this will be a great way to assess - kind of like an open-book test - where all the answers to the questions are on their portfolio. So far, it's going really well - the kids seem to have more respect for their portfolios this year than the years when we just "decorated" them. They are also more patient about keeping all their work here until the end of the year, knowing they are creating a fantastic collection. I started with a format based on a portfolio cover I had seen over at The Art of Education, (thanks again for that, Jessica!) but added more spaces and included a back sheet so there would be space to add info all year long. I printed them on the school copier using 11x17" paper. I thought about making a different one for each grade level, but then this year was the "trying it out" phase so I stuck with the same format for all levels. I left the sections basically blank so that we could use them for different things at different grade levels. Here's how they look at the beginning of the second semester - I'll share again at the end of the year, after I've fine tuned this thing. I am happy to send my portfolio word docs format through email if you'd like to get a copy to try yourself... paying it forward!

a 2nd grade example, front and back view, CLICK to view larger

first day, checking them out

a kindergarten example

5th grade front and back view

Reductive printmaking: self-portraits

2011-12-30T19:20:00.003-05:00

Fifth graders worked on proportion when drawing their self-portraits - we spent some time figuring out sizes and placements of the parts of the face and printed a simple contour drawing from a styrofoam sheet. Next, we removed part of the printing plate by cutting and added textures and patterns in the remaining areas and printed with a second color of ink.

Trouble with comments

2011-12-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

Lately, several people have mentioned that they cannot leave a comment because "they are not authorized" or some message along those lines. I remember reading a couple of other posts from art teachers regarding this same issue, and Internet Explorer was supposedly not jiving with Blogger, creating this lack of commentary. I do not have a problem when I use Safari from my home computer, so I suggest trying another internet browser if possible. If anyone else has good suggestions, tips, or other ways to make commenting easier, please comment - of course, if you can, that is!!!
Just for fun, here's a pic of my desk which is currently collecting some holiday loot - Happy Holidays, all!

mapping our ATC's

2011-12-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

As we are receiving packets of ATC's from around the world, we are mapping them as we go. This is getting exciting! Here is a sneak peek, and I will post in detail once we have received from everyone.

Mapping our trades

A few exciting examples from our ATC collection bucket

Sunflower pinch pots

2011-12-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

First graders have begun a unit on painter Vincent Van Gogh and his masterpieces. Our first project is a sunflower formed from a pinch pot. Van Gogh loved sunflowers and painted them again and again - sometimes out in the fields and sometimes at home in a vase. Our little bowls capture the colors and textures of the sunflowers.

ready for first firing

stages of drying

opening the kiln

2nd grade Japanese Tea Bowls

2011-12-16T11:56:00.000-05:00

This is a tea bowl made from clay. It is used in Japan for the daily tea ceremony.

We made the bowl from two slabs (body and base) and a coil (for the foot).

Sealing the seam

Cutting away the extra clay from the base

These pots are almost ready for their first firing.

These pots have been fired once, glazed, and are waiting for their second firing in the kiln.

We decorated the surface with Japanese symbols and characters.

Elders are always served their tea first as a sign of respect.

We prepared them to go home with a little information sheet.

Tea ceremonies are enjoyed in a clean, quiet, peaceful setting.

Many countries and cultures drink tea and make ceramic art.
It's fun to see the differences and similarities!

Imaginary Creatures Collage

2011-12-13T15:07:00.000-05:00

The kindergarteners enjoyed using all the scraps leftover from the 3rd grade collagraphs to create their own imaginary creature collages. It's funny how the scraps left from cutting out evergreen trees made great monster teeth! We read the book Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous ABC and talked about using our imagination in our artwork. We started with a symmetrical shape cut from some striped cardstock, which was a nice donation from a parent. Then we had a ball adding parts to our creatures with scrap paper, cloth, foam, feathers, stickers, and pom-poms. This is always a great lesson, year after year.

Kindergarten: snowflakes in clay

2011-12-08T13:25:00.001-05:00

Kindergarteners have just completed their clay snowflake ornaments. Our goal was to learn ways to create texture and surface design on a clay slab.

