Tapestries and Coil Pots

Always be careful with student images-in this case, the one face you see is used with permission

A promising coil pot practice

I LOVE my new art room- I have a reading corner for the "littles" with an alphabet mat- sometimes, I spell things out, but mostly, it's just our meeting spot.  I am teaching the 4th graders to weave, and we are weaving tapestries.  I typically teach them how, give them some time to do it, and those who finish are taught to remove it from the loom, and sew it into purses, bags, wallets, etc.  Basically, little pouches.  It gives us a chance to discuss decorative and functional in a very hands on way.  Now, 4th graders can get restless, so I tell them that they can sit where they want, with whomever they choose, as long as they are weaving, and reasonable quiet.  Here are a bunch on the letters, weaving away.   I am also teaching my 2nd graders to make coil pots, and since a couple of classes were a bit ahead, we took the time to practice with modeling clay first- not something I always do, but hopefully, the results will be worth the practice time.  We will make press pots, inside terra-cotta flower pots.  Since I have some very bright students, one way that I plan to differentiate is to teach lids to those who are a bit faster to catch on to the coil pot process.

Bird Masks

While the kindergarten students are looking at Jim Dine's Heart series, my 2nd graders' art is for the birds.  We began by looking at a selection of works by Audubon, and discussing structure in nature.  This worked well, because it just so happened that some of the 2nd graders are working on a bird research unit in the library.  After getting our bird on we moved  to bird masks.  An oldie but a goodie- I teach it most years.  This year, we put a collage twist on with the decorating.  I got out gel markers, the scrap box, feathers and sequins.  I asked them to try more than one method of embellishment, and to keep the idea of symmetry in mind.  Other than the fact that my room looks like a bird exploded, we had a great time, with some great results.  Can't wait to see the kids model them tomorrow :)

End of the 9 weeks

3rd Grade "Zentangle". 

2nd Grade- A Very Color Theory Christmas

3rd Grade "Zentangle"

Super Shape Sandwich-K

A Very Color Theory Christmas-2nd Grade

Can't believe I'm ending another 9 week session already.  As I am going through the art, publishing it to Artsonia, and of course, the inevitable grading of it all, I thought I'd share some highlights.  For more examples, visit my Artsonia.

Could not be prouder!

Fabric weaving is nothing new, although, last year, I learned to have the kids push the strips really tight, so it looks more like a rug.  Makes a world of difference. This year, I used the chipboard looms that are pre-notched.  Mrs. Cheapy here, did not want to only get one use out of them, so I taught the kids to weave in two dowel rods, and tie the ends around them.  I figured they'd try, and I'd have a bunch to do for homework.  They really amazed me, almost all of my 2nd graders tied off their own loom!  Makes me remember to challenge my students, and see how far they will reach.  Some years, I have the students make a pattern with the fabric, but this year, we looked at landscapes, and I suggested that they might try to pick sky/ground colors.  Some remembered, some didn't, and other did, but when we squished it up, the design did not translate the same.  But, it was a fun idea.

More Patterned Landscapes

I just love these, and to the kiddos, the bleeding tissue is magic when they shake of the dried off pieces to see the colors.  I was pleased with this group's use of patterns, as well as their ability to sort the warm and cool colors.  Makes me think maybe I'm teaching them something after all :)

Landscapes

The second graders looked at the work of Hockney and Woods, and created a drawing using hills as the foreground.  Each hill had to have a different line design or pattern.  They could add whatever details they wanted in the distance on the horizon line.  After tracing all the lines with a sharpie (which was a lotta work), students sprayed their paper with water, and laid tissue paper on top.  The tissue bled onto the picture, leaving a delightful watercolor effect.  I encouraged students to use hot colors on one side, and cool on another, but that wasn't so easy, when the colors began to bleed.  I think they turned out great, and will have to post some more as they get finished.

