3rd Graders Study the Shapes and Colors of Leaves

It is time to say good bye to fall and take a last look at the 3rd graders' fall leaves!
The third graders did observation studies of leaves and learned about overlapping shapes.
They painted their drawings with watercolors; exploring how to blend colors and control the paint.

After we did our paintings we pressed real leaves into clay and cut out our clay leaves.  It was fun glazing them and being surprised at how the glazes mixed after they were fired.
 

First Grade STEAM time in the art room:  

learning about the moon and reflection!

During the first 6 weeks of school the first graders learned about reflective surfaces and the moon during STEM time.  Now they are spending one lesson a week in the art room focused on STEAM and we are looking at the moon and reflection in different ways.

Our first project was to make our own moons by learning about texture.  We read the book IF You Decide to go to the Moon by Faith MCNulty and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.  

The illustrations are paintings and Steven Kellogg made great contrasts between the warm and cool colors of Earth (showing life) and the monotone grays and rough textures of the moon (showing a lack of life).  We talked about how a painting can show texture, and how an illustrator can use colors to communicate ideas.

To make our own moons we used celluclay and paper bowls as molds.  To create the texture of moon rocks and moon sand, we used aquarium rocks and aquarium sand.  The kids enjoyed exploring these new textures and materials!

The first graders learned that we can see the moon because the sun reflects off of the moon's surface.  They explored different reflective materials in STEM.  We looked at how mirrors reflect and how you can play with an image when you change the angles of the reflections.

 After exploring our mirror designs, we made small kaleidoscopes with mirror paper.  We had a lot of fun assembling our kaleidoscopes!

  

4th Graders create art with Georgia Mud and dirt!

After checking out the 4th grade STEM lessons on soils and erosion, I was inspired to learn if artists ever use dirt and mud in their art.  I was curious to see if we could be inspired to turn STEM lab materials into our own art creations.

After a short search I discovered Japanese artist Yusuke Asai.  He was a ceramic artist who found studying at the university to be too expensive, so he taught himself how to paint and spent time at zoos, museums, and other public places to research his art and find inspiration.
He chose dirt as his medium because he can find it anywhere and it brings him closer to the place where he is creating.  He also feels it is important that dirt is a living medium where seeds grow, insects live and it is a part of the ever changing natural world.

The following images are of his mural installation called Yamatane at the Rice University Gallery in Houston, Texas.  For this mural the geology students at Rice collected 27 different shades of soil for Yusuke to use in the mural!

Here at GEMS I found one shade of Georgia dirt.  The 4th graders' project focused more on texture than shade to create contrasts in our shapes and lines. 

Dirt was sifted into 3 sizes- the smallest we added water to and painted with:

 next we used the sand mixed with glue and water to create lines:

 then we created textures and shapes with the pebbles and stones.  

Second graders are learning about diagrams and models by studying bees during STEAM time in the art room.

Last week the students copied a diagram of a bee to learn the different parts.

This week the students started to build their models of  bees with newspaper and masking tape.  They  made the abdomen, thorax, and head.

Welcome to the 2016-17 school year!
In the elementary art room we started the first week learning about lines.
The 2nd through 4th graders started the year with an explore using twist ties!  During the summer I saw an exhibit at the Columbus Ohio Museum of Art where visitors to the museum created and displayed pieces of art made from twist ties.  After a visit to Amazon.com, I was ready with thousands of twist ties waiting for little hands to create wonderful things!

Students could take their work home, or they could leave it behind to share on the wall.

The only instructions to the students were to respect the materials.  They did their own exploring and problem solving with very little demonstration from me.  It was exciting to see how engaged they were in their work!

The kindergarten and first graders also explored lines the first week of school.  We played red light green light and pretended that our markers were cars.  After every green light, the road changed and they practiced drawing different lines.  This game is great for the students to practice listening and working together.  They also get to move around and create art at the same time!

The Kindergarten Makes Paper Pulp Bowls

The kindergarten learned about how to reuse paper to make paper bowls.

First they blended shredded office paper to make the slurry.

Next they poured the slurry over a screen and squeezed the water out of the pulp.

Then they pressed the pulp into plastic bowls.  When the bowl was dry, it popped out of the plastic bowl.  First we painted glue on it to make it stronger and seal the paper.  Then we painted it bright colors and designs.

Mrs. Rowell's class

Mrs. Heth's class

Mrs. Morse's class

Mrs. Tougas' class

Second graders learn about action painting.

Last week the second graders learned about another famous artist:  Jackson Pollock.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

We learned that his action painting was not just about what his painting looked like, but how the paint went on the canvas.  We read the book Action Jackson to learn about what inspired him and how he worked.

All of the second graders had a chance to try action painting and paint in a different way.

Learning About Camouflage and the Art of Liu Bolin

The first grade classes studied animals in winter in their classrooms. They learned that animals can survive in the wild by camouflaging with their environments
We looked at artwork and a video by Chinese artist Liu Bolin where he blends in with his surroundings.
We talked about how color, pattern, and texture all work together to help animals, or artists, blend in.

Can you find Liu Bolin in these photographs?

The first graders tried their hands at camouflage painting! 

1. Nye

1 Dattilio

1 Matas

1 Mackenzie