Fish Exploration Part 1

rubber fish

First grade artists have begun a fish study. They recently went on a fishing trip and we are building off of that excitement! Today, we began drawing fish from observation. In lieu of real fish, we use the rubber fish set that I inherited when I came to PS 58. They are made for printmaking, but I like to utilize them in observational drawing units because of the details they include. We looked at fish created by Bruno Munari and Hokusai.

left: Hokusai print, right: Munari illustration

Students noticed that the Hokusai piece was more likely drawn from observation because the artist included so many details. Our goal was to include as many details as we could. Here are a few small drawings that will kick off our unit:

Check back to see where this will lead!

May Newsletter

Happy May! Here is the newsletter for this month:

Studio 220 Newsletter: May 2011

I can hardly believe it is May! I hope everyone had a wonderful April vacation. We have a ton of exciting things going on in the art studio. Here is what each grade is working on:

Kindergarten artists are exploring looking and drawing, or observational drawing. We will explore the work of a number of artists who worked from observation including one of my personal favorites, Beatrix Potter. Students will work from a number of subjects and in many different media. We will explore how we can create texture and shape with drawing.

First grade artists are going to be starting a sculpture unit. We will do a study of fish, exploring artists who were inspired by fish such as Hokusai. Students will create drawings from observation, collages and a plaster wrap sculpture of their own fish. We will be exploring moving from 2D to 3D, how artists use drawings in the sculptural process and how you can create form from paper and cardboard. Check out the Studio 220 Blick Wishlist (http://www.dickblick.com/lists/artroomaid/3HP8PP4LU14Q3/publicview/) to help us get the rigid wrap for this project.

Second grade artists are working on a painted paper collage project. Inspired by their science and Earth Day studies of birds of prey (How amazing were those birds?!!), second graders will create their own birds of prey from painted paper. We will look at the work of illustrator Kim Scafuro, a Brooklyn artist who creates collages of painted paper. Students will explore the textures and patterns that are common on owls, hawks, eagles and other birds of prey. Next, students will explore creating a variety of values and textures using only black ink on paper. This paper will then be used for the students’ final birds of prey collages.

Fourth graders are studying the work of Wayne Thiebaud. We will explore how and why this artist chose food as one of his primary subjects. Students will rely on their recent study of form to create pastel drawings of food and cakes inspired by Thiebaud’s work. Students will learn about complimentary colors and use them in their final compositions. We will take what we have learned in painting about mixing colors and apply this to dry media.

Fifth graders are working on animal paintings inspired by Australian aboriginal paintings. Students are exploring painting with non-traditional materials and creating patterns using only dots. Students will explore symbolism and how this can be incorporated into their artwork.

The Gumplegutch!

April is poetry month! Here is a poem by Shel Silverstein that has inspired a first grade art project:

The Gumplegutch

Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, Tommy,
The Gumplegutch loves to play.
You can bounce on his belly,
And call him Old Nellie,
And fill up his nostrils with clay.
Don't be 'fraid of his fangs,
Or his one yellow eye,
Or the scales on his tail, my dear.
Go over and play with the Gumplegutch, Tommy,
There's nothing at all to fear.
I will wait over here.

First graders searched for descriptive words to give us clues about the Gumplegutch's appearance. Once we had identified the descriptive words, each student imagined what the Gumplegutch looks like. Students each created a collagraph print of their creature.

First, we made a collage of our Gumplegutch using thick paper.

The following week, we used our collage as a printing plate. We inked the plate using a brayer, put a piece of paper on top of the plate and then burnished.

And VOILA! A Gumplegutch print:

Catching Up---again!

Things are so busy around here that this blog has been a bit neglected. I am going to do a one-post update of what all grades have been doing.

Kindergarten- cardboard relief animal sculptures!

First Grade- My block collages inspired by Romare Bearden and visiting artist Mari Takabayashi!

Second grade- Figures in action mosaics and drawings!

Fourth Grade- Imaginary settlement cartography!

Fifth Grade- Op Art!

Now that we are all caught up, I will let you know what we are doing now in the coming days!

First Grade Updates

First graders finished their clay pots ages ago, but I have not posted about them! Here are tons of photos of their finished pieces.

