The Romantic Period

We learned that music from the Romantic Period conveys strong emotions, and oftentimes, tells a story. We listened to the music of Tchaikovsky, Paganini (composer of some of the most difficult works for the violin), and Mendelssohn.




Paganini


Mendelssohn

Baroque and Classical Musicians

I am currently teaching an after school painting class on Tuesday evenings 3:30-5pm. In this class students learn about different music genres, and they learn how to use painting skills in order to create portraits of the musical masters. In the past two weeks, the students have learned about Baroque and Classical musicians. Do you recognize the musicians in the following portraits?

Presidential Portraits

In honor of President's Day, the fourth grade students created pencil drawings of presidential portraits. The students learned the importance of proportion and value in creating realistic pencil drawings.








Prior to creating the presidential portrait drawings, the students completed a practice grid.

Egyptian Self Portraits

The second grade students viewed the art of Ancient Egypt. They learned the function of the paintings and the stylistic conventions used by the Egyptians.

The Ancient Egyptians painted idealized versions of deceased individuals on the walls of tombs, because they believed the deceased person would exist in the afterlife as the person in the painting.

The Ancient Egyptians painted an individual's head in profile, while they painted a frontal view of the same individual's eye.

The second grade students created self portraits in the Ancient Egyptian style. Some students had enough time to add hieroglyphics!

Jim Dine Confetti Hearts

Jim Dine
"Confetti Heart"
Lithograph Print
1985

After viewing artist Jim Dine's "Confetti Heart," the first grade students were inspired to create their own hearts from scraps of paper from our recycled paper bin.

Bad Hair Day Drawings

Due to snow days, one of my first grade classes was ahead of the other groups on their projects. We decided to try our hand at this lesson http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/SubPlans/subelem.htm provided by Princeton's Incredible Art Department website

Shape and Variety with Wayne Thiebaud

After viewing the work of artist Wayne Thiebaud, the first grade students were inspired to create oil pastel drawings of their own sweet treats! The focus of this lesson was shape and variety.

Kindergarten Painters!

The Kindergarten students have been working together to paint large circus animals. The finished paintings will be on display in the school hallways during "Kindergarten Round-Up," a night for pre-k students and their parents to check out Crossroads Charter Academy!
Kindergarten Round-Up is on March 1 at 6:30.

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!

Place your art in a virtual museum!

Thanks to www.elementaryartfun.blogspot.com I learned that I can put student art in different "Virtual Museums" at www.dumpr.net



It is a lot of fun, and you can sign up for a free account as well!

Biggby Art Show 2011

The Crossroads Charter Academy K-6 art show opening at Biggby Coffee was a success!

In addition to being an enjoyable night for students, families, and myself, the fundraiser was a success! Thank you to all of the parents who encourage and support their child's creativity; it is a joy to celebrate the students' success with them.

It was difficult to completely avoid the "glare" on the photographs I took of the art work, but here is a glimpse into the art show: