Kandinsky inspired art projects

Here in Nashville, it is Artober- a monthlong celebration of all things arty around town.  It's a lot of fun.  In our schools, we chose Wassily Kandinsky as a focus artist (he has an AMAZING retrospective exhibit at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts right now).  Here are some of my 3rd and 4th grade responses to his work. 

3rd Grade- we used Kandinsky's concentric circles as inspiration to create these amazing circle weavings.   I have the students plug the hole in the middle with a button for a couple of reasons.  It's cute.  Also, the center of the weaving is often filled with the most mistakes, since it's the beginning, and by the time we get to the edges, the kiddos are much better weavers.  It's a nice way to finish it.  I hot glued the weavings to mat board, and had the kids decorate the edges with colored sharpies.  It allowed for some element of choice in a pretty regimented project.

 

 



4th Grade- Little more complicated.  We looked at a variety of Kandinsky's landscapes from the more realistic to the mostly abstract, discussing how lines and colors can represent a feeling or an object.  I played Vivaldi's 4 seasons, and students sketched lines to each seasonal song.  From there, students created a circle, and divided it into 4 sections, and each section was to represent a season.  I had them use cray-pas to color, and we attempted some blending with baby oil.  This was hard.  Some had a difficult time with the idea of blending.  They wanted to just keep mixing the colors.  Others just colored as usual and put oil on top.  It proved to be a difficult concept that I'm going to have to keep working on.  But, in the end, there were some really great attempts.  Abstract was also a hard concept to teach to the students, I acknowledged that our brains naturally want to "file" everything we see into a definite category; we want to know what something is. And, we just kept trying and adapting.

A Social Studies Tie In

I know many art teachers hesitate to tie their art projects to Social Studies or Science, lest we be asked to make paper mache' globes, or solar systems. I however have found a few projects over the years that are much richer in content and quality because I tie them to what the students are doing in their classroom. I don't do this all the time, because I have my own curriculum to cover. When contemplating whether or not a collaboration will work, I consider what materials and content my students are already going to be using in art, regardless of subject matter. I also consider time frame. In this instance, 4th grade students used famous Tennsesseans to create timelines in Social Studies.  They already had information, books and knowledge about their person. I was supposed to  cover printmaking anyway, so I had each student draw a portrait of their chosen TN personality.  We looked at the work of Andy Warhol and discussed his celebrity prints.  Each student created several prints (6''squares) from their printing plate (good ole styrofoam) and when dry, selected their best 4 prints, arranging them in a grid. It was a logical tie in, and because the classroom teacher had already assigned the students their person, and the librarian already had pulled the books, I didn't have to worry about having enough information, or settling arguments about subject matter. It worked well.

 

Oh, and do you use Artsonia?  I do.  And, I don't have a fancy iPad or such to use, so I take pictures with my camera, and upload the old fashioned way.  I find that the best, and quickest thing to do, is to lay every piece out, walk down the line and take all of the pictures, and walk down the line one more time (same order) to write names and take grades.  While the pictures are uploading, I load all the grades into the software program we use in MNPS.  So, I kill alotta birds with one stone, and it's not too time consuming this way.

Clay Facades

It's my favorite 4th grade project.  I think I anticipate it more than the kids- the houses.  I categorize this as a "Momma project"- those projects that Momma's going to keep, and 15 years later, when you come home with your wife/husband/kids, it'll still be on the mantle to greet you. They are "Facades"- front only, flat, and adorable as a wall hanging.  Some, no matter what, will always be so-so, but I get a lot of good results.  It is one of the few projects that I break out the glaze for.  I use "Mayco Stroke N Coats", which are similar if not the same to the ones used in the "paint your own pottery" places.  The colors are great, they are similar enough before firing to after firing that the kids can tell what they are using, and the clear coat is in the color mix already.  As long as the kids use 2-3 coats,  we get great results.  I have a small kiln, but if I am good about controlling the size, I can get a class of 20-25 in one glaze firing. I give each student a piece of paper about the size I want their houses to be, and they use a day to draw their house.  I have all sorts of reference pictures.  I run them through the copy machine before the next art day, and the kids cut them, and use them as stencils.  This cuts down on the square house/triangle roof/tilty chimney/combo that we see too often in the art room. So, with all that said, here are some of the many cool clay houses to come! 

Sometimes, you just are going to get an average result, no matter how you try to help.

Nice combo of textures and attached pieces- nice glaze too.

Love/Hate relationship

I am in a love hate relationship with 2 pt perspective- I LOVE that with a certain few rules, any student can find success- that it isn't about the talent, but the willingness to follow a set of directions.  I HATE the ongoing fussing at my students over the use/misuse of their rulers/partner-pokers.  It's a skill that we are required to teach in 4th grade as part of our MNPS standards, and, over the years, I've learned a few tricks.  First, on the opening lesson day, I hand papers and rulers, and we just make cubes-no worrying about it having to look like anything- just practicing.  I send the paper home with them that day- no grading/not a test/no pressure.  I also send them a xerox copy of one of my drawings so they have all the answers, and I send home a cartoon tutoring sheet.  When they come back, we worry about making a city.  And, I start off with them, gradually making them do more on their own.  I find that there is usually one person at every table who "gets" it quick (usually the math/science student).  And, I have learned to relax- not worry as much about perfect and approach this with a sense of humor.  Soooo- this year, I required 3 buildings, a few doors/windows, and the sidewalk and street.  After that, they could add whatever- some added signs and words, others made ghosts and aliens. 

