Merry Christmas!

 

 

Have a safe and happy vacation and see you in 2013!

More excellent work from home

 

Take a look at this impressive origami work by Chandra in 4th grade.
It took weeks for him

to construct this working doll house all from origami paper.
That takes some skill!



Rainbow Fish

 

The K2 class worked on a collaborative project using droppers and watercolors.

We spread out a white paper table cloth and watched as everyone added primary colors and saw how they would change when they mixed. When we had no more white to fill we called it a day and put it aside to dry.

It inspired me to cut it into a fish shape and have the students make it into the "Rainbow Fish", shiny scales and all. It's on display in the most fitting place, the library.

Artwork from home

 

 

I want to thank Colin in 4th grade for sharing his great lettering work he did on his own at home. I always enjoy seeing the students artwork done on their own time. Colin really has a great eye for color, keep up the good work.

Viking ships

 

These colorful viking long ships were done by the 6th grade class. Everyone worked step by step using templets to start with basic shapes. Then by gradually adding more detail the ship came to life. The ship and sail are done in color pencil and the sky and water is made with water color paint. 

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

 

The 1st grade class used small round sponges to paint these cute polar bears after watching the Eric Carle story Polar Bear, Polar Bear.

Chirstmas lights at night

 

This was the first lesson for the 1st grade with chalk pastels. We talked about how the colored lights have a glow at night. The pastels are perfect for showing this effect.

Drawing a realistic eye

Ok I hope some of the 7th grade students see these on the blog. They really came out great.

The class all followed along to a video showing step by step how to break the eye down into shapes until it all comes together to form an eye.

Open Door

7th grade started the assignment by drawing a door with shading and depth. Color was added with color pencils. Then a second drawing was made to be the "surprise" behind the door.

Artist of the Month, Thomas McGovern

 

These great detailed drawings are by Thomas.

How to draw hands

 

 

There are parts of the figure that are know to be trouble for most people to draw. Hands being one of them. Sometimes I'll have the figure I'm drawing put their hands in their pockets just to avoid having to draw them. So I know the best way to fight this is to practice. The 8th grade watched a video and followed along to draw two styles of hands. It starts by breaking it down into shapes then gradually add details. The video is online here .

Modern sculpture

The second graders made their own custom modern abstract sculpture. I'm not sure what was more fun for them, painting or building the sculpture. The great thing about this is that it can be changed anytime into a different looking sculpture.

Leaf sculpture

 

The 6th grade asked if they could do something to bring home for Thanksgiving. So for this lesson they picked either a maple or an oak leaf shape and cut it out of cardboard. Then they added the veins of the leaf with yarn to add dimension. Next paper towels where paper mached on the whole thing. Once it was dry the student painted it in fall colors. Each leaf was dried in a bowl so it's bowed and could be used to hold objects.

Snakes on a tree branch

 

I had a drawing lesson for the 4th grade class on how to draw a snake on a branch. The focus of the lesson was how to make the snake look like it is twisted around by erasing the parts of the snake and tree to make it look correct. It also teaches the student how to critique their own work and know when they have it right.

Kandinsky Cirlcles

 

The 2nd grade class used oil pastels to make their own version of Wassily Kandinsky circles.

Patterns on a tepee

 

The K2 class got a lesson on following my direction on making various patters of lines

on craft paper. Then they used their cutting skills to make it into a tepee.

After they then made a whole scene with cactus and puffy clouds for the bulletin board.

Mosaic sunflowers

Influenced by Van Gogh Sunflowers the 3rd and 4th graders made mini mosaics made

from colorful pieces of cardboard. The cardboard tiles are from a recycling center

that were colored with paint. From far away they look like ceramic tiles.

Canoes

 

With Thanksgiving coming the 1st grade talked about the Native Americans and how

they would hollow out trees to make canoes. I added that they could view a real "tree

canoe" at the Tufts Library.

Using paper towel tubes the students made their own

canoes and add a passenger. Once they were dry they made a whole scene with a river

and a forest. 

Artist of the Month

 

 

I would like to share this great dragon drawing by John McGovern in the 7th grade.

Scratch Board

 

 

This is a new technique for the art class. The 6th and 7th grade got to give scratch board a try.

Each student got a real feather as reference and a piece of scratch board. It's a thick paper covered with a layer of black ink. When you use a shard tool you can scratch away the black and reveal white. It's drawing in reverse and can be challenging to do. I think the class did quite well with the project. At the time they might not agree, but I bet when they see how they look on display they will be pleased. I think it will be worth giving scratch board another try in the future.