works inspired by Edelmann's Yellow Submarine

Fifth graders engaged in a discussion about careers in art and design.  We looked at the creations of architects and interior designers, animators and illustrators, package and product designers.  We discussed the cultural impact of Heinz Edelmann's designs for the Beatles' Yellow Submarine album cover, movie animations and merchandising, and then we created our own work using elements of this 1960's style - fantastic, colorful, whimsical.

Creating a "tie-dye" background with tissue paper squares and water

the result after the tissue squares dry and are discarded

Sneak preview of works in progress...

It's been a busy week, and I can't wait to show you all the cool things we are making and learning about, so here's a little teaser!

2nd grade uses old-school dip pens for birdcage pen & ink

stitching samplers in 3rd grade

4th grade clay maracas, waiting for first firing

5th grade tie-dye backgrounds for a Beatles-inspired work

5th grade face jugs are being sculpted

Come back soon for updates!

We made our goal of 1,000 cranes!

Congratulations Dolvin students, you did it!  1,000 cranes are shipping off to OshKosh B'Gosh clothing company, who in turn will donate clothing for children in Japanese shelters.  Way to go, kids!



packed for delivery




our chart, filled in to 1,000



the 1,000th crane, donated by 5th grader Michelle

Africa: Kente weaving and Adinkra stamping

 

Kente was originally only worn by royalty

Kente is woven with the colors of the country's flag

 First graders are learning about art from Africa. 
Here are some examples of our paper and cloth weavings,  adorned with adinkra symbol stamps or Anansi the spider.



These pre-made stamps are great when you don't have time to make your own and they come with a symbol translation sheet



This project is enhanced with the story of the beloved African folk character, Anansi the Spider, teaching us how to weave Kente cloth

Japanese tea bowls

As a part of our unit on Japanese art, the second graders have finally finished our tea bowls.  A little glitch in my kiln kept us from glazing for a little while, but they were worth the wait.  Tea ceremonies in Japan are a peaceful time to spend with family, in a quiet and calm setting.  Respect for elders is important, because they are always served the tea first.

rolling the slab for the body

cutting the clay slab using a template, then round bottoms and coil feet are joined

we looked at Japanese imagery for our glazing

cherry blossoms, Japanese characters, and Mount Fuji can be found painted on our bowls

Kindergarten weaving: Alphabet soup

After we finished our paper weaving, we added a cute bowl of alphabet soup.

We stamped the letter "noodles" with tempera paint

We also designed soup spoons

Anybody hungry?

keep folding those cranes... cranes=clothing!

Oshkoshbgosh.com is donating an article of children's clothing to Japan for every crane they receive.  Today's count was about 770... we are almost to our goal of 1000!  Keep them coming in - all sizes are welcome!  http://www.oshkoshbgosh.com/

A Color of His Own: creating a setting

Every year, my kindergarten classes read Leo Lionni's A Color of His Own.  Not only do we discuss the difference between authors and illustrators, we cover the intriguing topics of disappointment and happy surprises.  We also talk about the importance of camouflage in nature and we create a setting for our color-changing chameleon.  Some years, when we have time, we create a whole book of images, but this year we are a bit crunched for time, so we each made one setting.  It was a great way to keep everyone busy while I helped them each choose and title their art for Fine Arts Night.
Very cute!

clay texture slabs, first grade

 

These cute and colorful texture slabs were made by rolling two clay spheres and pressing them into pancake-like slabs with our hands.  Next, we textured one slab with gadgets like marker caps and lego bricks, while we used a cookie cutter for the second slab.  We learned how to attach the two pieces by scoring and slipping, and then after firing and glazing, we added pipe cleaner hangers decorated with beads.