End of Another Year

Well, Friday ended my 16th year of art teaching, and this summer brings some pretty exciting changes for me, since my summer project is finishing my pregnancy.  It has been an interesting year balancing pregnancy with the day to day workings of an art room.  And, it will be a strange start to the year, having a substitute begin for me, and coming into the room later. (By later, I mean about 2 weeks into the school year) but, different, nonetheless.  I thought I'd end the year by showing off some quick little Dragon Contours that my 4th graders did.  To add a splash of color quickly (since at the end of the year, you cannot guarantee your schedule) we did a bleeding tissue trick.  I only asked that they try to use cool colors on the dragon, and warm around it. I like the variety of dragons- everything from fierce to cute.  I gave the students some idea sheets, but made sure that they were too small to trace.  Also, I encouraged them to use parts of many dragons to invent their own, rather than just to copy.

Coat of Arms-4th Grade

FINALLY!  I found something that my stubborn 4th graders are actually interested in.  Interested enough to follow all of the steps, and spend a reasonable amount of time working towards a quality art project- Coats of Arms.  I began by talking about the reasons for them, and how they'd changed over the years.  We listed personality traits that we felt we had.  And, I gave each student a folder with symbols/meanings that would have been typical in a traditional coat of arms.  They designed it on paper, then transferred it to a Styrofoam tray, which we would use as our printing plate (I kept their paper designs for a later project).  As they worked on their weaving this week, I called students back to print. (typically, I am fearless, and I set up printing stations, which allow all students to print together, but, this group has so many discipline issues, I did not feel it was safe, or in the best interest of the students) I had 6 (wow) ink colors available, since color also has meaning on a coat of arms.  And, they could use 2-3 (although, some tried 4), as long as they remembered to switch brayers, and not mix up my inks.  Each student had the chance to make 2 prints.  I like to give the chance to make more than one print for a couple of reasons. 1st, printmaking is a fickle art, and does not always yield the results we desire.  2nd, I like for students to compare/analyze their prints next session, often choosing the best one for me to grade.  Self- Critique is not an easy thing to teach at the elementary level, but, having them use some choice/preference seems a good way to approach this concept.  My students had such a good time with this- My plan is to have them use markers to color their paper designs, and create a "key" which shows what their symbols and colors mean.  I am hoping to ride the success of this project by including some dragon/castle drawings.

Art Show

4th Grade- Cat Paintings and Clay Facades

3rd Grade- Word Art

Kindergarten-Birds on a Wire

2nd Grade- Bird Houses

1st Grade- Heart Weaving

Sign in, Summer Art Program brochures, and Artsonia Updates.

Cookies and punch- I brought in my nice plate and punch bowl-if I'm throwing a party, I try to do it right.

The music teacher and I decided to take back Youth Art Month this year.  He did his 1st and 2nd grade program, and I did the school art show.  We planned the event as one big "Arts" night.  Mixed feelings- We had a good turn out, but many parents did not bring their older kids, because they did not have a child in the program.  I did get a chance to talk to a lot of parents, and get some updated emails for my Artsonia page.  I like the idea of the arts night, but will have to think about how to entice parents in all grade levels to come, and not just because they are killing time waiting for the program.  Good thing I have a year to puzzle this out.

Home Sweet Home

Since Mr. E posted his Clay Facade project in progress, I figured I'd post my results.  I give the kiddos a pre-sized paper, usually about 6x9.  They draw a house (using lots of my pictures from my files to avoid the typical square house/triangle roof).  Then, I have them cut out their picture and use it as a stencil, placing it directly on top of their slab and cutting around it.  They often make changes as they build from clay, but it gives a good starting point.  And, it holds them slightly accountable to the design they chose.  On a side note- I keep the "stencils" until all classes have created their facades in case someone in another class was sick on the day we drew houses- this allows them to catch up quickly, and I find that they still make changes, and personalize the house to their taste.

I cannot say enough about Mayco "Stroke N Coate" glazes.  It has the clearcoat in it, the colors are bright, and a little goes a long way.  I only glaze a choice few projects with 2-4th grades.

I pulled examples of colonial homes, since the students were/are discussing Paul Revere in Social Studies. Some caught on, others, well, not so much.  Either way, good texture on the roof, and nice even glazing.

A very Zentangle holiday project

So, I was looking for a way to channel the holiday energy of my 4th graders, and came up with this- we drew the basic outline of a holiday shape- I recommended pine tree, but due to some of my students beliefs, we also did snowman shapes and gingerbread people shapes.  Then, I had them section their shape off, and draw a line design or pattern in each section.  We looked at some Zentangle patterns for ideas.  After they drew these, we added a little pop of color by using watercolors.  I gotta say- there is something magical about the Zentangle.  My 4th graders were so peaceful and quiet during this- and the results are pretty good if you ask me.  After they dried, I cut them out and put them on green paper for display in the hallway.

Red Grooms-Artober

Here in Nashville, an event called Artober has started up over the last couple of years.  It is a way to highlight art events in our fine city, and encourage everybody to get out there and get "Artin".  The art teachers in our district were encouraged to use Red Grooms as our focus artist, and find a way to install work inspired by him in our school.  My K-3 students worked on a collaborative city scene, while my 4th graders worked on Carousels.  The carousels were modeled after Red Grooms' Fox Trot Carousel which depicts scenes and events from our city's history.  As October comes to a close, I thought I'd share how our installation looked upon completion, before the students start taking the bits and pieces home.

Carousels in "The Park"



The Big Finish



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.

Acrylic Paintings- Next Phase

Nearing completion, here are the 4th grade acrylic paintings again.  We used hot colors (most of us) for the next layer, and added details with black and white.  I think they will be a nice pop of color for the art show.