Oaxacan sculptures

Here is the fourth grade busy building their armatures!

kindergarten makes patterns patterns make kindergarten

We can find patterns everywhere. Patterns are all around us, such as in the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, even the way we breath. The kindergarteners have been learning about patterns in their regular classrooms, as well as in the art room. Andy Warhol was a famous pop artist known for his vibrant paintings of celebrities and logos printed over and over. You can see some examples of his work by clicking the link here.

Another famous pop artist that uses patterns is Jim Dine. Here is an example of one of his paintings incorporating patterns.

The Old Town Elementary School art program is hosting a fundraiser with Kid Kreations. The company will print student's art onto different items like water bottles and journals for parents to buy and a portion of the proceeds go toward the art program. For more information contact Pam Dunphy.

The kindergarten is making hand prints with acrylic paint for the fundraiser. Hand prints will be good for parents to remind them how much their kids change as they grow up.

This student is decorating their paper with a pattern of dots.

When the finished pieces are laid out together, they resembled a quilt... a pattern!

3rd grade's Chinese plum blossoms

real Chinese Plum Blossom

Student Paintings

These scholarly examples come from the 3^rd grade. The students followed strict rules to learn how to use a sumi brush. They had to hold the brush a certain way in order to make skinny and fat lines.

Plum blossoms grow in China and they have been subjects in the visual art as well as poetry. Sometimes you can find a plum blossom painting with a poem.

Wang Mian

Plum blossoms grow in midwinter and they have become symbols of winter and the approaching change to spring. They are known for their beauty, fragrance, and they are used as metaphors for hope, purity, and perseverance.

Sun Long

The students went through different exercises to develop their skills and ended up with art work that can delight the eyes.

how to paint a plum blossom video

We are all unique.

He's the king... because he's DIFFERENT.

The 5th grade has been working on pieces that celebrate who they are and what differentiates them in their community. This lesson taught students about architecture in general, but what applied most directly to their projects was information about row houses. These houses were built so close together that there wasn't much privacy. Sometimes alleyways were so narrow pedestrians got hit with doors. For more information and real-life examples of row houses, click this link to Wikipedia.

The subject of the fifth grade's artwork was rowhouses. They carved the facade of house into an ink printing block and printed the carving in black ink as many times as they wanted to resemble the buildings. They were instructed to make one house stand out from the others to embody their individuality, like the one below.

Students also got to design their own font for this project. They had to come up with a word or phrase that described something about them and write it in an original font on their artwork. Some were especially creative...

"imagine"

The fifth graders were not limited to a certain media, they were allowed to use whatever materials they wanted from markers to watercolors to acrylics to glitter. This further inspired their individual creativity. Overall the project was successful. It exemplifies how diverse children are and their sense of self identity, whether that be a strong sense or a timid one.

"I'm flying high"

"COOL"

"imagine"

"out of all the black and brown horsies I'm the unicorn"

"Yankees Rule... And I Stand Alone"

"I make the rainbow shine"

"I feel unheard but I know I'm a star"

"I look good, I smell good, I am good"

Second grade goes to Japan!

The second grade studies continents throughout the year and to supplement those lessons art classes focus different wordly cultures. For this particular lesson we studied the island of Japan for its fishing industry. The students made multimedia pieces using Japanese techniques like suminagashi and gyotaku.

Suminagashi

Suminagashi is a Japanese marbling technique using ink. Students filled the tip of a sumi brush with ink and touched it into a dish of water. They laid pieces of paper on the water's surface to absorb the designs the ink made.

Gyotaku

Gyotaku was a technique Japanese fishermen used to keep record of the fish they caught. They made prints of the fish's bodies and decorated their homes with the ones they were proud of. The second grade used red paint so their prints stood out against the blue background of their pieces that resembled water.

Student Artwork:

You may have noticed random initials written on the artwork. Teachers in Japan stamp students work when they approve their art so to mimic this part of Japanese culture the students made a name stamp with their initials and printed it on their classmate's art that they liked.

Fourth Grade: ongoing project

4th grade is studying art history all year long. Their current project is inspired by the sculptures made by contemporary artists and the ancient civilization of the Oaxacan Valley in Southern Mexico. This is how the students are creating their sculptures:

Step One

After they have chosen a subject, the kids sculpt crumpled newspaper into their animal of choice. They secure the figure with masking tape.

Step Two

After the basic form is complete, they use plaster gauze to give their animals a hard outer surface. Plaster gauze works by dipping strips of the material in warm water to activate the glue and layering them upon one another. The glue then dries solid.

Step Three

After the figure their figure is completely plastered, students choose a solid color to paint their animal as a base coat.

Step Four

Modern artists paint their sculptures with vibrant colors and designs inspired by architecture of their Oaxacan ancestors. The fourth graders were instructed to paint their animals similarly with complimentary color palettes.

Eventually the fourth graders' projects will look as professional as this one!



Check back soon for a post with the kids finished sculptures.