First, we pinched a round slab, then we pressed snowflakes into the surface. Here are some buttons, ornaments, and stickers (adhered to bottle caps) that we used to create our textures.

A thin application of glaze (2 coats) creates a more translucent look...

...and a thicker application becomes more opaque. This is about 3 coats.

packed and ready to go

We also made snowflake charms to wear as necklaces from the leftover bits!

Final word: 3rd grade Evergreen Collagraphs

2011-12-07T12:15:00.001-05:00

Third graders have selected their favorite print and prepared it for display by labeling and mounting it. Here are some samples of our extra prints after adding color and sparkling glitter. You can see the original post here. They are very charming, with an artistic appreciation of the beauty of nature in winter.

Some artists in action at their printing station

You know you've been working hard when your drying rack is filled to the top!

4th grade:musical instrument prints

2011-12-05T19:48:00.001-05:00

These prints were made from styrofoam sheets

We began by making contour drawings of different instruments

We tried different inks on a variety of papers

Some are very subtle and monochromatic

And some look like they glow in the dark!

Some are classic black & white

We tried rolling two colors on one roller

We labeled our series and added creative titles

We printed about 7 or 8 and mounted our favorite on a background

This is a favorite lesson of mine and it is always fun and successful for all ability levels

Monoprinting with Symmetry: Monarchs

2011-12-02T12:04:00.001-05:00

This was a really fun project and we learned many important things - we continued our study of balance and symmetry, threw in some printmaking, and topped it off with some science! Monarchs migrate from Canada to Mexico at this time of year (how smart are they?). Easy and fun, this is a great one day activity. Thanks to Art Project Girl for the inspiration!

brushing on a few strokes at a time

folding the other side over and rubbing to transfer
the paint symmetrically

open to see the design!

Nonobjective Color Studies: 5th grade

2011-12-02T10:03:00.001-05:00

student example with analogous colors

Here are some completed examples of the paintings I posted about last week - see original post here. We really enjoyed painting and mixing colors and working in the style of painters Arthur Dove, Sonia Delauney, and Paul Klee. Using our info sheets to plan ahead was really helpful - it was a place to make thumbnail sketches, plan our compositions, and work out color schemes. Several teachers asked for the info sheet, and I can't attach it as a document, but here it is as a picture - maybe you can print it large??? p.s. - if you know how to attach a document, let me know! : )

First Look at Evergreen Collagraph Prints!

2011-11-30T11:13:00.001-05:00

Third graders are still in the printing stages of our Evergreen Collagraph prints, but they are coming out so nicely that I couldn't wait to share! We will be trimming, hand-coloring, and numbering our prints soon. So far, we have built a printing plate using a variety of textured materials like foam, woven fabric, sandpaper, and cardboard. We cut a variety of evergreen tree shapes and punched holes for the "berries & cones." We printed using white ink to represent the first snow of winter. The prints are beautiful and the plates look really nice themselves! Some of our "smudgier" prints will get some oil pastel detailing. This project really put us in the holiday spirit - we are ready for winter!

building the printing plates

prepping for printing

rolling on the ink

placing the paper over the plate

the image prints in reverse

Abstract trees, 1st grade

2011-11-21T17:32:00.001-05:00

teacher example

First graders looked at artist drawings of realistic and abstract trees and discussed why an artist might choose to make things look different than they do in real life. We also reviewed secondary colors and making tints and shades. We created the lines for the trunks and stems using silver and black sharpies, which tend to dry out quickly when drawing over dried tempera, so if you try this maybe use a metallic colored pencil.. We used this example from Pinterest (original artist: Eloise Renouf) to spark our thinking.