Now, we are working on mixed media pieces. We have studied artists who were inspired by their neighborhoods. We looked at The Block by Romare Bearden and I Live in Brooklyn by Mari Takabayashi. Mari even came and told us about how she makes her art! Now, we are working on pieces about our own neighborhoods. Here is a sneak peak of the studio in action:

Pinch Pot How To by Class 1-213

We are learning how to make pinch pots. Here are the steps:

1. Roll the clay into a ball. Make sure that there are no cracks.

2. Push your thumb into the clay in the middle. Don't make your hole all the way through.

3. Pinch the sides of your clay to make the hole bigger. Make sure you don't make the sides too skinny.

4. Smooth out the cracks with water using two fingers.

5. Put it on a piece of paper with your name on it and put it near the heater to dry.

Class 1-213

First Grade Clay Explorations

When we begin a clay unit, I give the students a full class period to simply play with and explore the material. We discuss that clay comes from the earth and has been used for many years. One of the big parts of this lesson is naming ways that you can change the shape of clay. Here is what first graders came up with:
smoosh
pinch
roll
build
sculpt
flatten
bend
twist
break
squeeze
coil/snake
press

Can you think of any others?

November Newsletter!

Studio 220 Newsletter: November 2010

November is a busy month in the art studio! Students are getting started on their second units. Make sure to check out all of the exhibits in the halls during open school week. I hope to see many of you at conferences. I will be holding an open house in Studio 220 on the second floor. Please stop in and have a look around!

Here is a preview of what will be going on this month:

Kindergarten artists have explored how shapes can be used to “build” pictures with collage. In November, we will be moving with this idea into the medium of printmaking! Students will be creating their own stamps by etching into styrofoam. They will use these stamps to create images. The theme for this unit links what they are doing in science with Miss Marsh—a study of trees. In the studio, we will be taking the knowledge they have gained about the parts of trees and how they change and exploring this through art making. We will focus our art explorations on texture and shape.

First grade artists have become collage experts! They will continue to work with paper, but will be exploring how the material can move from two dimensions to three. We will be creating a number of paper sculptures that hang and stand on a base. Students will be encouraged to explore ideas of balance and structure while using the materials. We will experiment with how different types of actions (twist, bend, fold…) change the way that the material looks.

Second grade artists are going to be working on a unit inspired by the later work of Henri Matisse. We will be studying how later in his life he began “painting with paper.” Students will be working independently and collaboratively to create a number of cut paper collage pieces. We will explore how compositions can be played with and changed. We will explore ideas of organic/geometric shape, positive/negative space and symmetry/asymmetry. Students will also play with scale, making tiny collages and gigantic collages. It is sure to be a ton of fun.

Fourth graders are working on a painting unit. During the month, students will really play with the medium to see what it can do. We will be using acrylic paint to explore thick and thin application and strokes, as well as to reinforce what we know about color mixing. Students will be creating portraits of a family member. For inspiration and to see the different ways a portrait can be painted, students will study pieces by Dana Schutz, Alex Katz and Kim Scafuro.

Fifth graders have worked hard to create an illustrated character. In November, students will take their character and create a pop-up paper environment for it. They will study Andrea Dezso’s tunnel books to see how paper can be layered to create depth. Students will create their environment using a number of pop-up paper engineering techniques and will include a foreground, middle ground and background. I am really excited to see where they will take this!

Lastly, I want to sincerely thank everyone who donated materials to the studio through the Dick Blick Art Room Aid and materials and wipes donations. I am overwhelmed by your generosity! Thank you so much for all you do for our artists!

Animal Collage Update

After completing their animal collages, first grade artists created a habitat for their creature. I will write more about the objectives, etc for the display. Here are some awesome results:

Animal Collages

First grade artists are studying Charley Harper and thinking about how he uses simple shapes to "build" animals. He called his style "minimal realism." Students will soon be using the monoprints they created to make animal collages, but we are now practicing using construction paper. The students love Harper's work, because it is simple and surprising. Here are some examples of the first step of our animal collages. Next, we will create a habitat for the animal. We will then follow these same steps to create collages using our prints.

October Newsletter!

Studio 220 Newsletter: October 2010

September has been a great month for getting to know the art studio and the new routines and procedures. Every class has been working on what it means to be an artist and to work in the studio. This includes thinking like an artist, talking about art and exploring materials.

