INDIVIDUAL CLASSES AT THE SAME GRADE LEVEL HAVING THE SAME ASSIGNMENTS, WILL NOT ALWAYS BE INUNISUN. DIFFERING INDIVIDUAL CLASS SCHEDULES AND THE SPEED AT WHICH INDIVIDUAL CLASSES WORK, IS THE CAUSE. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO FIND YOUR CHILD’S CLASS WEEK 32 POSTED 4/3/08 KINDERGARTEN “A Painting of Forsythia” has begun. This is one of my favorite lessons. The students will go through several stages of work before the actual painting of the forsythia from life. First the students create a flat paper symmetrical vase shape, next a table is drawn in and colored. Lastly, a demonstration of how to create the thin brush strokes, needed for the branches of the forsythia will be given, as well as suggested brush stokes appropriate for the blooms. Then the students will paint on their own as they see fit. GRADE 1 “Weaving” is still in progress for some this week. All students will begin sketches for “Paper Mache/African Animal” next week. GRADE 2 “Positive/Negative/Silly Faces” have begun. The students will create facial images that will reverse from black to white and from positive to negative. The students seemed to really enjoy the idea of this so far. GRADE 3 “Georgia O’Keeffe/American Painter” When asked, the students in both classes were able to remember quite a few facts from the video and from what I had shared with them about Georgia O’Keeffe’s life. WAY TO GO! The students have now received instruction on brush techniques that would help them meet the goal of this project, shading with paint. The students have also been able to select a real bone from which to sketch and a photograph of a flower. The beginning efforts are quite good. GRADE 4 “Black And White/Positive/Negative Design” is coming to a close with the students creating a blended composition from their previously made collection of black and white reverse images. Next will be lessons on “Picasso”. The students will first be given an overview of Picasso’s life and of cubism. WEEK 31 POSTED 3/26/08 KINDERGARDEN “Embellished Bugs” were completed by one class. The other class will complete this lesson soon. Both classes were introduced to weaving with a lesson on paper weaving. Examples were shown and a demonstration given. GRADE 1 “Weaving” is still in progress. Tapestry weaving is being taught to those who are ready. It involves weaving shapes into the weaving. GRADE 2 “Michelangelo/Introduction and The Drawing of Posed Models” is down to the painting, which is almost complete. A positive/negative design will be the next lesson. GRADE 3 “Georgia O’Keeffe/American Painter” has begun with an overview of her life and a discussion about her style and choices of subject matter. A video about her life has or will be shown. She appears in the video talking about her work. GRADE 4 “Black and White/Positive/Negative Design” continues. Some of the students have begun to cut apart their sets of black and white images. These images were designed to be cut apart and glued back together in collage fashion to create a new abstract image. GRADE 5 “Glazing” and “Design Painting” continues. As soon as all of the clay pieces have been painted, they will all be fired together. WEEK 30 POSTED 3/19/08 KINDERGARTEN “Pinch-Pots/Glazing” With the pinch-pots that were made earlier, now fired. The students were asked to glaze their own works in one lesson. They were allowed to use two colors with touches of a third. They will now need to be fired again. The second lesson of the week went or will go back to “Embellished Bugs”. GRADE 1 “Weaving” is next. This year the students will attach the warp threads to the loom for themselves. They will also review and build upon the tapestry weave techniques learned last year. GRADE 2 “Michelangelo/An Introduction and The Drawing of Posed Models” After viewing selected works of Michelangelo and a class discussion of the Sistine Ceiling, and the Pieta, the students were posed and drew each other taking turns. Color and shading will be added to this project later. GRADE 3 “English China Patterns, Josiah Spode, and The Willow China Pattern Story” The students were introduced to the story behind the very Chinese looking (yet English) Spode, Willow china pattern. This will be the culminating lesson to their Asian art study. The students will create a Chinese inspired china pattern on round white paper with cobalt blue paint, in the tradition of Spode. GRADE 4 “Black and White/Positive/Negative Design” The students will be making a composite positive/negative design made up of the parts of three different black and white images. The drawings for the black and white images were begun this week. GRADE 5 The “Color Mixing Painting” was interrupted to begin the glazing of the clay pieces, as they were out of the kiln and ready. WEEK 29 POSTED 3/14/08 KINDERGARDEN “Cat on a Mat” continued with the painting of the mat, rug, carpet, or blanket that the cat will sit on. This was painted on another piece of paper. For The finished product, the cut out cat will appear on top of the mat, mounted on a colored piece of construction paper. “Clay/Pinch-Pots” were begun and finished the same day. Techniques were discussed and interesting scraps of metal were used to texture the bowls. The bowls are now drying and wait to be fired. “Embellished Bugs” Crayon drawings of bugs/butterflies/bees/etc. were drawn on colored paper, and