Papier Mache' Masks from "meals on wheels trays" - Grade 3

Before we paint we prime the paper mache' with Gesso - Don't get it on your clothes!

Grade 4 Tin Mirror Mandalas!

We did this project using tin that is thick enough to do a Repouse'.  We talked about radial symmetry and created a sketch and then drew the sketch onto our tin using wooden stylists.  The students flipped them over to emboss the back also.                        

 

The student's used Prismacolors to design their radial design

We then colored some parts with colored sharpies and created a mandala design to mount them onto.  These came out great!

The Classroom

As you might know I teach K-4 Art in Chelmsford MA.  I teach about 400 kids a week and I have a lot of trouble organizing my art room.  Is it so bad to be unorganized?  I can still find everything!  I have to store all the art from the whole year in my classroom and by this time of year it gets very cluttered.  At the beginning of the year the room looks very neat and tidy but then the FUN starts and I sort of like it like this.  Am I the only one out there?

El Anatsui an African Artist from Ghana is showing his work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in Brooklyn NY, and I went down to see the show this week! It was amazing!!! He uses found materials from Africa to create these gorgeous installations.

El Anatsuihttp://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/el_anatsui/

Cardinal mural By Kindergarteners!

I brought up the term MURAL in Kindergarten yesterday, and told them what the definition was.  We had drawn our cardinal's last week onto red paper and today we were going to add them to the tree I had cut out and put onto blue paper.  I told the students that a mural was a piece of Artwork that we ALL work on together!  

At their seat were stack of white paper strips, glue sticks and their birds from last week. I taught the students how to make snowflakes, and how to color and "embellish"  their birds from last week.  It was so much run to see the students coming up and deciding where to put their bird and gluing their snowflake wherever they wanted to!  At the end of class I asked them AGAIN what the word Mural meant and they seemed to remember!  LEARN BY DOING IS MY MOTTO.

Cardinals

I saw  a Male and Female Cardinal at the bird feeder yesterday and thought about their shape and their fabulous Red COLOR!!  So today when I taught my Kindergarteners We all drew a Cardinal Bird on Red paper with black crayon and cut them out. I will make a tree and we will add to this mural next week! Check out the process!

Short Days

Notice how short the days are now!  But we welcome the sunny days and when the bare trees show their shadows!  In the late afternoon take a walk and notice the shadows.. just makes me want to draw them.. I LOVE shadows!