Birch Trees

Students in 3rd grade created birch trees using a non-traditional technique. They used cardboard dipped in paint to create these birch trees. Then they used either warm or cool colors to paint a background.

 

 


Los estudiantes de 3er grado crearon abedules usando una técnica no-tradicional. Usaron cartón mojado en pintura para crear estos árboles. Luego usaron colores calidos o fríos para pintar un fondo para sus árboles.

Mummies

5th grade students studied mummies and created their own mummy sarcophagus. They learned that the Ancient Egyptian mummified their dead in preparation for the afterlife. They learned that the Egyptians would put money, food, favorite items and even pets in the coffin (or sarcophagus) to have in the next life. The name of the mummy was written in hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus. This is called the cartouche. Students also created a cartouche on their sarcophagus. Students also learned that the person's face was often painted on to the sarcophagus so the person's spirit would recognize it and could get the items saved in the sarcophagus. Students  learned that many symbols were used to bring protection to the mummy (like the Wedjet eye) and to depict important events in the mummy's life. Students created their own mummy sarcophagus out of clay and painted it with tempera paints.

Rural Landscapes

 

2nd grade students learned to differentiate between rural, suburban and urban landscapes. They drew and painted rural landscapes with characteristics often found in rural landscapes, such as farms, barns, and crops. They looked at artwork by Grant Wood. They learned that Grant Wood liked to paint scenes of farmland because he was born in a rural area of Iowa.

Negative Space Letters

First Grade students learned that negative space is the space around the main object of an artwork. Most of the time, artists spend a lot of time drawing or painting the postive space of an artwork, and much less time on the negative, or background space. Students practiced painting negative space by taping the initial of their first or last name and then painting all of the negative space with analogous colors. When the paint was dry, they peeled the tape off and discovered that the letter(positive space) was still the focal point of the artwork without even painting it at all!

Mondrian Masterpieces

 

Kindergarten students discovered the work of Piet Mondrian. They learned that he first painted landscapes, but then decided to break down landscapes into their simplest form: black lines and primary colors. It was almost like he was painting the “ingredients” for his landscapes. Students learned to identify the primary colors and made artwork inspired by Mondrian.

Los estudiantes de kinder descubrieron las obras de Piet Mondrian. Ellos aprendieron que al principio el pinto paisajes, pero luego decidió desarmar los paisajes en sus formas más simples: líneas negras y colores primarios. Fue como si estuviera pintando los “ingredientes” de sus paisajes. Los estudiantes aprendieron a identificar los colores primarios y crearon obras de arte inspiradas por Mondrian.



Inspired by Reggie Laurent

 4th Grade looked at artwork by Reggie Laurent and read an interview with him. (Featured on the blog Art is Fun. )They learned that Reggie Laurent paints abstract art that is unified with "white thread" as Reggie Laurent calls it. They learned the difference between geometric and organic shapes. Then they created their own artwork inspired by Reggie Laurent's colorful abstract art. They even created unity in their artwork using a "white thread" just like Laurent.

Picasso Portraits

Third grade students looked at artwork by Pablo Picasso and read a book about his life. They learned that Picasso could paint realistically, but chose not to. They learned that Picasso was the inventor of cubism, and painted many of his artworks with shapes such as squares and rectangles. Students learned that many people didn’t like his artwork at first, but now it is some of the most famous artwork in the world. Students drew a cubist portrait and painted it with tempera paints.

Los estudiantes de tercer grado miraron obras de arte por Pablo Picasso y leyeron un libro sobre su vida. Ellos aprendieron que Picasso sabía pintar realísticamente, pero escogió no hacerlo. Ellos aprendieron que Picasso fue el inventor del cubismo, y pinto muchas de sus obras con figuras como cuadrados y rectángulos. Los estudiantes aprendieron que a muchas personas no les gustaron sus obras al principio, pero ahora son de las obras de arte más famosas del mundo. Los estudiantes dibujaron un retrato cubista y lo pintaron con tempera.