Matisse Collage

Second Grade students looked at artwork by Henri Matisse who was known for his cut paper collages. Students learned that Matisse favored organic (curvy) shapes over geometric ones. They used cut paper to create their own collage inspired by Matisse.

Students also learned how to create a balanced artwork. Students had to ask themselves these questions to make sure their artwork was balanced:

  -Are there any spaces that look empty?

  -Did I use small and large shapes?

  -Did I use black shapes evenly?

 

Dr. Seuss fish

Kindergarten students read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss. They drew  and painted their own fish in the style of Dr. Seuss.

 

 

Surreal artwork

Fifth grade students studied Salvador Dali and the surrealists. Students discovered that surrealists were trying to shock and almost scare their viewers. Instead of making pretty art, the surrealists loved making strange artwork. They often used dislocation - placing objects where they shouldn't be, juxtaposition- two things, side by side, that don't normally go together,  transformation- turning something familiar into something unusual or strange and metamorphosis- when an object is changed into something else. Students created a surreal artwork and wrote how their artwork is surreal.

Comparison Portraits

Kindergarten students drew self-portraits at the beginning of the school year and drew and painted self-portraits again at the end of the school year. Look at how these artists have grown!

 

Alphabeasties

Fourth Grade students read “Alphabeasties” by Sharon Warner and Sarah Forss. Students found that they could illustrate an animal of their choice by only using one letter. They used different fonts and sizes of one letter to “color” their animal. Students began by drawing the contour of their animal on colored paper that best represented their animal. Finally, they used permanent markers to “color” their animal using different fonts and sizes of one letter (Usually the first letter of the animal. For example, a horse would be filled with “h.”)

 

 

Aboriginal Dot Paintings

4^th grade students learned about the artwork of the aboriginal people of Australia. This group of people is indigenous to Australia, just like Native Americans are indigenous to the United States.

The students learned that the Aborigines are known for their dot paintings and x-ray paintings. As you can probably imagine, dot paintings are made with only dots, and x-ray paintings show the inside of the subject they painted. Students chose an animal that lives in Australia to paint in the dot and x-ray painting styles of the Aborigines. 

Los estudiantes de 4º grado aprendieron sobre el arte del pueblo aborigen de Australia. Este grupo de personas son indígenas de Australia, igual que los nativos americanos son los indígenas de los Estados Unidos.

Los estudiantes aprendieron que los aborígenes son conocidos por sus obras de puntitos y pinturas estilo rayos x. Como se podrán imaginar, las obras de puntitos son pinturas hechas solo de puntos y las pinturas estilo rayos x muestran lo de adentro del sujeto de la pintura.  Los estudiantes escogieron un animal que viva en Australia para pintar en los estilos de puntitos y rayos x de los aborígenes. 

Kindergarten self-portraits

Kindergarteners drew self-portraits at the start of the school year, and then revisited the concept at the end of the school year. Look how much they've grown as artists!

 

Pointillism Butterflies

Students discovered that the comics in newspapers are colored with tiny dots. They also learned about Georges Seurat, the artist who invented pointillism by using only dots in his paintings. They applied their discoveries in creating a butterfly colored only with dots.They also made sure the butterflies wings were symetrical. 

Los estudiantes descubrieron que las historietas en los periódicos están pintadas con puntitos diminutos. También aprendieron sobre Georges Seurat, el artista que invento el puntillismo usando solamente puntitos en sus obras. Ellos aplicaron su descubrimiento para crear mariposas pintadas solamente con puntos. Los estudiantes también tenían que asegurar que las alas fueran simétricas.