Brittany started with a variety of fine lines, then began adding color. Monday, January 19, 2009
McKenzie & Cat's Line Composition
The girls used a variety of drawn lines with a background of collage to create their artwork. Madison's Many Wonders
It was Madison's idea to mount these small vignettes on another sheet for this display of her skills and creativity. Our Fourth Year of Choice
This is my fourth year to have a choice-based art room. It is satisfying to observe that students who have been with me for several years have grown in their skills, creativity, and craftsmanship. They seem to need no direction at all from me. I have many older students who automatically use a variety of media to create a mixed media art work, and many who go to the painting station to finish a cardboard sculpture. I seem to have drawing clubs in each class, in which groups of students who love to draw do so day after day with concentration, improving their drawings of their favorite subjects. I am going to introduce plaster cloth soon to the sculpture area, to see what the students can create with it or how they use it to add to existing sculptures.
I currently have a group of second grade girls working on a village. I had shown them how to fold origami houses during one of my introductions. They have each created a variety of houses, decorated the interiors and exteriors, and made cars and families to go with them. I am going to encourage them to mount these on a large sheet of roll paper for a mural.
I just posted a mural on the wall outside of my room that two fifth grade girls made. It has collaged portions, stickers, and splatter paint, and looks similar to many of the modern art creations that I have seen in museums. Jackson Pollock is one of the artists that I introduced this year, so these girls were familiar with controlled splatter painting.
One new activity this year has been wire sculpture. All of the light fixtures in the building were being replaced with more eco-friendly and economical ones the week after school was out. I was in and out of the building, and noticed all the boxes of scrap wire in red, yellow, blue, white, and brown. I asked the electricians to save them for me, and now have enough wire to last a couple of years. The students have loved sculpting with this material, and adding clothing made from the colored duct tape that I found at an overstock store.
I purchased two new sets for our building station: Dado Cubes, and Dado squares. I introduced the sets early in the year, before I opened the cardboard construction station for the younger students. I think that using these sets has helped them to understand slotted construction with cardboard. I have noticed them using slotted cardboard pieces more than they have in other years.
All in all, I continue to strongly advocate for this method of teaching. I see my students developing a wider variety of skills, and a much broader knowledge of techniques than they ever did before when I taught traditional lessons, in which every student made the same project. I am able to introduce master artists much more frequently in our daily 5 minute introductions of each class.
The questions that they ask during our introductions are about the visual displays in the art room, in which I have many prints of master art works, as well as menus for each station: drawing, paper, fiber arts, which includes weaving and stitchery, computer graphics, construction, wire sculpture, painting, and clay. I am able to switch out stations at will, adding such things as clay, printmaking, and papier mache and plaster cloth.
Many of my students tell me that this is their favorite specialties class, and I believe them when I hear them groan when it is time to clean up. How much more satisfying can teaching be?
I currently have a group of second grade girls working on a village. I had shown them how to fold origami houses during one of my introductions. They have each created a variety of houses, decorated the interiors and exteriors, and made cars and families to go with them. I am going to encourage them to mount these on a large sheet of roll paper for a mural.
I just posted a mural on the wall outside of my room that two fifth grade girls made. It has collaged portions, stickers, and splatter paint, and looks similar to many of the modern art creations that I have seen in museums. Jackson Pollock is one of the artists that I introduced this year, so these girls were familiar with controlled splatter painting.
One new activity this year has been wire sculpture. All of the light fixtures in the building were being replaced with more eco-friendly and economical ones the week after school was out. I was in and out of the building, and noticed all the boxes of scrap wire in red, yellow, blue, white, and brown. I asked the electricians to save them for me, and now have enough wire to last a couple of years. The students have loved sculpting with this material, and adding clothing made from the colored duct tape that I found at an overstock store.
I purchased two new sets for our building station: Dado Cubes, and Dado squares. I introduced the sets early in the year, before I opened the cardboard construction station for the younger students. I think that using these sets has helped them to understand slotted construction with cardboard. I have noticed them using slotted cardboard pieces more than they have in other years.
All in all, I continue to strongly advocate for this method of teaching. I see my students developing a wider variety of skills, and a much broader knowledge of techniques than they ever did before when I taught traditional lessons, in which every student made the same project. I am able to introduce master artists much more frequently in our daily 5 minute introductions of each class.
The questions that they ask during our introductions are about the visual displays in the art room, in which I have many prints of master art works, as well as menus for each station: drawing, paper, fiber arts, which includes weaving and stitchery, computer graphics, construction, wire sculpture, painting, and clay. I am able to switch out stations at will, adding such things as clay, printmaking, and papier mache and plaster cloth.
Many of my students tell me that this is their favorite specialties class, and I believe them when I hear them groan when it is time to clean up. How much more satisfying can teaching be?
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Hand Puppets
Our third, fourth, and fifth grade students have had the option of creating hand puppet. They have been very creative in their choices of how to decorate them.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Back Yard Garden
Callie, Emily, and Mary, three 5th Grade Girls, created this found-object sculpture. It includes a backyard lawn area with a pool and lawnmower, a flower garden, an eating area, benches, a fence,a fishing pond,and a stroller for a baby.
2008 Spring Art Show
This is some of the art work that was on display for our annual art show, in which every student in Kindergarten through 5th grade had something on exhibit.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
I have been a little slow this year in updating our class blog, due to injuries and surgery that caused me to miss some school at the beginning of the year. But we are catching up quickly in our choice-based art room. We currently have a drawing station, a paper station, a weaving station, a three-dimensional construction station using found materials , and a painting station open in grades three, four, and five. 1st and 2nd grades are able to go to the drawing station, paper station, modeling clay, and painting. 2nd grade also uses the construction station. Kindergarten has choices of drawing, pre-cut paper shapes for collage, modeling clay, stamping, and blocks They have just been introduced to cutting out their own shapes for a non-objective collage.
On Fridays, all students may go to the conceptual building station, where they use creative ideas for three-dimensional constructions that are temporary. The building station has a variety of 3-D sets: k'nex, kid k'nex, legos, shapees, tinkertoys, 4 large tubs of blocks, bristle blocks, space links, jigsaw puzzles, tangram puzzles, plastic and rubber shapes for making 2-D designs, and magnetix. They may also use the graphic programs on the computers on Fridays.
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students weave with yarn. Third grade students learn finger weaving and cup-weaving. Fourth grade and fifth grade students learn straw-weaving and rectangular weaving on pasteboard looms. These are, of course, a choice to work on.
I have recently introduced bookmaking. First grade students can make their own books using yarn for binding. Second grade students are making altered books by selecting cut-up nameless art work to add details to and change to their own art, then bind with yarn. Third through fifth grade students are using old books from our library to make their own altered books. First they are painting the covers, and then will add their own artwork to the inside pages.
I plan on introducing some new stations in the next semester, which may take the place of established ones. We are also beginning to get ready for our all-school spring art show, which takes place on March 27th.
On Fridays, all students may go to the conceptual building station, where they use creative ideas for three-dimensional constructions that are temporary. The building station has a variety of 3-D sets: k'nex, kid k'nex, legos, shapees, tinkertoys, 4 large tubs of blocks, bristle blocks, space links, jigsaw puzzles, tangram puzzles, plastic and rubber shapes for making 2-D designs, and magnetix. They may also use the graphic programs on the computers on Fridays.
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students weave with yarn. Third grade students learn finger weaving and cup-weaving. Fourth grade and fifth grade students learn straw-weaving and rectangular weaving on pasteboard looms. These are, of course, a choice to work on.
I have recently introduced bookmaking. First grade students can make their own books using yarn for binding. Second grade students are making altered books by selecting cut-up nameless art work to add details to and change to their own art, then bind with yarn. Third through fifth grade students are using old books from our library to make their own altered books. First they are painting the covers, and then will add their own artwork to the inside pages.
I plan on introducing some new stations in the next semester, which may take the place of established ones. We are also beginning to get ready for our all-school spring art show, which takes place on March 27th.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Reflections on the Year
As I think about the past year, and begin to get ready for the new year, I am very pleased with what we were able to accomplish, and am looking forward to new explorations in the coming year. I have learned so much from watching my students create, and sincerely hope that they have learned from each other. Many of them are very pleased to see themselves improve, and are so proud of themselves when they find ways of making what they want to make - using found materials, and with creative solutions to problems. I love to see the light in their eyes when something that they have tried works, and have been particularly pleased with the many collaborations between, two, three, and even four students. We spent more time than I intended to on certain aspects of art, culture, procedures, and history, and therefore didn't get to some things that I had hoped to include, but the extra time spent was at the direct request of the students, and therefore worthwhile. Next year, through our continuing growth together, we will try to get to those things that were skipped this year. Our curriculum will continue to spiral around the stations that we have used for the last two years: drawing; collage; paper puppets and masks; paper sculpture; cardboard construction; papier mache`; weaving; stitchery; painting; printmaking; conceptual building with reusuable sets; and clay. I received a grant for our classroom for an architecture station from the Union Education Foundation in the spring, and have spent a lot of time researching what activities and materials I would like to include in this station for next year. We had several students show an interest in architecture this year, which led me to apply for the grant. I am excited to begin our third full year of allowing students to choose subjects, methods, and materials.
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