Slab Boxes

The fifth grade students have been utilizing the techniques of rolling clay slabs and connecting slabs by scoring and slipping in order to construct ceramic boxes. We are excited about the new glaze colors!

Create your Own Comic

This lesson worked out well as a lesson to leave for a substitute.

One Point Perspective!

The fifth Grade students have been studying one point perspective. The students began by locating a vanishing point and by identifying 3 types of lines that occur in their drawings: vertical lines (parallel to the side of the page), horizontal lines (parallel to the side of the page), and lines angling toward the vanishing point. A great website to use for learning one point perspective is http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/

Indian Elephants

The fifth grade students learned about the important functions of the elephant in Indian culture. For example, elephants are used to haul timber, to bless people entering Hindu temples, and to transport the bride in wedding ceremonies. Anually, an elephant festival is held in Jaipur, India. At this event the elephants are painted and elaborately decorated. After viewing a short video of the festival, the fifth grade students were inspired to create oil pastel Indian elephant drawings!

Watercolor Landscape Paintings

Watercolor Techniques

The fifth grade students have been practicing six different watercolor techniques:

1. Graded Wash (Oftentimes used in large areas that vary in tone; skies)
2. Variegated Wash (Used in areas where one color transitions into another color)
3. Dry Brush (Used to show texture/detail; Similar to "drawing" with a brush)
4. Salt Resist (The salt soaks up the water, and the pigment, leaving an interesting texture)
5. Splatter (Used to create texture)
6. Layering (The transparent quality of watercolor allows the painter to layer colors in order to achieve different hues).

Next week, the students will be applying these watercolor techniques to a watercolor landscape he/she will be creating. More photos to come!

MLK memorial plans

After viewing the following video clip that shows a detailed plan for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial project, one of my students exclaimed, "This is WONDERFUL! It's like Martin Luther King Jr. cuts through the rock and lets all the people walk through freely." This is one of the many extremely rewarding moments that occur in teaching visual art.



In response to the video and a brief slideshow showing and describing MLK's biography, the students created pencil drawings:







Students were given the opportunity to share his/her drawings and to describe how we can act justly and promote peace without our own communities.

Relief Printing

The fifth grade students have been working dilligently on planning, carving, and pulling relief prints. The images are carved out of Speedball SpeedyCut blocks, which work great for this grade level because they are very soft.

Initially the students answered the following questions in order to thoroughly plan their prints:

Planning a Print

Printmaker Tom Killion spent a large amount of his time creating sketches and planning his prints before the artwork was completed. Planning is a very important step in the printmaking process, and the success of your print will depend, in part, upon the time and effort you invest in planning.

1.Tom Killion created prints of the natural landscape because it is what he loves and what he finds to be beautiful; nature is what inspires him to create. Likewise, what inspires YOU to create? What do you love? Make a list of 6 things that inspire you (My list is: animals, homes, travel, maps, modes of transportation, and geodes!)
1._______________________________
2._______________________________
3._______________________________
4._______________________________
5._______________________________
6._______________________________

2. Pick four items from the above list and create 4 sketches of them in the
Space below:







After completing the planning worksheet, the students learned the safety rules and proper techniques used in carving. They carved away negative space in order to leave their desired image. Next, the students learned how to properly apply ink to the block by rolling it on with the brayer. Lastly, the students learned how to properly title, number, and sign the prints. I was impressed by the creativity of some of the titles (i.e. "I have no fear my sister is here").

Making a Difference by Creating Art: The Fundred Dollar Bill Project

During Thanksgiving week, we tend to think about what we have and what we are thankful for. While it is important to be grateful and to reflect on our blessings in life, I believe Thanksgiving is a great time to think about needs others may have and how we can meet those needs. I heard about the Fundred Dollar Bill Project (www.fundred.org) while Reading an art education journal last month. The project was started by artist Mel Chin, who hopes to raise 300,000,000 "fundreds" (drawings of one hundred dollar bills designed by students) that he will take to Congress in an effort to exchange them for the $300,000,000 needed to neutralize the lead in the soil in New Orleans. Curently 30% of the children in New Orleans have lead poisoning, and this is a preventable problem. The students learned about Hurricane Katrina (many of them were very young when the hurricane hit in 2005), and they learned about the destruction the hurricane caused. The students were enthusiastic about wanting to help the children in New Orleans, and I was greatly blessed by their empathy and thoughtfulness in creating these "fundreds."



This students drew the "tree of good hope"






This student drew a house on wheels that he wants to bring to people in New Orleans who have lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xor8lqjtc4M