traced with glue. Yarn was then cut and placed along the glue lines. (Not an easy task.) Later, small colorful tissue paper wads will be placed between the divisions in the creatures. GRADE 1 “The Flu Bug”/ A Painting was begun the finished this week. The class was asked to think about what that awful flu bug would have to look like to make a person SO SICK. What would he have on his body to make him so mean, big, bad, and ugly? The paintings were very creative and EVERYONE (unfortunately) could relate. GRADE 2 “Faith Ringgold/African American Artist” This painting is now complete. It was completed with the framing of the painting in fabric squares, in the manner of Ms. Ringgold. The final touch was each student drawing him/herself in flying position, to be inserted in a relief manner on top of the painting. GRADE 3 “Asian Art/Brush and Ink” continues with each lesson presenting a new challenge in the way of subject matter. The last lesson will allow the students to use a colored paper that simulates an aged look of paper. GRADE 4 “Jacob Lawrence/African American Artist”, a painting of a personal hero was completed this week. GRADE 5 “Clay” is a last complete. Some pieces have been fired in the kiln, with others soon to fired. After all are ready, the class will begin to glaze. Until then, the class will be working on a color mixing painting. WEEK 28 POSTED 3/5/08 KINDERGARDEN “Cat on a Mat” has begun. This lesson began with a discussion about cats: who had one, had visited one or seen one. Pictures were viewed of cats and THEN…..WE ALL GOT DOWN ON THE FLOOR AND “BECAME” CATS. After this stimulating time the students were given black markers with which to create a line drawing of a cat. Attention was paid to whiskers, ears, feet, tails and claws. GRADE 1- “Clay/Push-Pull Animals” The class will be given small vertical lumps of clay resembling baked potatoes standing on end. After a demonstration, the class will create a clay animal that is pushed and pulled forth from the lump of clay. It will not be important that the animal stands. Emphasis will be on the upper body of the animal, as if seen in a seated position. GRADE 2- “Faith Ringgold/African American Artist” The class is mostly finished with the painting part of this lesson. Some are beginning the second part, that of cutting fabric squares that will be glued around the outside edge of the painting creating a frame. This is much like the manner in which Ringgold would have framed her own work. GRADE 3- “Asian Art/Brush and Ink” This lesson introduces the class not only to the look of Asian art but to the technique of brush and ink. The class, after demonstration, will participate in a series of lessons on how to paint: bamboo, grasses, mountains, trees and pagodas. It will culminate with the student creating a composition of the practiced shapes that he/she would most like to paint. GRADE 4- “Jacob Lawrence/African American Artist” is in full swing. The classes’ paintings abound with heroes, from people in the entertainment business who giveaway extreme home makeovers, to parents, family, teachers and religious figures. WOW! GRADE 5- “Clay/ A Humorous Interaction Between a Person and an Object or Animal” This project is winding down. Objects or animals have mostly been completed and the people are being finished. WEEK 27 POSTED 2/27/08 KINDERGARDEN “Henry Tanner/African American Artist” The class continues to pose and paint, alternating responsibilities. The results are getting better and better. GRADE 1- “Romare Bearden/ African American Artist” The class was introduced to the work of Romare Bearden through his collage/painting, “Summertime”. The class participated in a discussion about the subject and the style of the painting. It was noted that it looked like it was made up of other pictures pasted together. The class received large plastic baggies that would help them in collecting cut out magazine pictures. These cutouts will then be used in combination with markers and crayons to portray a subject of the students’ own choosing. GRADE-2 “Faith Ringgold/African American Artist” The class enjoyed the book, “Tar Beach” and then began to plan a painting by thinking of what they would pretend to fly over, that would then become theirs to keep. This is what the character Cassie Lightfoot did in Faith Ringgold’s book. IMAGINATIONS RAN WILD! GRADE-3 “Horace Pippin/African American Artist” The class thought of many childhood memories (as did Horace Pippin) to become the subjects of their paintings. Places they had been, good times with friends, and animals were among the subjects depicted. GRADE-4 “Jacob Lawrence/ African American Artist” was introduced to the class through discussion, illustrations, and his book “Harriet and the Promised Land”. His style was talked about. The class noted that it looked like cut out paper, though a painting. Lawrence himself said of his work that he painted in a “paint by number” style. After seeing a video of the artist, describing his own work, the class will plan a painting depicting one of their heroes, in honor of Lawrence who depicted heroes. GRADE-5 “Clay: A Humorous Interaction Between a Person and an Object or Animal” The objects or animals are being constructed first, with the figures to be made later on and fitted around the animal/object shape. Clay is proving to be a difficult challenge, but we will