Happy Chanukah

We have been having so much fun in the Art Room Getting ready for Chanukah. Each grade created their own special project.  The kindergarteners look lovely wearing their special Chanukah necklaces. None of the first grades will forget the brachot for Chanukah.  They are right there on the special drip mats that they made!!!  Our second grade archaeologists have created replicas of ancient artifacts from Greece,  You will know exactly where you left your Chanukah candles if you have a third grader.  Just look in the fancy boxes that they built.  The windows of the fourth grade students will look amazing featuring their Stain Glass Dreydles.  And who could forget the excitement in the art room as the 5th & 6th graders competed in a special Menorah edition of Chopped.  To see all our youn artists in action just watch the short video https://youtu.be/cWZPmlazjGc?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT3rQKSFfrsa3bRliEapxYxV  and have a very Happy Chanukah !!!

Dixon Day at MHA

We were very fortunate over the past two weeks to work with Eve Cooper from the Dixon Gallery & Gardens.  She taught us about the impressionist artist, Renoir.  We looked closely at his painting of The Wave, and then created some Ocean Artwork of our own.  Here is a video of our young artists at work.  https://youtu.be/g-9_gXV742U

Lines in My World

In Second and Third Grade we have just finished our unit called Lines in Our World.  We learned all about the different lines that artists can use to create pictures.  Each student created a View From A Window watercolor painting using many of the lines that we learned about.  Here is a short video https://youtu.be/WwgQCl27zFo  so you can watch our young artists in action.

In Kindergarten and First Grade we have just finished our Unit on Portraits.  A Portrait is a picture of a person or animal.  We made portraits in the styles of Degas. DaVinci, Klee and Shen Quan.  Here is a short video of our young artists at work.

https://youtu.be/pAudWZtY_os?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT3rQKSFfrsa3bRliEapxYxV

Starting The Month Off Thinking of Others

Today marks the beginning of the Hebrew Month of Chesvan.  To kick off the month,  the middle school girls decorated canvas tote bags.   They  plan to fill these bags with non perishable grocery items for the free food pantry.  I was so impressed by the amazing ideas that the girls came up with! They are so creative.

If anyone would like to contribute to this food drive please drop your items at the school and mark them "Middle School Rosh Chodesh Program."  Thank you in advance.

Getting Ready For Rosh Hashana

We've been so busy in the Art Room getting ready for Rosh Hashana.   The Kindergarten and First graders will definitely enjoy their apples and honey with their hand made honey dishes and apple plates. Many of us like to eat round challahs and this year they will look especially lovely covered in the hand painted challah covers created by the second graders.  May it be Hashem's will to grant us a year of goodness and sweetness as we read the Yehi Ratzon decorated by the third graders.  Apple kugals are a very tasty treat, and the Junior High girls agree that they are just as fun to bake as they are to eat!  Enjoy the video https://youtu.be/p2NqkqlW7Qc and Have a Shana Tova Umitukah.

Chalk and Glue Mandalas

For the first project of the year I chose this amazing activity form the Art of Ed website.  The students created Mandalas using glue and when the glue dried they used chalk to color them in.  I was so impressed and surprised by the diversity of the results.  Here is a short video so you can watch the students at work.  

https://youtu.be/b9WFpuYas28

And here is a link to the Art of Ed Website https://www.theartofed.com/ .  It is an amazing resource for teachers that I refer to all the time.

The Mystery Box Challenge

Our first week back to school started off with an awesome game for the 4th - 6th graders.  Each team was given a mystery box full of supplies.  They had half an hour to create something amazing using everything in the box.  Here is a video to watch these incredible young artists at work and to see the super ideas that they came up with.  

https://youtu.be/rSpYNFmtOa8?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT3rQKSFfrsa3bRliEapxYxV

Flash Back Friday

What would you do if you were given a blank white circle?  Last may we had a contest to find out what ideas the 4th - 6th graders could come up with.  They got pretty creative.  Here are just a few of their ideas. https://youtu.be/Fl2vA4eJ3Bg

Chalk & Glue Mandalas

I found this great project on the Art of Education website and I plan to do it with almost all my students to kick off the year.

