Jasper Johns Initials

Hello there,

Thanks for checking back in! This week, fourth grade artists were finishing up their Jasper Johns- inspired Art lesson. (shout out to my awesome colleague for the idea!) In this lesson, they needed to use their overlapping initials to create an abstract artwork (much like JJ's overlapping numbers), using only primary color oil pastels. They were required to use secondary colors, but only achieving them by mixing the primaries. Drawing out their initials seemed to be the toughest part, since the letters needed to touch every side of the 9x9 inch paper! Creative problem solving definitely played a role in this project! I think they came out beautifully! 

Can you spot all three initials in their work?

Here are some exceptional examples~

Pretty sweet!! Thanks for stopping by!

Miro!

So, full disclosure, this is a Pinterest art project. I know, I know, how unoriginal, but lordy did they turn out cool! Kinder kids learned about Miro and his artwork, "Cat encircled by the flight of a bird". I was AMAZED that the students understood there was a bird and cat in the painting, and they all agreed there was a lot of motion going on in the image. I was really surprised how quickly they caught on without even knowing the name of the painting! 

This was a lesson on line, shape, and primary colors. The young artists also had to dabble in cutting and gluing, which is getting better with practice! 
They needed to include 5 lines, a "starburst", and six circles, however they wanted. We then used water to brush over the marker, and it created a painterly effect.
The kinders really enjoyed this lesson, and they loved talking about his artwork!
Here are some examples: 

 Thank you for checking this out, see you soon!

Monochrome Dot Display!

Hello there Artists!
This post goes out to Mr. E of Art with Mr. E! He inspired me at the beginning of this year when I saw his monochromatic dots! 

I loved the idea of the kids painting on the first day of Art class, (it blew their minds), and I also liked this project because, while they were learning new Art vocabulary and techniques on the first days of school, it was a really nice way to jump-start their "Art brains" again after summer break. It also tied into International Dot day! Bonus!

At one of my schools, we are participating in "one book, one school". The book this year is a community-builder (we live in a beach-side town in little RI) called "Hello Ocean" by Pam Muñoz Ryan . This inspired the wave configuration for this display! 

This all-school art lesson established a strong sense of community right out of the gate for the new school year!

Thank you for the inspiration Mr. E, it turned out wonderfully! 

 The close-ups are super cool too! 

 Thank you for visiting, and please come back soon! 

Beginning of Year: Class Setup

Hello there! 
While all the young artists are finishing up their all-school, beginning-of-year lesson, I decided to make a post about my room setup this year. I'm still at three schools, but I will be showing you my "home base" school, where I teach 3 days out of 5. This is the only classroom I do not share with another teacher - it's my baby! 
Most of the images are my displays, rules, and some new procedures in trying out this year! 
(click to enlarge pics)

      

Above: This is the first time I am trying out the "Art Room Jobs"- each table has a specific duty for a month, then I switch it up! I am finding I need to give more time at the end of class so they can get used to cleaning up in a different way! The paintbrushes represent the color of the tables. 

The "How did I do?" chart helps the students self-assess while working on their own projects, and the "3 B's" is a PBIS initiative for our school. It's nice that they are universal and can apply to all areas. On the right, is a new sign-out system!

 Below: On the left, you'll see color-coded shelves, this goes along with the Art Room Jobs, where students from the orange shelf will only get supplies from the orange shelf, yellow from yellow, and so on! It keeps the room so much more organized! I also have "shelf patrol" as a job, and they check the shelves to make sure each one has the supplies needed. It's working slowly but surely! 

On the right, I got this idea from a fellow Art teacher (and blogger) Rachel Motta! This is a great way to show a simple objective for each grade, and each lesson! Just use dry-erase, easy-peasy! There is also a little affirmation letter to the students (thank you Pinterest).

 

Above shows my NOISE chart, where the class has three chances to turn down the volume. Each time it gets too loud, I take away a letter, if all three are taken away (I, S, E), the word "NO" if left, and there is NO talking until they earn their letters back! There is also the Art Room Agreement, and some self-assessment tools.  Lastly, is a cool pic of the water buckets from our monochromatic dot project in progress! Almost done! 

Thanks for checking this out, stay tuned to see the all-school display with those dots! 

Goldsworthy End of Year Lesson

Hello there! 
This is a lesson I used during the last couple weeks of Art class with my third and fourth grade classes. Everything was coming to a close, and most of the supplies have been cleaned up and put away for the summer. 

So, the students looked at images of Andy Goldsworthy's artwork, and I explained that he only used what he had around him, in nature, to create his works. After we talked about our inspiration, they were allowed to break off into teams (choosing to collaborate), or they could work by themselves when creating their own nature-work. They had five minutes to gather everything they needed to create their piece. They then had 15 minutes to work on it. 

It was really cool being able to see them problem solve with what they had available to them - their material choices, what to do when the wind blew, when they had to balance pieces, etc. 

After they completed their work, we strolled around and looked at everyone's pieces, explaining one aspect they liked, and one aspect they could improve upon - a mini end-of-year critique of sorts. It was a great experience, and I will definitely be doing this again this fall, with the leaves changing color! They were very proud of their work and had a good time outside! 

Bonus: They learned about impermanence too - all of their work had to be cleared and cleaned up before we went back inside!
Here are some great examples:

Thanks for visiting!! 

It's been TOO LONG!

Hello there!
It has been far, faaaaar too long since I posted on this bloggo-space! The end of the year just picks up so fast (No excuses, Meghan!), and before I knew it it was July 4th! Now we start school in one week! 
Coming up I will be posting a few lessons from the end of last year, and will hopefully (fingers crossed like a DNA helix) keep up with this lovely little art-space ! 
I also may post a little of my own work on here. My mantra this year is to be positive, and to make some time for my own Art - these fingers need to make something! So yes- pics, lessons, and Art to follow! 
Thank you for sticking with me,
Meg

Op Art Spheres

Hello there,

Fourth grade has been working on Op Art and spheres! 
They love the Op Art visuals - I mainly focus on Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarley. I show some Escher too, but focus more on the idea of optical illusions and math concepts used. They love looking at the visuals - I could probably spend an entire class with just a slide show of Riley and Vasarely! 
We then transition to value, and shading spheres properly. I turn off the lights and break out my flashlight and a ball to demonstrate how light hits a sphere. Shading and value take at least a full class (and some frustration) for the students to feel comfortable, but it is all worth it in the end! The fourth grade artists loved when they could take a tissue to their shading and really blend those values together. Here are a few finished works!