Happy Valentines Day!

The fourth grade classes were able to make these really cool 3-d pop up cards on Valentines Week.  Congratulations if you were lucky enough to recieve one of these! They were sure made with a lot of love!

THIS is where the wild things are!

This project goes back a little ways, but it on my top 5 favorite things we've done so far! We learned so much from this project, and were able to incorporate several concepts that we had previously learned. It was just a great conglomeration of learning and fun! It was our first "find the shapes" drawing. Teaching that if you don't know how to draw something, look first for the shapes you already do know how to draw, put them together, and just look what you've made! We incorporated our expressive lines, and it was our first watercolor lesson. Wow, we've come a long way since then, but these are just awesome to look at!

Takin' a crack at Cubism

The older kids got a chance to learn a little bit about Picasso, and his most famous kind of art, called Cubism. A very important aspect of Cubism is that the artist wishes to give the viewer more then one view of the art, at once. Like the picture above for example has a profile view mouth, but full front facing eyes. 

So we decided to try our hands at Cubism. First we drew a face that had a side, and front view. Then we drew 3 large shapes over that face, and to practice our shading, we shaded in each small shape we created with different shades, and no 2 shades could touch each other. It took 2 class periods, but it was worth it! there were some really cool results! They're strange and awesome at the same time...Just like a Picasso!

Marble Paintings!

Sometimes you do a project, just for the fun of it, and this was one of those times! We gathered a bunch of box lids, taped some paper inside, dipped a marble in paint, and let the good times roll! I think these kids have a future in abstract art! And I'll be able to say I knew them when...

Landscape....Horizon....Perspective, Oh My!

So, I had this crazy idea to teach the young kids about landscape paintings, Horizon lines, and perspective. I just knew that if I taught it right they could get it! After all we've seen this through our eyes everyday since we were born. Objects recede into the horizon, things get small the farther they get away from us, and they loose detail the farther away they get.
Not only did they understand it, but they took it and soared. You know how they say swimming comes naturally to babies, just throw them in the pool? Well, I don't know about that, but, new art concepts just click with these young kids almost like they already know it, they just need the vocabulary to put it with. The older they are, the more they struggle with this idea of perspective. It was really neat to witness it!

Where's Gerald?

So we finished our Giraffes a few weeks ago. They were so awesome, and it felt like I was letting go of my own children once they were finished! I loved how each one of them turned out different, with their own sweet personality!

Well since then, It has been my pleasure to hear reports of these little guys sprinkled throughout the community! From the Hospital to the Library to the High School, and even framed in the district office! It's just awesome to see how much everyone loves them as much as we do! And I'm such a huge fan of those who are supporting these kids, and all their hard work, and allowing them to showcase their talents!

The Incredible Sphere

Shading was always something I wanted to learn how to do when I was in elementary school. How amazing is it that a flat piece of paper can appear to have a three dimentional object popping out of it! But, as the 5th and 6th graders learned, it takes learning a new way to hold your pencil, studying how light hits an object, and a lot of patience in order to do it right. They did a great job, but I think once was enough for them!

Parkview Bee's.....Dare to "Bee" great! Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

What do you get when you cross little artists, watercolor, and a school mascot? The answer is fabulous Bee paintings ofcourse!! (oh, and and you get quite a mess too:) After learning what it means to be a Bee, we got to work learning how to draw a proud Parkview bee!  Then we busted out the watercolor, which any of your kids will be able to tell you is my absolute favorite medium, and got down to bzzzness!