5th grade color studies underway... (+ snowmen)

2011-11-16T20:28:00.001-05:00

As a painter and color enthusiast myself, I get really fired up for a good session of painting with the kids. Fifth graders are beginning their nonobjective color studies, inspired by works from Paul Klee, Arthur Dove, and Sonia Delauney. We completed a prep sheet with thumbnail sketches, plotted compositions, and mapped out color schemes, then dove right in. After umpteen years of washing paint trays, I finally figured out how to use lidded condiment cups and magazines as palettes - just peel off and toss! Super easy.

working with a monochromatic scheme

and analogous

and complementary

inspirational posters with student art

On another note, last week, I had a group of students who I don't usually see come for a lesson, so I decided to try out a craft - something we typically don't have in our curriculum, but this was not a "regulation" day so we went for it. Found on Pinterest, click here for original site.

Grant Wood style pumpkin farms

2011-11-16T14:37:00.001-05:00

Kindergarteners learned some tricks to create the illusion of depth of space in their watercolor landscapes. Artists place objects low on the page when they are near, and higher on the page when they are far. Artists also change the size of an object to show where it is in space. Our pumpkin farm landscapes have the feeling of rich, rolling hills like those in Grant Wood's paintings, and each student chose a daytime or nighttime setting and color scheme. Wood was an American master, known for his rural landscapes and the iconic American Gothic, a portrait of the farmer and his wife.

Views of Mt. Fuji - art of Japan, project #1

2011-11-11T19:52:00.001-05:00

Dolvin second graders have beautifully completed project 1 of our Japanese art unit. We studied "the man who painted a mountain," Katsushika Hokusai. Orphaned as a young boy, Hokusai grew into an artist who fulfilled his childhood dream of creating many views of the "magic mountain," which he could see from his tiny childhood village.
After studying Hokusai's art as well as photos of Mt. Fuji, students drew a variety of sketches with the mountain near or far, from land or sea, in the day or night, and in different types of weather. We selected our favorite sketch and enlarged it with construction paper crayons, then painted sakura, or cherry blossoms, surrounding the mountain, sometimes blowing in the breeze.We finished off the project with a traditional Japanese haiku.

Our space for artful thinking on "The Great Wave", finding Japan on the globe, and reading about Hokusai.

A great book... the kids loved learning to say "Katsushika Hokusai" - sounds like a song!

Examples of near and far in the landscape

Haiku example written by me, with a little syllable-counting help from the kids
- it should be 5-7-5 syllable count, and as you can see we have one too many in the first line - oops!

ATC's: ready for shipment!

2011-11-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

Dolvin 3rd and 4th graders have been making Artist Trading Cards - miniature artworks on 2.5 x 3.5" cards - which are now labeled and ready to ship to students in several other states and countries. Third graders stamped legos to create colorful nonobjective designs that students thought resembled clock parts or aerial views. Thank you to FilthWizardry for sharing this idea!
Fourth graders worked with the open-ended theme of "Fall," and we discussed how Fall might be different in the places these cards will travel to, such as Australia. We are really looking forward to receiving our ATC's and starting our collections!

selecting the card area

careful cutting

ready to go!

inspiration for 4th grade theme

ready to go!

Solve the puzzle ...

2011-11-07T19:53:00.000-05:00

... to see what second graders are learning about!

provided by flash-gear.com

3rd grade update

2011-11-04T15:42:00.000-04:00

Third graders have been very busy lately, finishing up our shaded still life drawings and beginning our ATC's - Artist Trading Cards - which we will be sending off to schools around the country and even a few other countries. We are getting excited about making our trades, so check out a sneak peek of what we've been putting together (below the still life drawings):

finding value changes within the hues

drawing from observation

this student added streaks of light coming from our overhead lighting after discussing the "light source"

s stylistic approach

using cool colors for shadows instead of darker value

nice color scheme

love the patterns

varieties and values of orange

This is just a preview of the ATC's in progress - we will post some pics of the
final product after the cards have been sent.....

Torn paper landscapes: KDG

2011-11-01T15:34:00.001-04:00

As an introduction to landscape and space, kindergarteners learned what a horizon line is and what goes above and below it. We collected green, yellow, and blue papers from magazines and we also made some texturized papers ourselves. We carefully collaged the torn papers to create a sky, a sun, and a grassy field, and defined the areas with a length of thick yarn. I was inspired to create this lesson by a similar product over at Dali's Moustache. I am very pleased with the results, and it was successful for all students : ) Next up, Grant Wood style pumpkin farms!