make it. WEEK 25&26 POSTED 2/20/08 KINDERGARTEN “Henry Tanner/African American Artist” The class was introduced to the work of Henry Tanner who, though born in America, spent most of his life working in Paris, France. The class learned he was a studio artist that used posed models. His painting “The Banjo Lesson” was introduced to the class, with the class sharing their observations of the painting with me. They were VERY OBSERVANT. After this, the class had and will have a series of lessons on painting from posed class models. Everyone will pose and paint, taking turns. GRADE 1- With painted Antarctic backgrounds finished, the class began to draw and print penguins made from thin styrofoam sheets. The prints were made on white paper. After having dried and having been cut out the prints will then be glued into the landscapes. GRADE 2-“Charles Burchfield/ Winter Landscape Study” was completed, after another lesson of painting. The lesson “Faith Ringgold/African American Artist” was introduced through video. She appears on the video and tells of her experiences of growing up as an artist in Harlem. Her book “Tar Beach” will be read to the class. GRADE 3- After the video on the life of African American artist Horace Pippin, the class began a painting of their own inspired by the fact that Pippin painted from his own childhood memories. GRADE 4- “Masks” are still being glazed. GRADE 5- “Clay: A Humorous Interaction Between a Person and an Object or Animal” has begun, first with a sketch and then this week with the clay. The object/animal will be made first and then the person will be fitted on or around it. The humor comes from the fact that the object/animal will be the same size as the person. Example: a person riding on top of an airplane (as if it were a horse). WEEK 24 POSTED 2/06/08 KINDERGARTEN “Repeat Pattern Design/Crayon Resist” ended today as the last class applied watercolors over their crayon designs creating the resist effect. Awesome! GRADE 1- “Antarctic Scene” has begun. The classes blocked in glacier shapes with pencil on white 12”x18” paper and then painted in the land/seascape with watercolors. Printed penguins will follow. Grade 2- “Charles Burchfield/Winter Landscape Study” After a demonstration, the students mixed for themselves winter landscape colors that were then painted in using a separate brush stroking technique. Grade 3-“Horace Pippin/African American Artist” The classes received information from me on the life of the artist and then saw/will see a video on his life. Grade 4- “Bottle People” Today was the last day for this project. A few will be allowed to wind up details in few minutes during the next class but most will begin the long awaited glazing of the clay masks. THE “BOTTLE PEOPLE” HAVE RECEIVED MANY COMPLIMENTS AND ARE NOW ON DISPLAY. Grade 5- “Auction Project” Regular class work has been temporarily halted in order for the class to be able to participate in the making of a project for the auction. Mrs. Paula Brockman is guiding the class through painting the exterior of glass vases in the manner of Vincent Van Gogh. They are already lovely and the class has just begun. Mrs. Jane Bennett and Mrs. Marie O’Reilly are assisting the classes in this endeavor. THANK YOU LADIES. WE LOVE OUR MOMS! WEEK 23 POSTED 1/30/08 KINDERGARTEN “Repeat Pattern Design/Crayon Resist” is in progress. Each student now has a paper containing a collection of his/her (different) original designs. This week the groundwork of preparing another, larger piece of paper with separate divisions has begun. Eventually, the students’ original designs will fill each of the separate divisions of this larger paper, to await the painted resist process. GRADE 1- “A Self-Portrait-Dressed for Snow” will be completed this week with each student having been exposed to drawing a large human figure, as well as using different types of embellishment (beyond paint). GRADE 2- “Winter Trees” were completed with the students having had instruction on the structure of trees and on the dry brush technique in order to create drifting snow and wind around the trees that they had drawn. A study of the American artist Charles Burchfield will follow. Burchfield as a child was impressed with not only nature, and the observation of the sky, but especially the night sky and of the constellation of Orion. The students will participate in several painting exercises to introduce them to the pale colors of a winter sky and to the terms: tint and shade. The students will then paint an observation drawing that they will make looking out of the art room window. GRADE 3- “Weaving in the Round” is coming to a close with some of the most beautiful round weaving that you could imagine, some trimmed with fringe. Next will a study of the African American artist Horace Pippin, who was self taught and widely acclaimed for his paintings. Some of these were of his childhood memories. The students will also see a video on his life and will then create a subject painting of their own based on a memory that they have had. GRADE 4- “Bottle People” are still in progress. The classes are now nearing the end of the project, with details now being added such as, eyes, hair, props, etc. WOW! THESE ARE TURNING OUT GREAT! GRADE 5- “Drawing a Posed Model-with Paint” This lesson has been highly enjoyed and is still in progress. The drawings (with paint and