Winter Themed Relief Prints - Art 8

I love printmaking with the students. This semester Art 8 students created winter theme inspired relief prints using "Easy-Cut" printing plates. Students planned their prints by sketching their designs in pencil on paper. Then, they transferred the designs to the printing plates and used black sharpies to indicate the ares that were intended to remain black. Next, they carved their printing plates using carving tools. And, finally they hand printed their plates on different colored papers. the results were great and made for a nice art display during December and January.

Surreal Inspired Dream Paintings - Art 7

Art 7 students studied the artwork of Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali, before creating their own paintings based upon their dreams. Students also used a side profile silhouette as a unifying theme.

Abstract Picasso Inspired Portraits

After completing several classes working on their self-portrait pencil drawings, I wanted to give my 7th grade art students a little more freedom to express their creativity. We read an article about Cubism and the abstract portraits of Pablo Picasso. Then, they viewed and interpreted two of his most famous works, "Weeping Woman" and "The Kiss." They wrote down their thoughts on "Post-it" notes before sharing them with the class.

Students were then given the creative challenge to draw an abstract portrait in the style of Picasso using black paper and oil pastels. I gave them just a few instructions on including a profile within the frontal view and to try to break the face up into geometric Cubism-style shapes. The rest was up to them. It was interesting to see that some students had difficulty deciding what and where to position the facial features after so many days learning how to accurately draw their self portraits. After the first class, however, they really began to show their talent as modern masters of portraiture.

Drawing Self-Portraits - Art 7

This week students learned about theabout the shape, position and proportion of facial features. They practiced drawing their self-portraits to demonstrate their understanding of the approximate symmetry of the face and correct positioning and proportion of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

The students were excited to use the mirrors to draw their portraits. Some were even a little obsessed with looking at themselves, others seems a little uncomfortable about focusing so intently on every detail of their facial features. In the end, after about 3 classes of practice, their "After" portraits were so much more improved from their pre-instruction "Before" portraits.

Shoe Contour Drawings - Art 7

Students practiced contour drawings of simple objects before attempting to draw their shoes. First they drew in pencil, then went over their drawings in ink. As a part of our unit on color, they used different color schemes to add emphasis to their shoes. They also had to design a black and white pattern for their background.

Kaleidoscope Name Design - Art 7

Students created a kaleidoscope design of their name to demonstrate understanding of radial balance.

Elements of Art Drawings - Art 7

Students created a drawing to demonstrate their understanding of the "Elements of Art": Line, Shape, Space, Form, Color, Value and Texture. Using a series of difference types of lines as an element of emphasis, students divided the paper into different sections for each element.

Art & Poetry Project

Students in my 3rd and 6th grade art classes collaborated on an art and poetry project for the holiday season. My 3rd graders were studying poetry and creating drawings and paintings to illustrate their poems. I chose a poem entitled "Christmas Dog" by Shel Silverstein and had the students brainstorm images for each of the stanzas. The older students created large scale paintings for the poem which we hung in the school hallway.



In the first video, I am discussing with one of my third grade students what the poem means and brainstorming concepts to visualize.





In the 2nd video, the student is reading the poem aloud while images the 6th graders created are featured.

Artist Research Poster Podcast

Students in my 7th grade art class researched a famous artist and created a poster about their life. The following video features 5 of my students presenting the 3 most intersting facts about their artist. this was very useful in assessing what they had learned about their artist during the project. Enjoy!

Contour Shoe Drawings

Color Wheel Projects

Free Form Sculpture

Motif & Pattern Prints