Character Parade

Update!

I love the storybook character parade tradition at PS 58, but this year, I had the hardest time thinking of an idea for a costume. Finally, today, I came up with something I LOVE:


The hermit crab from Eric Carle's book! This was a childhood favorite of mine, as I grew up near the water. I will post a picture Friday of my costume and other amazing ones! What are you going as?

Fourth Grade Fantasy Creatures

Fourth graders have been creating fantasy characters. We looked at how Edward Gorey used line to create texture on his own characters. Students used pencil to create their creatures and then used hatching, cross-hatching and created textures to enhance their characters. FInally, we explored watercolor washes. Using watercolor, students tinted their work. Check them out!

Character Development

Fifth graders have been working on creating an illustrated character. We studied artists Tim Burton and Sac Magique to explore how their characters have distinct personality traits that are shown through their physical features. Students brainstormed to create their own character. Next, they sketched and created a final contour drawing. Students will ink their work and color it using both traditional and digital media. Great work artists!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten artists have been learning about abstract compositions. Now, we have begun to explore "realistic" art. We read the book Mouse Shapes and explored how shapes can build pictures of real things. Here are some collages made by kindergarten artists:





Next, kindergarten artists looked at the work of Eric Carle. We noticed how he used shapes to create bugs. Artists used tearing to create shapes and used them to make their own collaged bugs. The work is up outside kindergarten classrooms.


This week, we will begin a printmaking unit. We will work with stamping and texture. Our theme will link with what they have been learning about with Miss Marsh in science: trees!!

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:

Did you notice??

Did you notice the new blog header? It was drawn by my husband, Tad Kimball.
Thanks Tad!

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.

Designing with Shapes

Kindergarten artists have been designing with shapes. After doing a circle design with drawing, we began our collage study. Students created ABSTRACT collages using squares and rectangles. Here are some examples of the work. The rest should be up on the walls outside kindergarten classrooms by the end of the week. Next, we will build pictures of things with shapes.

The kindergarten classes are off to a great start this year. Parents, I am in need of baby wipes. We use these as a part of our clean up routine. You can send donations up to my class with your child. Thanks!!

2nd Grade Moving Sketches

In the studio, students in second grade are learning about sketching and how it is an important part of the artistic process. Even though we have begun a painting unit, we are starting out by sketching to help us work out our ideas. Second graders looked at the work of Keith Haring and discovered that he uses movement lines and body position to show movement in a painting. Here are some sketches that we made to try out this technique:

Check out more sketches in the lobby and coming soon outside second grade classrooms!

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.