Amazing show at the High Museum

2011-10-29T12:27:00.000-04:00

Dolvin families, this is a show for the whole family that you won't want to miss, straight from the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I just attended the Evening for Educators at the Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters show at the High Museum in Atlanta. The artists represented are artists we draw inspiration from in the Dolvin art program. Picasso, Calder, Matisse, Mondrian, and Warhol, just to name a few, are artists the students should recognize and remember from art class. The show goes on through the spring, so make your plans to attend - it's a great chance to see some of these masterpieces right here in our hometown.
And remember, admission is free for Fulton county residents on the first Saturday of every month!
https://www.high.org/moma.aspx#/Picasso-to-Warhol/landing

Picasso's Night Fishing at Antibes - very large and mesmerizing in person... can you find the two boys fishing by lantern light, and the two girls who bicycled up to watch, enjoying an ice cream cone?

Original Works packets are coming home this week!

2011-10-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

Look for your child's packet in the VIP folder this Thursday. I wanted to share some of my favorite product suggestions with you.

Artist Trading Cards This is a set of 18 trading cards that the students can share with family members and trade with classmates. This is a new item, so I haven't seen them in person yet, but I am excited to try these this year.

Travel cup

This is also a new item this year, and I like it more than the water bottle because the image is much larger.

Sketchbooks
These have a nice, large printed image and I am a big fan of sketchbooks for kids, or for anyone!

Aprons
These are great quality aprons with a large printed image. I wear mine every day... which reminds me, I need a fresh one! Great for cooking or to wear to my art class.

Magnets, note cards, and night lights are always favorites as well. I can highly recommend all items where the image is printed large - some of the products have smaller, repeated images that are not as easy to see. Feel free to email me with any questions.

A pair of socks: 1st grade

2011-10-21T11:43:00.001-04:00

This idea was inspired by a post from Laugh, Paint, Create. First graders read the book A Pair of Socks, which was beautifully illustrated by Lois Ehlert. We discussed lots of smart ideas, like symmetry, line patterns and matching pairs. Check out our awesome socks!!!

Fall Shape Quilts - 2nd grade

2011-10-19T09:58:00.000-04:00

Pumpkins, pinecones, acorns, gourds, leaves... these are the inspiration for our Fall Shape Quilts. Artists often take their inspiration from nature and the changing of the seasons.

Second graders began by making contour drawings of these objects in a quilt grid, emphasizing their organic shapes. We colored them using value changes to make them look more like forms.

We cut some geometric shapes for the quilt pieces and we used fancy cutters. We glued the organic forms over the top, and voila!

I found a pin on Pinterest that helped me with this idea. It is from this blog - this one is drawn in pastel by older students - very nice.

My example

Kindergarten self-portraits

2011-10-17T14:44:00.000-04:00

Our self-portraits show how we can use color to express our feelings, just as Pablo Picasso did during his Blue Period, when he was lonely and poor, or in his Rose Period, when he was happy. We chose a background color that made us feel happy, and we filled it with tints and shades of that same color in a variety of patterns. We drew our self-portraits independently for this lesson about expression, and will learn more about facial and body proportions later in the year.

Fun Learning in Fourth Grade

2011-10-14T11:22:00.000-04:00

4th graders are learning about visual texture

we took our inspiration from autumn leaves

texture boards and crayons create a colorful abstract texture on the body of the leaf

watercolors provide a softer visual texture for contrast

we learned the wet-on-wet technique for bleeding edges

they look beautiful drying in the autumn sun

we also completed our unit on Pop Art

we learned about Andy Warhol...

...Roy Lichtenstein...

