How cute is this?

Check out this awesome outfit! I would totally wear this outfit and I'm definitely not a 4th grader!! if you look closely the leggings are ice cream scoops! ICE CREAM SCOOPS

Don't get me started on how much i love mustaches! We gave them out at our wedding for a favor and this Halloween we had a "You are FanTASHEstic" car trunk for our churches trunk or treat. I think it just adds the right amount of silly humor!

In the ART ROOM:
4th grade: Wooden Figure Drawing
3rd: Wayne Thiebaud inspired 3 tier cakes (using DIY puffy paint made out of SHAVING CREAM)
1st: Sleeping/self portrait drawings
Kindergarten: Hot Air Balloons

BOOM! Happy Friday and Merry Art Making on this Fantastic Friday!

Back into the Thick of it!

Hello All!!!! I know it's like the 4th week of school but man how time flies and I just remembered that I forgot to update thee ol' blog. I am going to try to update like once a week this year.

This year I started out the year in Kindergarten with shape monsters, after being inspired by the Book, "The Monster Who Lost His Mean", by Tiffany Strelitz Haber, Kirstie Edmunds. Pictures to come.

In First Grade: We started with Warm/Cool Color Leaf Echo line Drawings. Pictures to come. 

In 3rd Grade: We are working on studying the Elements of Art in depth and we are starting with LINE. We discussed lined and filled out a line design graphic organizer. We then studied different tree houses and created some beautiful tree houses. Pictures to come. 

In 4th grade: We are studying the Element of Art: Color, specifically COMPLEMENTARY colors. We are doing this by creating OPTICAL illusions and adding complementary color groups to help make them POP! I know that many of you have either saw this project before or maybe have done it before with your classes but I allowed the students to color it in anyway they would like, as long as, they developed a pattern using a COMPLEMENTARY color group. 
To create the "Web" we created a dot inthe middle of the paper with pencil.
We added 6 lines (from edge to edge) through the dot. 
Then we added "smile" lines to every other triangle. 
Then connected the "smile" lines with frown lines in all the blank triangle spaces. 
We outlined with a fine sharpie marker and erased any pencil lines peeking through. 

Then we discussed COMPLEMENTARY colors and did a couple of class activities. 

Here are some of the end results:

Well I hope to add the k, 1, 3 projects by Monday! 

Happy Art Making!!!!

Mona Lisa in Disguise

So this is the first year I did this project. I did get the idea from this here, FANTASTIC BLOG Art with Mrs. Seitz. Instead of calling it a parody, I wanted them to come up with a story, to link writing/literacy into it, about their Mona Lisa needing a day off and why she was in a certain disguise. I always like to give credit to where I find projects, but try to modify and put my own personal spin on it. After they completed their drawing, they had to fill out a 'graphic organizer' and write a story about their Mona Lisa being in disguise.

The students received a 11" x 17" piece of white construction paper. They also received a piece of paper with a photocopied black and white Mona Lisa Head and Hands. They cut out the head and hands and glued them on the paper. I gave them the option of using the hands, just in case they might have wanted her 'moving' or 'standing'.

We did this project in the fall near Halloween, so many students dressed their Mona's in Halloween costumes. All in all, the students blew me away with their creativity and imaginations and THEIR STORIES.

 

I wish you all could see the amazing stories that go along with their amazing drawings!

Happy Art Making!

Woven Basket Heads

My undergrad was for Crafts with a concentration in Fiber Design. If you just read that and are thinking "What in the world does that mean?" Don't worry, your not the first! I went on an interview right after I graduated (undergrad) and they though I had a concentration in Fiber-OPTICS. Yea, no way!
I took courses in weaving, needle felting, felting, knotless netting, etc. Then I went back to school to get my teaching cert. to teach k-12 art education.

SOOOOOOO.. what I am getting at is that I love to do a yarn woven basket with my 4th graders, pretty much every year. But after a while, even though the kids beg me to do this project, it gets a little redundant to say the least so this year I added a whole other element (humorous, engaging you might think!) to it, and they were totally successful.

I have the original lesson here. This year we turned our baskets in to Wacky HEADS/PEOPLE. We still focused on traditional vs. contemporary materials. They received a 'cup loom' a plastic cup cut into a odd number of 'spokes' or 'warp'. They wove in using a yarn color pattern 'weft'.

Add the top of the cup they could add a more contemporary material for hair or whatever they choose. Here are some of the outcomes:

 

These are just a few examples of the many that were extremely creative, humorous and well though out!

