Circle Weaving

I did not force color pattern, but encouraged it.

Am lobbying to have this student held permanently in 3rd grade- I don't want to ever let her go.

He left the bottom un-feathered on purpose- said it looked like an Indian Headdress.

Last year I discovered the idea of using old CDs as looms for circle weaving.  Pure Genius.  No more bendy plates that rip 1/2 way through when the kids pull too tight, or bunch up like tacos.  And, it's such a manageable size.  Enough to show me they have the skill without spending an entire 9 weeks.  I allow my 3rd graders to trim the edges with feathers.  I found that you just slide the tips between the CD and the Weaving, and put a drop of glue on top.  And, to cover up those unsightly glue blobs, we used sequins.  Who doesn't like a little "pop" when they weave?  Certainly not my kiddos.  Cannot wait to get these all in the display case.  I encouraged my kids to try tying their own knots, although this is a continuing struggle.  I also allowed tapestry needles, as long as they could thread their own needles.  The needles really speed things up and help those like me with short fat fingers.  Paperclips would do the same thing, but mine are pretty good about returning them, and not leaving them out where the Kinderbabies will encounter them.

On the Farm

The kindergarten students and I have been working on texture.  We created these little farms by using odds and ends around the art room.  Way back at the beginning of the year, this group practiced painting by covering an entire paper with sky color.  We used it as a backdrop for our Red Grooms exhibit, and now that the exhibit is down, we recycled them by making our farm sky with them.  Wallpaper was used for the ground.  The rest is an assortment of crafty left overs. 

Torn Paper Animals (And a spooky picture)

 If you follow my blog, you know I am in favor of a good Torn Paper Collage. I worked with my 1st graders on an animal unit, in collaboration with their Common Core lessons on animals.  We looked at both Realistic interpretations of animals, and unreal interpretations.   For this project, we looked at Henri Mattisse and his work "The Snail".  We talked about how it does not look like a real snail, but the animal is in the arrangement of the paper.  We had also looked at Durer and Rousseau by this point, so they had a way to compare animals in artwork.  No scissors or pencils were allowed, but I do have a nice collection of animal magazines that the librarian was getting rid of.  (ZooBooks is a wonderful series, that I highly recommend.)  They were allowed to refer to their animal magazine as they arranged their paper.  I think we had good results.  I love torn paper because it forces some problem solving, and students tend to work a little bigger.

 

I could not resist showing you my 4th grade project.  We were looking at color schemes, and how the colors used in a landscape gives a feeling to a work of art.  We steered clear of Halloween, but instead worked toward creating an eerie scene- I told the kids it was kind of like watching a scary movie- it's not the monster that's so scary, but that moment right before, when you know it's a bout to jump out.  My 4th graders are a bit low in their skills, but I was pleased with this one.  I gave each student Blue, Purple, Black and White, asking them to mix colors to create a variety of tints and shades.