A mandala is a complex abstract design that is usually circular in form. In fact, "mandala" is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". Mandalas generally have one identifiable center point, from which emanates an array of symbols, shapes and forms. Mandalas can contain both geometric and organic forms. They can also contain recognizable images that carry meaning for the person who is creating it.  In essence, mandalas represent the connection between our inner worlds and    outer reality. Designing your own mandalas can be both inspirational and therapeutic.
Here is a link to the Art of Education Website https://www.theartofed.com/

And here is the video of the project.  Try it at home.  https://youtu.be/R5AbGQ7Tf-0

Can't Wait To Create!

Here is a sneak preview for the upcoming year!!!

For Kindergarten & 1st Grade
https://youtu.be/4Gg9MRBev2E

For 2nd & 3rd Grade
https://youtu.be/4vprRGL13qM?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT3rQKSFfrsa3bRliEapxYxV

For 4th - 6th Grade
https://youtu.be/5s8kXKXWuUU

For the Junior High
https://youtu.be/IBo8StZ6dt0

A Visit From Martha Kelly

Martha Kelly is an painter, printmaker, and illustrator from Memphis, Tennessee.  I met Martha Kelly last fall, when I was walking through the Dixon Galleries with my daughter.  Some of her amazing work was on display at the time. Seeing her sketching in the corner, I walked over to watch and we struck up a conversation about art, and her work which led ultimately to a conversation about my job. This week she came and spoke to the  5th & 6th grade girls about her work and she allowed them to look through her art journals. She carries these journals with her as she travels the world and is constantly working in them. The girls were delighted to see her postcard perfect sketches and water colors. Martha even gave us a sneak peek at some of the work that she intends to display at her next show. It was such a treat to visit with her, and the girls are very inspired.  If you want to know more about Martha Kelly you can visit her blog  http://www.marthakellyart.com/

A Visit to the Brooks Museum of Art

The 5th & 6th grade boys visited the Brooks Museum of Art today and had a wonderful time.  We were greeted by several docents, who led us on a tour of the galleries and took us outside to see some of the sculptures that surround the Museum.  After our tour we went to the studio to create low relief landscapes using fun foam, glue and markers.  Here is a short video highlighting some of the best moments of our field trip.

https://youtu.be/qX8NhvPGR84?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT1t4wDHeQk0Fj-saWnHx9Z_

Building Sculptures

Our 4th - 6th graders have just finished a very long unit on sculptures.  The children really let their creativity shine as they created Abstract Sculptures out of paper, Enchanted Objects out of clay and Festive Creations out of recycled materials. Here is a video so that you can watch our young artists at work.  

https://youtu.be/fP7ib_vVWsk

Pesach in the Art Room

We have been very busy in the Art Room Getting Ready for Pesach and we created lots of lovely things to enhance your holiday.  After you store away your chametz you can mark the chametz cabinet very clearly with the 2nd grade's decoupage Chametz Tags.  You can set you seder table using the adorable masking tape magic Matza Covers created by the Kindergarten.  Use your very specialHagaddah created by the 3rd graders. (They created the covers in the Art Room).  And your table will be enhanced by the tissue paper stain glass Seder Plates hand made by the Kindergarten class.  Don't forget to hide that Afikomen in a good place.  The 1st graderscan help you with their hand stitched Afikomen Bags.  Here is a short video so that you can watch your young crafters in action.

https://youtu.be/UtC0Kv3NUzs

Grid Paintings in the Style of Piet Mondrain

Our artists in training kicked off their unit on Abstract art with Piet Mondrian.  He was a Dutch painter who was born in 1872. During his lifetime he traveled to France, England and eventually he settled down in New York.  At one time, Mondrian painted realistic landscapes, but as he painted more and more, his style began to change. The more Mondrian looked at trees, buildings, and vases, the more he saw their basic shapes and colors. Eventually, Mondrian's style consisted of geometric shapes and primary colors.   We made paintings in the Style of Mondrian using construction paper, glue and black paint.

