Information + Imagination =

My body is squarish roundish, like a swimming pool.

My head is long and slightly pointed, like a slide at recess.

My tail can change like the day changes to night.

My feet are like tree trunks in the winter, or is it tree branches?

I have patterns on some areas that sparkle like diamonds in the light.

My color can change you see.  How do you ask? I’ll tell you.  If you are happy, my colors will be happy colors.   

If you are sad, my colors change to sad colors.  How do you feel now?

by Me!

This lesson was inspired by The American Museum of Folk Art-

Students explored individual artists' interpretations of animals and created a drawing in response to the description above. What we realized during conversation about the art was that different artists imagine, interpret an depict animals differently. This was especially true for folk artists because of their limited resources. To help us understand and appreciate the folk artists better, I read the description above (of an unfamiliar animal) as they responded with a drawing.

Skyler, Kindergarten

artwork by Kindergarten and 2nd Grade

Communities Calendar

Your client is The Nature Channel.  You have been asked to design a calendar for their viewing audience.  Based on your knowledge of how artists can represent nature, how would you design it?

Two students collaborated ideas to come up with a plan for their particular month. Foreground, middle-ground and background had to be considered for the landscapes.   The images are in order from January- December.  

All artwork by 2nd grade-

Inspired By Nature, Art and Poetry

“The worship of convention will never lead to astonishment.” Tama J. Kieves

I Am A Leaf Bridge

I am a leaf bridge

I wonder if more leaves will fall on me?

I hear the water run

I see birds chirping

I am a leaf bridge

I pretend to be solid

I feel the leaves on my back

I worry about tornadoes

I cry when I crack

I am a leaf bridge

I understand that sometimes people will want to use another bridge

I say that’s okay

I dream about walking away

I try to lift myself up

I hope I will always be useful

I am a leaf bridge

2nd Grade Ms. Narsette’s Class

Visual Arts




Transdisciplinary Theme: How We Express Ourselves
Central Idea: Art is a way to explore our ideas and feelings about nature.
An inquiry into:

• nature in art from the past and present
• ways in which artists observe and record their own ideas about nature
• illustrators- nature in storybooks
• details in natural objects
• how artists can use lines and colors to suggest mood and/or movement

2nd grade collaboration

I love the way the kids responded to this project.  Let me back up a bit...last week I introduced our central idea (see above). We looked at and discussed images of nature in art from the past and present. We looked at leaves through loupes (10x magnification) in pairs and discussed discoveries relating to the art elements; colors, lines, shapes, textures, etc. and  of course along with anything else that came to mind!  We then used watercolor paper and either invented a new leaf design or did an observational drawing (their choice).
Now, here's the best part...this week when they arrived we reviewed a bit and then I introduced the work of Andy Goldsworthy.  They were fascinated by his process and work, especially this one...

Screens Series, Lake District England, 1998

     .
I asked the class
" Could we create one class project  to go with our central idea?"
A lot of different ideas came shooting out.  I was just there to facilitate. At this point, I had no idea what the outcome would be, but I was okay with that, because I knew only great things come out of such excitement.  One student had the idea to make a bridge with the leaves, they all loved it, should it be flat or raised, thick or thin, how do we get it to stay up?  They worked everything out together and they were sooo excited.  Just one problem...
who takes it home?!




*side note- Using the same process as Mr. Goldsworthy (he works with existing materials in nature) was not one of the goals of this lesson, nevertheless, his work itself was a wonderful inspiration.

Visible Thinking, Movement and Landscapes

When we are given the opportunity to explore an artwork so much can be gained-  connections are made to self and world, our thinking develops and simply sharing ideas and thoughts show us how to be, how to learn, how to appreciate and share not only the artwork, but one another's thoughts and ideas.

Stuart Davis, Swing Landscape, 1938. Oil on canvas

I wanted the kids to see their thinking today.  As we looked at Stuart Davis' piece, I wrote down their thinking on a large paper.  We used The Explanation Game from the book Making Thinking Visible by Ron Ritchart.  There is a great video below where he talks about this concept, just click on the link.