... and also the "food art" repeats of Wayne Thiebaud

We discussed our favorite Pop Artists and wrote about our choices

extraordinary letters & numbers

2011-10-09T21:16:00.000-04:00

Kindergarteners talked about what makes art special, and how to turn simple things into art. We looked at some of Jasper Johns' pop art which uses letters and numbers as the subject of his painting. We thought of ways to make ordinary "writing" into extraordinary art. After learning to draw around a number/letter to make a shape, we experimented with a variety of materials to make it exciting: stencils, stickers, crayons and watercolor paint in resist, and yes, even sparkly glitter. Extraordinary results!

Candy still life, Thiebaud style, in watercolor

2011-10-07T11:25:00.000-04:00

First, we practiced drawing simple forms

Fifth graders have been learning about creating forms using value changes, also known as shading. We looked at the way master artist Wayne Thiebaud uses geometric forms and value to make his food paintings look three-dimensional.

Next, we tried four shading techniques

Finally, we tried creating value with our watercolor paints using more water for the lighter values, and less water to get shadows. Watercolor painting is very tricky ... there are many tips and techniques we discussed for making the most of this translucent, hard-to-handle medium. My favorite parts are the cast shadows... Here are the colorful results:

1st grade Eric Carle collages

2011-10-06T08:09:00.000-04:00

Everyone's favorite children's author and illustrator, Eric Carle, was the inspiration for our colorful animal shape collages. We begin this lesson by watching the artist himself in action from the video

The video is quite long, so we just watch the segment that shows him in his studio, preparing papers and atually creating a caterpillar collage. This really gets the students in the mood for some collaging! We also practice in our sketchbooks, drawing animals using combinations of shapes, since the lesson requires building with cut shapes. Each table paints a different color paper, which are later cut into smaller pieces and shared.

Matisse, part 2: "drawing with scissors"

2011-10-05T09:35:00.002-04:00

Matisse
Part 2 of second grade's Matisse unit is a collage inspired by "Les Betes de la Mer," or the Beasts of the Sea. Matisse's later years were spent mostly in a wheelchair, which limited his access to easel painting. Making collages from colorful papers cut into shapes was a great alternative for him, and he liked to call it "drawing with scissors." We began with cool color geometric shapes as a sea-like background, with warm color organic shapes that overlap for the sea life.

It's almost time for Original Works!

2011-10-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

Click the tab above for the latest info on our annual art project - Original Works. This year, the company has also put together a video to show how the ordering and manufacturing processes work. Check it out here.

100th post: Charley Harper bird collage

2011-09-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

Charley Harper

American artist Charley Harper is one of my favorites in terms of style. His slightly abstract nature scenes are very simple and geometric, making it easy to find emphasis in the picture, or showing what's important. Our 3rd grade collages were inspired by his geometric, sparse style. We also looked at the realistic bird paintings of John James Audubon and compared the two styles. We incorporated visual texture by using newspaper to represent the black and white texture of birch tree bark, and scrapbook paper to represent the textures of feathers and nests.

*update* My student Alondra brought her writing journal to class to show me how she had written about her enjoyment of this lesson. Wonderful!

Photography: Cubist self-portraits

2011-09-28T12:01:00.000-04:00

This lesson was done by my after-school computer art club. These 5th graders looked at photo collages by David Hockney, which show an object or a figure from different points of view all at once. They worked with a partner to snap 8-10 close shots from a variety of angles. We used Publisher to edit, crop, and arrange our cubist compositions.

pen & ink chair drawings, 5th grade

2011-09-23T11:57:00.000-04:00

5th graders completed two drawings of a chair

we began by drawing multiple views of a wooden chair

students enjoyed trying out the "old school" method of using ink, dip pens, and brushes
these negative space drawings were made with ink wells and brushes

the positive space drawings were done with old-fashioned dip pens and ink wells,
focusing on the visual texture of the wood grain

we agreed that modern pens are much easier for portability and neatness...

