December in Studio 220

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First Grade: First graders are working with clay! The ceramics unit is a very exciting time of year. We will be exploring where clay comes from, what you can do with it, and what happens once it dries. The students will be working on a texture exploration to see what happens when clay is imprinted with different materials. Each student will create a pinch pot that is textured with the materials of their choice. We will then paint our work in a way that highlights the textures we create.

Second Grade: Second graders are beginning a sculpture unit. We will be studying the job of playground designers. We will look at different interpretations of playgrounds from around the world. Each student will imagine his or her ideal playground. They will use paper to create a three dimensional sculpture of their own play-space. For inspiration, check out one of my favorite blogs: http://playgrounddesigns.blogspot.com.

Third Grade: Third grade artists are working on the art of shadow play, a traditional art form first invented in China over a thousand years ago. We will be creating many different shadow puppets (pi ying) based on animals, creatures, monsters and ourselves. We will be learning about how using positive and negative space affects how the puppet looks when lit. We will also be exploring how artists can add sound and movement to their work.

Fourth Grade: Fourth graders are working on a relief sculpture unit. We are looking at the work of AJ Fosik and creating large animal heads out of papier mache and cut paper. We are thinking about how Native Americans believed that animals represented and had personality traits. Each student will choose an animal whose “personality” is similar to his or her own. They will then create a relief sculpture to represent their animal. Please send in cereal boxes, newspaper and cardboard tubes!

Fifth Grade: Fifth graders have been working on creating realistic drawings and paintings for the past few weeks. Taking a break from this, we will be exploring how artists create characters from their imaginations. We will look at many different artists who create fantasy characters, including Tim Burton, who now has an exhibition at MoMA. Each student will use pen and ink, watercolor and clay to create an imaginary character.