4th Grade: Shading on Snowmen

Shading is a very important, yet challenging art skill to learn. I introduced to fourth grade what shading is, explaining shadows and highlights and what causes them. Once an artist can learn how to shade they can add a realistic element to their art. The fourth graders started their shading practice with a fun snowman project. This was a one day project where students tried to bring a snow man to life by making in look more dimensional and round. They added highlights to the side where their light source was and shadows to the other. We talked about why the paper is a "medium tone" because the paper is already a color. The students used oil pastel so that if they wanted to smudge the shadows and highlights they could.

3rd Grade: "Starry Night" Winter Wonderland

When I stumbled upon this painting by an artist named Kathy Stove, I knew it would be such a fun winter project. I loved the colors she used as well as the way she painted the sky. It reminded me of Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night".

I thought what an interesting way to introduce "Starry Night". The third grade students seemed to love this project, although some found it to be very messy. We worked with chalk pastels and oil pastel, which as you may know, smudge ALOT. They worked great for a fun whimsical project though and to learn how to work with new materials. The results were breath taking. The beauty and simplicity of children's art really shows in these drawings. What do you think?

Kindergarten: Andy Warhol Flowers

Kindergarten learned about pop art and the king of pop art, Andy Warhol. We learned about the bright colors that really POP out at you. We looked at his famous flower prints. We then "printed" out own background using textured rolling pins for the grassy background. Then the students used neon colored paper to cut out four flower shapes. I love how unique the flowers turn out.

3rd Grade: Paul Klee Inspired Self Portraits

Paul Klee is famous for his paintings which often include cubism (squares through out his work). One of his paintings is a very abstract portrait which is made up of colored locks. Third grade started this project by learning the proportions of the face. I taught them the ways to divided the face to know where to put the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. After completing sketches on a pre-drawn diagram, they had to use the same method on their own.

After drawing their self portrait, they outlines the lines in Sharpie. To achieve the blocked out look that Paul Klee uses, we used water and tissue paper. Squares of tissue paper were applied to wet paper. When dry, the tissue paper was removed, leaving behind some of the pigment. To add some personal touches to the self portrait, students used chalk pastel to add hair color and eye color. We learned very quickly that chalk pastels are MESSY!

2nd Grade: Sarcophagus Drawings

Second grade and I took a closer look at the King Tut Sarcophagus. We discussed what hieroglyphics are and why Egyptians believed in preserving the bodies for the "after life". Students created their own king tut sarcophagus', including patterns and secret messages.

5th Grade: Salvador Dali Melting Clocks

Have you ever seen the paining of "melting clocks" by Salvador Dali? This famous painting was created from a dream that Salvador Dali had. The students and I discussed the meaning of "surrealism" and looked at a few more of Dali's paintings. If you have not seen the painting "The Persistence of Memory", by Salvador Dali, here it is.

These "melting" clocks were made from clay. Since St. Elizabeth does not have a kiln, the students use air dry clay to build their clocks. As the clocks dried, we draped them of cups and baskets to allow them to dry in an interesting shape as if they were melting. Without a kiln, the students also can not use glaze, so they use acrylic paints to add color to their clocks.

1st Grade: Baby Jesus Nativity Drawing

The teachers and students here at St. Elizabeth are all excited for Christmas to arrive! We are all decorating our class rooms and hallways for the holiday season. After watching a video to remind ourselves that Christmas is about the birth of baby Jesus, my first graders made drawings of baby Jesus in the manger. These drawings are made using oil pastels on black paper, this allowed the kids to blend their north star to look like they are really shining bright.