Name Monsters

I love pinterest, and I also am really loving Artsonia, the more and more I use it.  I came accross this project and decided it would be a great project for my 2nd graders.  We have a bit of time left over before the new  9 weeks starts, and we were able to practice cutting, gluing and craftsmanship, while also learning about symmetry.  Plus, my kids are already thinking Halloween, so monsters got their attention.  Basically, fold a paper the vertical, or long skinny way, and have students write their name so that the bottoms of the letters rest on the fold.  Then, students cut an outline around the shape of their name, creating a cool organic shape.  From there, the sky is the limit!

I'm in a torn paper kind of mood

Hansel and Gretel

3 Little Pigs

Jack and the Beanstalk

I've always liked the torn paper pictures.  I think they have a distinct charm or whimsy, and I think they force my students to rely on their thinking skills a bit more.  I had the scraps out for the 4th graders to use, but thought, as long as I had a good box of scraps going, why not have the 2nd graders construct "Torn Paper Fairy Tales" as a nice wrap up to their narrative art unit.  So, here are the results.  Some great, some ok, and all fun.  Oh, no pencils are allowed either- it's a total Torn Paper Construction! Visit our Artsonia page to see the stories that accompany them!

Dragons and Castles

I love this time of year.  Grading is just about done, and I get to spend the last few days of the year enjoying the kiddos.  We finish up the work we didn't quite complete and we get to try out some projects that aren't for a grade, just for fun.  I taught the 2nd graders how to make clay dragons.  I'm moving out of my room, and don't want to pack up 1/2 used boxes of clay.  They loved it.  We "dunked" the finished dragons in a very watery green acrylic paint, then used tiny brushes to add little details.  Of course, some understood little details better than others.  We had also made castle drawings while waiting for the dragons to be fired, so I showed the kids how to put triangles on the back of their paper to prop it up, and we used it as a backdrop for the dragons. By dunking and painting small details, I have learned that clay will most likely be dry quickly, and in time for the dragons to be taken home same day.  If not, they just set them aside, and came back the next day to pick them up. It also puts color all over quickly, so you don't get that scratchy, brushed on look that can so easily happen when young students try to paint clay.

Cubist/Expressionist Birds

I wanted to talk to my second graders about abstract art, and the methods artists may choose to use in order to achieve an abstract effect.  We looked at Franz Marc and Picasso and discussed how unreal color and cubism affected the art world.  Each student chose a bird from my box of bird pictures, and they were to abstract it by rearranging the parts, and using unreal color.  Here are a couple fun examples.

Coil Pot

I admit it.  Coil pots were really difficult concept to 2nd graders.  Until that is, I learned that a Terra Cotta flower pot (very inexpensive, and lasts a long time) can be used as a mold. Students coil the clay around the inside of the pot, pressing against the walls.  They smooth the interior with their fingers, and at the end of the day, I can just shake them out.  The Terra Cotta pots hold the water from the clay, so the students' pots dry quickly, and the pots can be used for years to come.  One smartypants 2nd grader however was not content to only go up the walls of the flower pot.  She went up, up, up, and her pot turned out better than I expected. 

2nd Grade- Canopic Jars

Zebra
Scorpion
Not exactly sure- but it's cute!
Bunny Rabit
Tiger

I decided to change up one of my favorite 2nd grade spring projects. I love making coil pots. Typically, we glaze them in bright colors, and the classroom teachers plant flowers in them to take home. But this year, in order to go along with a Concealing/Revealing theme, we did some Egyptian artwork culminating in Canopic Jars. Gross enough to please the boys! I had never taught how to make lids before, but the students caught on quickly, and loved making their animals to be the "handle" on the top. The students had to pick an animal that represented their personality, which was fun.

Rescuing the 2nd grade project

The second graders were to cut their silhouettes out of tissue paper, and then paste them to the snowy background. Oh, the best laid plans. My second graders got lazy, and didn't cut as well as they had drawn and traced their people. So, we ended up with wiggly blobs. After they were dry, I had them trace their athletes with markers, to re-define the shape, and we used some letters that had been donated to the art room to spell out action words. This helped to break up the space of the picture, as well as re-enforced some language skills.