May 12th - Computer Art

My schedule works out pretty nice, for teaching over 600 students every week.  I have a "regular" schedule on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday where I see 3 5th grade classes and 3 6th grade classes each day.  On Wednesdays I get to have a different schedule as we have a 2:00 district wide dismissal for PLC time.  Since my plan time is very limited the other 4 days, I get to have 3 classes of plan time and 3 "bonus" classes for my 6th graders.  Each quarter is a different days classes; this quarter I see my Monday 6th graders.  

We use this time to create technology based artwork.  (plus it works better for me to use the computer lab every Wednesday all year long rather than filling it up for a week or two at a time) We have really spent the year focusing on using the basic paint program.  We start simple and work our way up.  

Project #1 requires them to fill a "page" with shapes and a few lines.  They will then use the paint bucket feature to fill in the shapes with no more than 3 colors. 

Project #2 is a color wheel.  They again us the shape drawing feature but this time they add the skill of creating custom colors.  

Project #3 is the silhouette value scale.  Students learn how to paste an image from an outside source and then add colors to the background.  

Project #4 is a complimentary color scheme op art image.  These require the students to review what they have learned and practice recreating a similar shape multiple times by redrawing them.

Project #5 is to create a computer bug.  This requires the students to create one image, select it, copy it and paste it to fill the page.  

Project #6 is one of my favorite... the Kaleidoscope project.  Students create a small image in a square. They then copy, paste and rotate the square to create a kaleidoscope image.  

The best part of working in the computer lab is how awesome "turn in" has been this year.  Artsonia's new Artsonia Classroom has made having the students turn in their digital work a snap. They go to Artsonia.com, enter a code, upload their image to their correct exhibit and write an artist statement.  It is AWESOME!  Go check it out at our school museum.

May 9th - Inspiration and Soul Feeding

I was cleaning out my photos the other day and realized that I must seem weird to my students.

On more than one occasion I have asked to take a picture of their shirts (some have just some awesome graphics)

Sometimes they catching me taking photos of my coffee cups because they have awesome sayings on them...

Sometimes I photograph the floor...

I am often seen nibbling on these SUPER, YUMMY treats!  (the dark chocolate is "to die for.")

As for feeding my soul... I am soooooooo looking forward to this weekend when I get to head to Omaha with some of my besties to enjoy

and then I get to head home and dig in the dirt!

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT, INSPIRING, SOUL FEEDING WEEKEND!  

May 8th - Georgia O'Keeffe Not Flowers

I love, love Georgia O'Keeffe's work.  Her flowers are beautiful and we have done some really nice things with them before.  However, this year we decided to take her "looking skills" and use them to look at the human face.

We started by drawing faces.  I had the students draw "the best human face" they could.  They did this at the end of a project or as homework.  I collected them and the next time we met, we worked through the rules of drawing a face together.

pre and post drawings from several students side by side

Next we talked about Georgia O'Keeffe and her life.  It is hard for my students to understand that "back in the day" women just weren't famous artists.  When I tell them that her choices were limited to being a mom or being a school teacher they find that hard to believe.  They also struggle to grasp that sharing your artwork wasn't as easy as snapping a picture on your iPhone and hitting send.  At the end of the talk we discussed how she really, really looked at things.

I then give them a view finder and a random face.  They spent some time creating a composition that HAD to include a major facial feature (eye, nose, mouth)

They drew this out on to a square piece of paper.  

We spent some more time looking before we started our color.  We really looked for light, medium and dark areas.  Finally, each class period was assigned a different medium.  One was oil pastel, one watercolor, one tempera and one colored pencils.  They turned out pretty cool!

oil pastel

colored pencil (they took their's home as homework)

tempera

watercolor

and you can check out more of them Artsonia

May 7th - It's getting to be that time

It is getting to be the time of year where things are getting put away one last time.  I can say that I have been bit by the "end of the year" bug and I am really looking forward to being done (I think the 2 mile long list of projects at the new house is calling my name).

To help myself and the students I made one of these for 5th and one for 6th.

It has been awesome for the students to really see how little time they have left (2 times with a few kids, 3 with the rest).  My 5th graders are ending the year with a perspective drawing project.  My 6th graders are ending the year with a genius hour project.  Both are going great!

Watercolors are being scrubbed up and put away!

Markers are soaking for liquid watercolors. 

(I send them back to Crayola when done)

 

Others are waiting their turn...

Displays are coming down so we can hand the artwork back.  

It is crazy to think that this time next week I will be prepping for our dirty wipe contest!

check here to see more about the watercolors and the wipe contest.

Now I just have to get ready to tackle this mess:

May 6th - My Pledge

This weekend, while I could have been playing with my kids, I was scrolling facebook and saw this video "Look Up" by Gary Turk.  It made me really think about how much time I spent "on a screen" and not engaged in what was happening around me.

Monday morning I was listening to the radio and they were talking about this week being "screen-free" week. It was like someone was yelling at me to disconnect a bit.  So I took the pledge (you can also by clicking here) and will spend the week logging off at the end of the school day.

Besides it's not like I don't have enough grading to keep my busy...

coke bottle added for size comparison...

May 5th- Art Literature

So I have to share a great book I just checked out from the library.  It was for my kids but I ended up loving it more than them.

The Mad Potter:  George E. Ohr is written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.  (If they sound familiar it is because they also wrote Action Jackson and Ballet for Martha.)  I grabbed it because I loved his mustache (and I choose most of my children's library books by the jacket art) and the title sounded interesting.  I never expected to be blown away by the content.  

photo credit

George Ohr was an artist who was totally devoted to his ART.  He made some "standard" pottery pieces just to make a living but his true passion was his "mud babies."  He was a perfect example of someone totally devoted to their craft.  He never gained huge fame during his lifetime but the prices on his pieces are currently a little out of my price range... like $20,000-$60,000. 

In all, this book and this artist were an awesome little surprise from the library. 

Another fun read I have been blasting through is:

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Last summer I checked out The Aviators Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  It was my first time reading a fictional biography and I was hooked.  (Imagine that someone researches a person in extreme depth and then writes a pretend diary... that is pretty much a fictional biography.)  I have gone on to read several her books and have not been disappointed.  On my last trip to the library I searched for fictional biography and saw this one.  It is the story of Mamah Cheney who had a huge, scandalous love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright.  It is  a fun, easy read that keeps you up at night wanting to know what is going to happen next.... and makes you want to go study Frank Lloyd Wright. 

May 2nd - Shine it up!

So we know that I Love, Love, Love my kiddo's making clay flowers but I have a little secret to share with you...

I also Love, Love, Love my varnish. 

This jug is my "not so top secret" secret. I apply it after the students have painted with tempera or watercolor and it makes the projects shine like glaze.  I ordered this jug 3 years ago and it is still going (but it is almost gone).  I only varnish those projects that are at or above expectations.  It really helps students work extra hard to meet their requirements.  

This stuff is super easy to use and clean up is a breeze (unless you let it dry... it is varnish and will dry hard when all is said and done).

Here is a clay flower after painting with watercolors.
Beautiful and delicate but kinda dull.

Here is my varnish station...
upside down water dishes a big watercolor brush (to really quickly get the varnish on)
 and a throw away cup sitting on newspaper
**I get my brush wet before painting as it makes clean up easier**

Here is the flower covered in varnish.
You don't even have to be neat about it, just make sure to cover everything.

Here is the flower dry and shiny.
It takes about 5 minutes to dry and 1 hour to "cure."

BEAUTIFUL, DELICATE and GLOWING!