 

 

Creating Still Life Art

 

Our Artists in Training have just finished their unit on Still Life art.  They created Still Lives in the styles of Rufino Tamayo, Paul Cezanne,Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse & Roy Lichtenstein.  Here is a link to a short video so that you can see our young artists in action.

https://youtu.be/8J3a_uIva7M

Purim In The Art Room

We have been really busy getting ready for Purim.  The kindergarten made very noisy Grogger Masks.  The 1st Grade made some really cool Mishloach Manot Baskets that they filled with yummy treats.  The 2nd graders were quite the fashion designers, creating their own Masktastik Hats. The 3rd Graders got silly clowning around with their Puppets and the 4th - 6th Graders got super messy making Masks out of plaster.  Here is a video to watch our young artists in action.

https://youtu.be/Ng1zNb7SQJI    Have a very Happy Purim!!!

Making Hamentashin

Chodesh Tov!  As we get ready for Purim in the Art Room I can't help but think of my favorite Hamentashin recipe. It's very simple and delicious.  I can't wait to whip up a batch this weekend!

If you would like to make some here is the recipe.

You Will Need: 

1 & 1/4 cup of Flour

1/4 cup of White Sugar

1/4 cup of Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp.Baking Powder

1/2 cup of oil

1 egg

Desired filling ( I use raspberry jelly)

1.  Sift the flour with the sugars and baking powder using a whisk.

2.  Add the oil and egg and mix thoroughly  with hands until dough is pliable.

3.  On a floured surface roll out the dough using a rolling pin until it's about an eighth of an inch flat.

4.  Use a round cookie cutter and cut the dough int circles.

5.  Place circles onto a greased cookie sheet and place a  tsp. of filling into the center of each circle. 

6.  Pinch the cookies into the hamentashen shape.  (If you're not sure how to do that here is a video link to show you how https://youtu.be/m6z18uS4hgA)

7.  Bake for 10 - 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

8.  Enjoy ... and stay tuned for an awesome video about how we celebrate Purim in the art room.

Wonder, Whimsy and Wild Folk Art in America

Last week I went with the 4th graders and the 5th & 6th grade girls to the Brooks Museum of art to see the Wonder, Whimsy and Wild exhibit. Our trip was arranged by the museum's educational coordinator, Olivia Mile.   The art work displayed was a collection of folk art from America and gave us a glimpse about life in America many years ago.  After taking a tour with the docents we went to the studio to create some amazing crafts that were inspired by the work we saw. We had a wonderful time and were grateful to have caught the exhibit just before it closed.

Here is a link to a video of our trip. 

https://youtu.be/1O-3PDIqyYg?list=PLsoFE8aVnBT1t4wDHeQk0Fj-saWnHx9Z_

Shoe Still Life in the Style of Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was born in 1853 in the Netherlands. He tried many other jobs first and became an artist late in life. He suffered from an illness that made him sad and angry sometimes. Even though he died young, and was only an artist for ten years he still created allot of paintings. Van Gogh liked to use bright colors and sometimes made beautiful paintings out of unexpected subjects such as shoes.The Kindergarten and first grade art students made a Shoe Still Life in the Style of Van Gogh using paper, markers, crayons, scissors, 3-d tape and yarn.

 
 

  

The Silent Crtique

This is an idea I heard about from a video by Timothy Bogatz at the theartofed.com .  (I had to tweak the idea a little due to the size of my classroom and age of my students.  

Over the last two weeks I had on display 6 - 7 pieces of artwork created by students from the 3rd - 6th grade.  The names of the artists were covered by a sticky note with a number on it.  As the classes came in  the students were handed a small piece of paper and asked to write a compliment or two about one of the works on display.  Since they did not know who created the piece they were not influenced by who the artist was and were able to really concentrate on what they liked about the work.  The compliments got taped onto the backs of the projects before I filed the artwork into the students portfolios.  By the end of the week all the students had compliments taped to the back of their Cubism Portraits.

 

Cubism is an early-20th-century art movement that was pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.  In Cubist artwork, objects are broken up and reassembled in an abstract form many times made up of geometric shapes.  Instead of showing objects from one viewpoint, the artist shows the subject from a several points of view at once.  Our students created cubism portraits using construction paper, glue sticks, markers, pastels, crayons, color pencils and watercolors.