WOW WHERE DID DECEMBER GO????

I had intended to post about each of these projects individually but, before I knew it we were leaving for Christmas break. Now here we are and its our first day back from vacation. So here is the shortened version of our December work. Hope you enjoy :)

Fifth Grade Ceramic Snowmen

 

I saw these on another art teachers blog and thought they would be perfect both for the holidays and to cover some of the key ceramic construction techniques we try to hit at this age level. I love the facial expressions on them. After all the firing was complete we hot glued a pipe cleaner to the ear muffs for a little extra detail. I think that next year if time allows we will do some finger weaving and make a scarf to attach to the neck.

Fourth Grade "Snowmen at Night" Pastel Drawing

Whenever possible I like to make art connections to children's literature. The kids seem so much more invested in their work. The book "Snowmen at Night" provided wonderful examples of shading and blending techniques to create color value and three dimensional shadow effects.  It also was a great way to review action figure drawing with the fourth graders.

MASKING TAPE TREES

 Third grade classes at Emerson used masking tape to mask out the shapes of trees and liquid watercolor to paint the negative spaces around them. The finished paintings made a colorful display on our hallway bulletin boards.

SINK SURPRISE

When you ask 9 and 10 year olds to clean the paint bowls and rinse out the brushes you just never know what you may find in the sink. This was worth taking a minute to snap a picture :)

FOURTH GRADE REFLECTION PRINTS

I have done this project for several years in a number of different ways. Some years we have used cityscapes as the subject for the print, sometimes landscapes or fall trees. This year after demonstrating the process for creating the reflected print I decided to let the students decide on the subject for their individual projects. I was really excited to see the variety in their images. Well done fourth grade!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

FIFTH GRADE TESSELLATIONS

Tessellations are drawings created using shapes that fit together without any gaps or overlaps. Similar to a jigsaw puzzle.

Artist, MC Escher, is considered the master of the art of tessellation and during his lifetime he completed thousands of these fascinating drawings. After spending time in class looking a number or his drawings the fifth graders were excited to find that by following a few basic steps they could create their own tessellating shape and use it in a drawing.

TREE SILHOUETTES

The first graders are finally finished with their silhouette project. It took a lot longer to complete than I anticipated but I think they turned out great. We used coffee filters for the background and black construction paper folded accordion style to create a paper chain of trees. Enjoy!!

 

EMERSON ART FRAMES

Special thanks and recognition goes to the Emerson Parent Group for purchasing frames and matting to display student work in the hallways at school. All of the kids have been working really hard on their projects this fall and I have been watching for outstanding examples of their finished work to exhibit.    We still have a few frames left to fill, but already the hallways seem much brighter.  Thanks again to the Emerson Parent Group.