... but the old-fashioned materials provide a certain charm and style

artists can use old technology/materials to create a vintage feel

...or newer ones for a more modern style

drips and splatters happen a lot when using ink wells

very beautiful and timeless works

The Dot, grade 3

2011-09-22T20:57:00.002-04:00

Peter Reynolds' book The Dot explores the idea of overcoming fear of failure through creative thinking. Vashti is frustrated with her still blank paper at the end of art class when her teacher inspires her to "just make a mark and see where it takes you."

We were inspired by this book to create a nonobjective design using dots, lines, squiggles, shapes, and patterns. We started simply and kept adding until each student felt their piece was complete. Some created emphasis by coloring a dot-shaped focal point, while others chose to add color over the entire composition. Third graders were thinking like problem-solving artists with this lesson. Enjoy!

2nd grade "free painting", aka Matisse's window views

2011-09-21T09:35:00.002-04:00

Matisse

Second graders just completed part 1 of our unit on artist Henri Matisse, who made a number of paintings depicting the interior of a room with a view from a window. After sketching ideas in our sketchbooks for window shapes and scenery, we "free painted" - no drawing on the page first. The students were all discussing how much fun it was to paint without the restrictions of pencil lines. Their palettes contained only the primary colors and black & white, so they mixed their own color schemes, tints and shades. The results are a loose, painterly feel with colors suggesting a bright or cloudy mood. Love them! Here are a few in the beginning stages...

...and here are some final results.

Pigeon Pizzazz

2011-09-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

This funny story was the kindergarteners' introduction to drawing using combined shapes. After we assembled our rectangles, circles, and triangles into pigeons, we learned how to mix primary colors to make secondaries. We learned much about craftsmanship and using painting materials correctly. This project always comes out fun and colorful!

starting with the primaries

painting with secondaries too

Underwater self-portraits

2011-09-16T12:37:00.004-04:00

I am so excited to have completed this lesson for the first time. Last spring, I found several examples online and have been hoping that mine would come out well for my 3rd graders this school year. Thank you to Manuales and Use Your Colored Pencils for the inspiration.We spent some time early in the lesson visualizing ourselves underwater and what happens to our bodies as we swim and float. We looked at photos of swimmers and divers to help us with the details. We used crayon for most of the color, then washed over the picture with cool color watercolors. We also made a frame with stamped bubbles. I just love these and they were so much fun to make!

1st grade painted cities

2011-09-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

Inspirational cityscape by Romare Bearden

Cityscapes are a great way to introduce the basics in art - they are full of lines, shapes, colors, patterns, textures... you name it! First graders drew cities from their memories and imaginations as well as from photos and examples from other artists. We learned about watercolor painting techniques and just had a really fun time! These are a perennial favorite and are always successful for all students. Look for them on the 1st grade Spotlight Gallery (bulletin board) next time you are in the halls at Dolvin.

Haring figures in tints and shades

2011-09-08T14:50:00.000-04:00

Fourth graders expanded their figure studies from gesture drawing into the symbolic figures from Keith Haring's art. Haring's NYC subway art often showed faceless figures that had no gender, age, or race. We painted the figures with tints and shades of a selected hue. After collaging them onto the backgrounds, we added action lines to suggest motion or sound.

three figures

mixing tints and shades

Drawing like Dubuffet

2011-09-03T16:48:00.000-04:00

Fifth graders studied gesture drawing and took turns posing for each other. Then we took it a step further by working in the style of French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet. We drew a web of gesture lines all over the page, then searched the lines for figures and forms. Kind of like "backwards figure drawing," you might say! This was lots of fun and brought on much creative storytelling! Original idea found at Kids Artists blog.

early stages, identifying the figures

simply sun and moon landscapes

2011-09-03T16:28:00.001-04:00

This is a great intro to landscape lesson that I tried with my 2nd graders after seeing a similar example on pinterest - original site is here. We created flowing lines and colors that represent day and night, with each child doing 2 small pastel drawings. Very easy and charming!

lines follow the forms

blending an assortment of colors

we use a newsprint placemat that doubles as a folder, to keep pastel
from getting on everything in our portfolios

art class tidbits for parents and students

2011-08-31T16:15:00.003-04:00

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.