November so far...

October was a rough month for me health wise, and I am so glad to be feeling better and enjoying a fresh new month and getting our new art unit rolling along now that it's November. I have some in-depth posts coming soon, but here's a peek, and you can check my (almost) daily classroom updates on Instagram @smartestartists. Hope you are having a fun fall!

Most of our projects now are seasonally inspired, with pumpkins and fall nature galore as we explore  the concepts of landscapes, color mixing, observational drawing, and getting to know artists in history. Follow this link for a quick video of my first graders painting like Van Gogh, with a little Beethoven in the background : http://instagram.com/p/vCP65bFrGE/ -more on this soon to come!

We're on Artsonia! (and update)

Proud to announce that Dolvin artists are now sharing their art with the world on Artsonia, the world's largest online art museum for students! Our school gallery can be found here - http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=147943 .
Parents, please make sure you respond to the email invitation or go to the link to create your account. Not only will you be able to view selected pieces of your child's art throughout the year, you can also leave comments, start a fan club, and order from a variety of products printed with the art. The art department keeps a portion of the profits to help pay for classroom materials - our most recent fundraising  allowed us to purchase iPads for the art room, and now older students are doing their own uploading, editing, and artist statements using technology! So cool :)
Mrs. Maranto and I are more than halfway through with our first set of uploads, so please keep checking back if yours isn't there yet. Thanks for your support. Check out these fourth graders in uploading action: 

Update: I just discovered that they offer to send a printed postcard for less than $2 including postage! I love this! 

Introducing the Needle & Thread Club!

I am very excited about my new after school club this year - the Needle & Thread Club! We have 24 members from grades 3-5 (and a long waiting list too) and we have just completed our first project, string art. This lesson was so much fun and quite a challenge, too - thanks so much to Cassie Stephens for the great step-by-step instructions on her blog - find it here: http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/2014/09/in-art-room-string-stitched-dot-for-dot.html

My kids were very inspired by the work her students created.

We have many exciting sewing, weaving, embroidery and other fun fiber arts activities in store for this year - we are focusing on traditional hands-on methods with a modern spin. This is not your granny's sewing club! :)