4th Grade: Modigliani inspired Portraits

These strange portraits done by Modigliani are most recognizable for their long necks and slouchy shoulders. Although they may be creepy, they are so interesting to look at!


This is one of my favorite projects because of how strange and unique everyone's self portrait turns out. For this project, students used oil pastels on black paper.

8th Grade: Giant Snack Bags

What do giant snack bags have to do with art? They are POP ART! Eighth grade took a look at pop artists, such as Andy Warhol, and we discussed popular culture. Some times labels, such as Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, can be used for pop art. Eighth grade paired up into groups of two or three to create these giant snacks. Students brought in what ever type of snack bag they wanted to mimic. We used folding and measuring to try and match our snack bags. After painting the large paper we stuffed them with newspaper and stapled them closed. These snacks bags have been a hit in the lobby, with everyone stopping to check them out. 

1st Grade: Spring Chicks

    Aside from these chicks being adorable, first grade practiced a few skills during this fun project. One of these skills was learning about space in art. No not outer space, the type of space when artist creates distance in their work. A simple concept such as overlapping in art, to make an object look like it is in front of the other is the first step to teaching space in art. For some first graders this idea came almost automatically, for others we had to learn how to create overlapping, without making our chicks see through!
  First grade was also in charge of mixing their own water color paints for this project! I provided our three primary colors (red, blue and yellow) and they mixed in different ways, to create our three secondary colors (orange, green, and purple).
   The "flair" and accessories added to the chicks was all up to the kids. I love what they come up with and the personality it adds.