If you have any questions about the lesson, please let me know. This was done with 4th grade but could be adapted or modified for other grades

One-Point Perspective Barn and Pumpkin Patches

(4th grade student work, love the colors and details, esp. the windmill in the background and sheep)

This project was completed by my fourth grade students in October. I originally found this idea on pinterest, here and wanted to add the (3-Dimensional) barn for my students to have experience drawing  a one-point perspective building. I like to look for ideas online for good lessons, but I always like to "tweek" them to make them my own and for my students particular lessons.

To start out we used 11" x 17" white construction paper. We drew a horizontal line near the top of the page. They added a dot in the middle of the line, this would be their "one-point" where all the lines point to. We added 3-4 lines to make the Pumpkin Patch rows. They added pumpkins to their patches, trying to make the lines "realistic" so the pumpkins would look rounded. Some student chose to make them into Jack O' Lanterns. 

For the Barn, They drew a vertical rectangle added half a circle for the front of the roof. They use rulers, lined them up to the dot to make the side of the barn, lines. 

Last but not least we added a dark blue, black, or purple watercolor wash over the crayons. 

 

(love the haunted farm look, it was around Halloween, must have been on their minds :) )

 

They turned out great. 

4th Grade- One Day O.P. Hands

Hello Everyone!

-This is the first project the 4th graders did this school year. I wanted to start out with a successful project, reviewing controlled line, repetition, color pattern, and optical illusions. Students loved how the hands 'pop' off the page! I did see this idea on pinterest. I saw it at theforestroom.

-I did change things up a little bit by introducing Bridget Riley, the british OP artist and I wanted them to do a rough draft and a finish draft.
-I wanted to emphasize that the making the hand so obvious wasn't the only goal, so if it wasn't obvious there were many ways to help the hand pop out.
-First way is to trace all the lines of the hand again so it darkens the lines, color in any white that is showing, or add more lines to define the hand to help it "pop" off the page.

We did this on  10" x 8" paper.

Have a wonderful day, hopefully making art!

The past few months!

SO I am back... and it feels good. I didn't really go any where, but i needed a little break from the blog. I have been focusing on lesson plans, classroom management, being one of the yearbook advisors this year, and a whole bunch of other things so here are some lessons my students have worked on or are working on now!

3rd GradeWayne Thiebaud Value Lollipop/Ice creams... I have a whole write up on this lesson, just check out my 3rd grade lessons.

4th grade- Keith Haring Positive/Negative Designs- This year I decided to do this lesson a little earlier then I did last year, because at the end of the year this project got a little rushed. I wanted to give students a little more time to complete the project.

just a couple of examples

k, 1st and second examples to come tomorrow!

Let me know if you have any questions

4th grade Tissue Paper Painting Peacock Portraits

We did this project before the Holiday season, it's a little late in posting this project HOWEVER this project turned out great.

We started with a background of peacocks, and then drew a basic portrait of a peacock.

We outlined with medium black sharpies and then colored in the peacocks body and the "eyes" of the feather with realistic oil pastel colors.

To add the vibrant colors of the feathers we painted with tissue paper. I cut up 1" to 2" squares of tissue paper of blues/greens/purples/browns etc.
We painted on plain water and then add tissue papers and THEN painted over with clear what to add a watercolor effect.

Check them out!!!

If you try this in your classroom, please let me know... you will love the results and your students will too and they will feel successful, well at least I hope!

Holiday Projects

We're back to school! I have so many lesson ideas swirling in my head. HOWEVER, I have so many lessons to update to this blog... LOTS of winter/holiday projects..

Here you go!

Thanks for stopping by, please say hi, leave fun ideas, or use some of my ideas!!!
Happy Art Making!

:) Candice

4th Woven Yarn Cup Baskets

I have done this project many times before. They students love it and you can just see so much growth in their work and confidence.

You use a 9 oz or 16 oz cups ( i precut them into 7 spokes) and talk about patterns and the plain weave.  Have stations around the room with yarn.

FOr the contemporary items at the top/ I put out a station with thick yarn, beads, pipe cleaners, telephone wire, straws, tissue paper, etc.

Plain weave basket

Ornament

I love these unruly curly Q's and beads.

Ornament/hanging how awesome!

Plain Weave

Basket

Mug how genius!

I am so blessed to have amazing, creative students who want to learn and try new lings.