In October, we will begin bigger units of study. Here is what we will be working on:

Kindergarten artists are exploring shape, line and composition. We are experimenting with how to design with shapes and create abstract work with shapes. We will then begin building creatures, buildings and other things with shape. This unit will incorporate collage, printmaking, drawing and color mixing. Students will look at the work of painter Vasily Kandinsky, textile artist Denyse Schmidt and illustrator Eric Carle to explore how shapes come together to make art.

First grade artists are exploring the possibilities of line. They will be experimenting with creating line with a variety of manipulative materials. Next, we will use monoprinting to make prints of different types of lines. These will then be the collage material for building animals with shapes. This unit will be inspired by the illustrations of Charley Harper.

Second grade artists will explore how to create movement in a two dimensional picture. We will look at the work of Keith Haring to see how the addition of movement lines and the position of a figure can show movement. This unit will include collage and painting. We will reinforce knowledge of color mixing and composition.

Fourth graders will be playing with the idea of surprise in art making. We will be exploring how surrealist artists played the exquisite corpse game to come up with interesting drawings. Students will practice working collaboratively and independently. We will then look at the work of Edward Gorey to explore fantastical creatures and how they can be developed. This unit will include drawing and painting.

Fifth graders will be working on a character development project. We will look at the work of a number of contemporary illustrators, including Tim Burton and Sac Magique, whose work is driven by characters. We will explore the features that an artist includes in their character, be it an imaginary creature or a human. Once we have our characters, we will explore where we can go next. This unit will focus on drawing and pen and ink.

September Newsletter!

Welcome Back!
I am really excited about this year! I will be at the parent orientations to discuss what we will be working on this year and I hope to see you there. Here is my September Newsletter:

Welcome Back! I am so excited to be here again and working with your children!

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Megan Kimball. This year I will be working with students in kindergarten, first, second, fourth and fifth grades. Students will see me once a week in the art studio, room 220.

In Studio 220, we will work on a variety of art and design projects. All of the children will work with a variety of media as mandated by the Blueprint for the Arts: drawing, painting, printmaking, arts in technology, design, collage and sculpture. These units, spread throughout the year, will cover a number of topics, often linked to the learning that is happening in their classroom. Students will also be experimenting with digital arts using the computer, scanner and digital cameras. In my class, students will explore materials, learn about artists and create their own work. This year, I am putting an emphasis on what it means to think like an artist. Depending on the grade level, we will explore this question in different ways—how can we: use a familiar material in a new way, make a mistake into something new, take risks in our work and not be afraid of “messing up.” We will explore how artists share their individual point of view and students will hear from working artists who can show their own creative process. I am thrilled to be working with so many students this year, and I cannot wait to see what amazing ideas they come up with!

Here is a glimpse of what we are doing in September:

September in Studio 220 is all about setting up routines in the studio and allowing students to take ownership over their creative space. Each class period, students will work on a small project that will reinforce the routines and what is expected of them. I like start off the year by surprising the students with new ways to use materials they may already be familiar with. This sets up the arena of surprise and exploration that is such a large part of our studio work.

In September, students will begin experimenting with materials and creating art about what they hope to accomplish this year. Students will create a portfolio to hold their sketches, ideas and anything else that they find inspiring. We will explore how an artist gets ideas and the importance of keeping these organized. By then end of this first month, students will be ready to jump into our first unit.

I am so looking forward to this year and we will get off to an amazing start in September!

Observational Drawing

First and second graders are practicing observational drawing. We talked about how observation means to look at something closely, so observational drawing is to look at something closely and draw what you see. We also talked about how artists can get frustrated by trying to make their drawing look exactly like what they observing, but it is more important to try your best and include as many details as you can. Sometimes it looks more interesting as a drawing if it doesn't look exactly like real life. Lukas in 2nd grade said that it is more important that you put your artistic spirit into it. I like that.

So first graders looked at drawings of fish by Hokusai and Munari. We tried to guess which artist worked from observation and guessed that it was Hokusai because he included more details. Students then used sharpie to draw a fish from observation. We worked from rubber reproductions of fish that show tons of detail.
Next, they incorporated details from their imagination about where the fish would live. Most artists made under the sea scenes:

But some artists had other ideas:

See the final results on display next week on the second floor. Great work!

Second graders have begun practicing drawing bugs from observation of photos. We will be taking these skills to a whole new level to create drawings inspired by one of my favorite movies:

Get excited!

Here are some photos of second graders working on practice sketches: