Up Up and Away for the Summer....

No sooner it seems than I settle into the new art room, and it's time to clean up for the year.  The easels had to go up, so that the cleaners can work their magic on the floor.  However, my hope is to purchase some bike hooks this summer, so that they can be stored more safely. 

Abstract Surprises

I was supposed to teach my 3rd graders about abstract art this 9 weeks.  It was supposed to involve paint.  And, I don't know- maybe it was their behavior (not very motivated, sassy a lot of the time, and  downright mean sometimes) or, the end of the year crazies- I just couldn't focus in on a project that I wanted to go the distance with.  I gave each student a piece of sturdy paper, and the cheap masking tape that doesn't stick to anything.  I instructed them to create a flower, or growth out of tape on their paper.  Then, we sponged watercolors over it, and removed the tape (after talking about resist).  Of course, when the tape was removed, the shape left behind was not exactly what they intended (positive/negative space discussion).  I gave markers out, and had them fill in the white space with designs and patterns.  I think they turned out pretty cool, and I am wondering if maybe this project has a place in my future plans-

Still Life

As we are learning about Still Life, we looked at the work of Carrie Waller.   She made an awesome video response on her blog to our questions, and we discussed how objects can be interesting or important to people.  Here are our still life drawings in progress.  I love to see how the kids' eyes are developing, and how some develop a great ability with scale and proportion, and others for color.

Still Life- the Classic and the Modern

Like most of you,  there comes a point in the year where the "Still Life" must be tackled.  And, I brush off the old Renoir, VanGogh, and Cezanne prints.  This year, I rotated a new artist into my lesson, who is also a friend of mine from High School.  She is amazingly talented, and it was so interesting for the students to compare the "classic" still life with the work of Carrie Waller. It also opened the door to discuss how artists of old made a name for themselves, compared with artists today who have the internet to help in marketing themselves.  We jotted down a few questions to ask her after our discussion, and are anxiously awaiting our response.  If you have a chance to check out her work- I highly recommend it. 

Egg Dye Yarn??

So, my school is right nearby to a few grocery stores, and we often get random post-holiday donations.  Candy Hearts, Christmas decorations, and most recently, piles of peeps, and egg dye.  Now, the art teacher in me fought with myself.  I know that many of those egg kits come with some cool stuff, but I am working hard not to take on things that I cannot store well in the new art room.  So, I googled egg dye and found the directions to dye yarn in a crock pot with it.  Needless to say, I went down and loaded up.  Today, my 1st graders finished up with a little time to spare, so I had them rip into all of the boxes and rescue the dye packs for me.  WOW- can my kiddos tear their way through boxes.  I simply had them empty the contents into a tote tray for me, and toss the boxes.  At the end of art, I let them choose from the stickers, rub ons, and other stuff.  Cheap labor or what?  My goal is next year to dye the yarn with my 4th graders, and then do their weaving project.  That is, if I can remember where the egg dye is next year.  HAHA.