brush) turned out to be too detailed to be able to be shaded in the way that I originally thought, but the class will receive instruction on shading in another way, at a later time. WEEK 22 POSTED 1/23/08 KINDERGARTEN “Repeat Pattern Design/Crayon Resist” will begin this week, with the conclusion of the music practices for the K-2 program on Thurs., which is coming along REALLY WELL. The “Repeat Pattern/Design” lesson will challenge the students to create several different designs (with crayon) that will then be repeated within separate areas of a larger shape. At a later time, these separate areas will be painted over with thin temper paint. This is the crayon resist part. GRADE 1- “A Self-Portrait-Dressed for Snow” (a mixed media lesson) was introduced. This lesson will teach drawing the human figure in a large manner. The students will be challenged to use cut construction paper, wallpaper, yarn, and paint to embellish their creations. This is designed to get the students thinking out of the box as far as what materials might be used to “color” a work. GRADE 2- “Space Backgrounds” abound, with “Trees in Winter” on hold. The students painted in groups to create all the planets, stars, the sun, and the moon and ALL OF THE PAINTED SHAPES that you will see on the back of the stage this Thurs. night (1/24). GREAT JOB, Grade 2! GRADE 3- “Weaving in the Round” continues. Students are approaching the point at which they will begin to put the finishing touches on their projects by painting around the outside edges of the round cardboard loom. Fringe may also be added, if the student likes. GRADE 4- “Bottle-Puppet” report: The students are VERY CREATIVELY ENGAGED is constructing outfits for their characters. Way to go! GRADE 5- “Printmaking” is complete. After a demonstration, the class will begin to draw a posed model with paint and brush and in another lesson with pencil. The emphasis in the painting will be on filling it in with shades of gray. WEEK 21 POSTED 1/16/08 KINDERGARTEN “Radial Design” was introduced to the class, as a design that starts in the middle and moves outward. I gave the example of the sun with its rays coming outward, as well as a snowflake. The students, once they “got it” gave me the examples of a disco ball, with circles of light moving outward and the fan (propeller) on the back of a submarine, and many others. WOW! In the next lesson, the students were given paint to be used in dabs and dots to outline the large radials that they had created. Next week, they will go on to embellish their radial designs with relief shapes. This lesson has not only been about radial design, but about paint application and brush technique as well. GRADE 1 “Cut Paper Repeat Patterns” were still in the works this week, as they turned out to more challenging than first thought, as the students chose to create more challenging shapes for their work. How nice! GRADE 2 Two projects are in the works at once, one on “Trees in Winter” and the other on creating pictures to be used as background for the K-2 music program on 1/24. GRADE 3 “Weaving” continues and all have begun to understand what it takes to weave in the round and that directions MUST be followed or it won’t work. This project teaches GREAT LISTENING SKILLS. GRADE 4 “Bottle Puppets” continue. The classes are finishing arms or painting skin color. Soon, on to clothes. GRADE 5 “Printmaking” continues, with many delighted expressions of enlightenment upon realizing that if you REALLY DID print on top of your colored tracing you WOULD GET A PRINT COLORED IN THE CORRECT PLACES…………Who could have imagined THAT? WHAT FUN! WEEK 20 POSTED 1/09/08 KINDERGARTEN The class began the new year with a NEW technique, that of glazing clay. The class glazed the clay leaves and caterpillars that they had made earlier in the year. The art terms introduced were: glaze, kiln, and firing. Radial designs will be next. GRADE 1 Cut paper repeat pattern designs, begun before the holiday will be completed this week. The object of the lesson was to alternate original cut paper designs (one large and one small) is some form of a repeat pattern created by the student. GRADE 2 The Molas (layered cut paper designs based on the work of the Kuna Natives of the Caribbean) begun before the holiday will be completed this week. These are being attached to paper items of attire or paper household items. THESE ARE QUITE INTERESTING! GRADE 3 Weaving on a round loom continues, as it was begun right before we left for holiday. Grade 4 The “Bottle Puppets” begun earlier are beginning to take shape. Paper-maching of the light bulb, used as the form for the head, is mostly complete. The water bottles that will form the body of the puppet will be next to be paper-mached. Arms and clothing will follow. GRADE 5 Printmaking continues. The students are learning how to make and use a rough tracing of a completed print as a guide for the correct placement of specific color within a new print. Color is applied only in certain specific areas of the tracing that correspond to certain specific areas of the original print. To form a NEW COLORED PRINT the student will simply ink and stamp print (his/her) printing plate on the traced paper. It will be placed over the top of and aligned with the top of the traced paper with the specifically painted areas. This alignment of color is called “registering” a print.