Thank YOU!

This week all of my classes created Cards of Thanks to give to someone that they are thankful for.

We started out looking at some beautiful fall landscape images for inspiration. Students then drew trees using colored pencil and used their fingers to print leaves in fall colors onto their trees. Many students added some special touches and the air was filled with talk about who these special cards would be delivered to!

This was a fun quick project for a short week but an important one in helping students to realize the power of using their own art outside the art room and to communicate with others!

And finally, one more card for YOU!

 
Thank you to all my students for putting your best effort into your art and for coming to class ready to learn and full of inspiration. Thank you for inspiring me and being open to new experiences.

Thank you to my students' families for supporting your child and the arts and for giving me such a talented group of artists to create with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Rocks!

My third graders just finished up their Aboriginal Rock Art Unit and the results are stunning!

After learning all about Australian Aboriginal Rock Art, students created their own mixed media rock art pieces illustrating a special celebration. Students spent some time digging deep and brainstorming all the details of their celebration before beginning their artwork.

Using oil pastel in a limited range of colors similar to what was available to the Aborigines we studied, students drew their celebration using traditional Aboriginal symbols and their own drawings.

Students then added watercolor and we learned how painting over oil with water creates a resist.

Everyone rockified their pieces by cutting out their own rock shape and crumbling up their drawings when they were done. This step was a little scary!

I couldn't be happier with the results! I heard about so many special family traditions from fall hayrides and Halloween parties to cutting down Christmas trees and special family dinners.

Students then got to try their hand at painting on actual rock just like the artists we studied.

Students did a little exploring and brought in their own rocks to draw a family portrait on. Everyone was asked to draw a picture of their family doing something important to them.  Many students utilized traditional Aboriginal symbols to give the viewer more information about their family and what they enjoy doing together.

We then painted these pieces using acrylic paint in a full range of colors to bring our ancient art form into 2014!

See if you can tell what the third graders in the art room like to do with their families!

 
Finally students came together using chalk pastel to create a collaborative image using hand prints, symbols and images, similar to some of the ancient art that has been found painted on rock walls and inside caves around the world!

I love to see students working together creatively in the art room!

Next class we will take a look at all of our work and do our first in class critique. I can't wait to hear what students have to say about their classmates artwork!

The Abstractions Are In!

As my second grade classes complete their non-objective Kandinsky inspired projects, I have to say that I am loving the results!

Students used non-objective shape and line while listening to classical music and drew to the music. We then added watercolor to enhance our drawings and add focus and unity.

I love the bold and creative use of line, sense of movement and bright splashes of color that students achieved in these pieces!

 

Drawing abstractly can be a challenge and I am so proud of all of my students for the effort that they put into the process and their sense of pride in their finished paintings!

Let's Rock!

Mr. Angelo's class has been busy learning all about Australian Aboriginal Rock Art and trying their hand at making some of their own rock related art.

We learned how this type of art was often used to tell stories and we saw first hand how much you can learn about a culture by looking at their artwork.

Using some of the same symbols and colors that were used in this ancient art form combined with their own drawings, students selected a part of their school day to illustrate with oil pastel and paint washes on brown paper. They then wrinkled up their drawings to add texture and give them the look of old rocks.

I love how mysterious these pieces are while giving us just enough realism to guess what the artist might have been thinking, just like the ancient rock art that they were inspired by!

Students then brought in rocks and used permanent marker and acrylic paint to illustrate a portrait of their family doing something important to them.

It is really interesting to see how the texture of the rocks and the use of the full color wheel adds interest and modernizes the finished pieces.

We ended the unit with a collaborative class project. Just like the creators of this Aboriginal Rock Art left their mark...

...we gathered as a class to create our own collective artistic hand print!

I wonder if someone will find these pieces many years from now and guess what we might have been doing!

Paint to the Music!

Second grade classes have been learning all about non-objective art, or art that uses only shapes and lines, as opposed to realistic imagery.

Students completed a collaborative drawing to brainstorm all different types of lines and shapes. As we passed our drawings around the room and added onto eachothers', it was so interesting to see our drawings transform before our eyes!

We then viewed the paintings of artist Vasily Kandinsky and searched for non-objective shape and line in his work. We discussed how his paintings were inspired by his passion for music which really shows in his use of line, shape and color.

 

 

Students then did a non-objective drawing of their own while listening to classical music. It was so cool to see how different these drawings were while using the same music as inspiration! Stay tuned to see the finished painting!

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves!

Fall leaves have officially fallen into the art room!

Students in Mr. Angelo's class had a chance to examine leaves up close, explore the use of line in leaves and feel the textures created by those lines.

Students began by sorting through and selecting leaves to draw from observation. After a quick talk about compostion, they then painted on the backs of these leaves to create prints over their drawings. The detail students achieved in these prints was truly amazing!

Students went on to create leaf rubbings to see how texture can be translated visually.

I really loved getting to see the different leaves and color schemes students picked to use in their art!

Go Portfolio!

Students have been working hard on their first project, creating portfolios to store all their work for the year.

We have explored different lettering styles like bubble letters using organic line, geometric three-dimensional lettering and transforming letters into creatures.

Students then personalized their portfolios by adding things that are important to them, used line to add pattern and texture, and added color and a splash of paint.

I have loved beginning to learn about everyone through their art and getting to see how everyone works!

 

 

Hello!

Welcome to The Art Room!

I love all things creative and like to use a lot of different materials in my work.

Here are some of my pieces:

 

 

 

I am so excited to be working at Canandaigua this year and to get to know all of my students and their art.

I will be posting all things art related from what we are doing in class to local art and beyond, so check back often!

Now, let's make some art!