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

Clay Explore Time

Clay explore time is an important part of art class for all of the elementary grades.
Every year each grade level learns a new skill in constructing and creating clay art.  Clay can be tricky. If the artist doesn't understand or have enough experience with how clay works, the art work might not survive the drying and firing process.

So in addition to making projects where they learn new clay skills, they also get time to just explore and make whatever they want.  But the drawback is that they don't get to keep their art work.  I explain that this is a time to just practice and not worry about rules or having to get it right.  Artists need time to play and learn new things without worrying about the final product.  

During clay explore time many of the students work collaboratively with their classmates. It becomes a fun time with their friends while they are learning in art class.  Often they create scenes with interesting stories and characters.  

The students aren't just working on fine motor skills, they are also learning to work as a community sharing the space, the materials, and creating together.  

4th Graders donate their artwork to the GEMS senior luncheon.

The Georgia 4th graders made ornaments to donate as presents to the seniors at the GEMS Holiday Senior luncheon last December.

 


The students learned about radial design and looked at Wilson Bentley's photographs of snowflakes to inspire their ornaments.  They had fun using metallic and glitter paints to finish them.