Class Observations:
I see colors, bright colors, shapes, rectangles, triangles, odd shapes, a ladder, a rope,  patterns...
Conceptual:
I think this is about a city, it looks busy, all the different colors on top of each other make it look busy, the people are missing,  maybe they are hiding from all of the chaos, they're scared, they're in their cars, I think the artist likes this place, it looks fun and crazy, it looks like there is so much movement, I would want to play there, it looks fun,  reminds me of a construction site, I see tall towers and roads and trucks, people use ladders to climb up to where they want to be, the lines make it look jumpy...

Art Project: Create an expressive landscape, seascape or cityscape with patterns and movement.

All artwork by Kinder and First Grade

Ron Ritchheart discussing the importance of thinking

Happiness Is... Accordion Books

Happiness Is... singing, me and Mom, chocolate

by Annabelle, 1st grade

A big part of art making is the process of showing your thoughts, ideas or feelings.  This is something we think about at the start of any project.  I wanted each student to capture those joyful moments of childhood in their artwork. Accordion books played into the process beautifully; as your eyes travel through the book you share something new at each moment.





Process:
We used texture plates placed under paper for visual texture (rub with crayon)
cut the paper horizontally (now you have 2)
fold, crease, turn (like a paper fan)
glue the 2 ends together
choose 3-5 things that make you happy, draw them
add a front and back cover (we used card-stock)

This week in art... from Gabriela Elizalde on Vimeo.

Family Record Trees

 

The American Folk Art Museum provided the inspiration for this artwork.  By looking at and discussing
 Family Record for Andrew Bickford and Olive Clark we were able to understand that family histories were often created by hand in a variety of mediums such as embroidery or watercolor.

 

I wanted to incorporate a festive holiday feel along with a family record so I decided to combine the two. I'm so pleased with how thoughtfully each student worked on their piece.  I believe they really understood the personal significance attached to their work.  Thus far, these are the only two finished but  they are so dear I wanted to share them now.


Process after looking and talking about the artwork above:

• printed the tree with toilet paper rolls and added lights by finger painting
• on a separate sheet of paper, drew small portraits to go in the circles/ornaments
• cut and glued them inside of circles
• drew a background representative of their life

Story Ornaments

 

all artwork by 1st grade

source


  Children understand that through art, we can learn about other cultures, ourselves and  tell stories.   At this time of year, their hearts are already filled with memories of past celebrations as well as wishes for the ones to come.  As we looked at and discussed quilts, we learned how artists can be wonderful story tellers also.   Now it was their turn to use images or words to tell their holiday story.  


Process:
The first day they learned about symmetry as they drew and cut their ornament. Next, they painted a base layer.  On the second day, they drew their stories.  I wanted to make sure they had enough space to draw and explore so these are quite large, 9x12 or so.

Storytelling Through Art

Creating Relationships
 Each student was given a piece of fabric with the face of an Asian character.  The blank page was to become the place for a story to unfold. What was hidden behind each face?   The possibilities were endless.

"...Nobody knew how Jui mon was going to do it, but they knew he could.  Jui mon had to practice very hard.  He walked on hot coals to practice climbing the stairs of fire. "

"The King locked the prince in the dungeon.  He said the princess is all mine."

Artwork and stories by 3rd grade students. 

Puppet Theater

 

I highly recommend  this project for many grade levels.  The level of engagement was extraordinary from every student.  We started with a simple template  to create a character puppet (see image above). Simply draw your character, fold in half and tape.   We cut a rectangular shape from manila folders and used these for the setting of the story as well as the theater. I had fabric on a table in case anyone wanted to add curtains. Surprisingly, this project only took 2 class periods.  Another great thing was that the kids continued creating stories in their classrooms with their teacher. 

Beyond Invented Insects

This was an amazing lesson-
Inventing Insects

As they were painting,  I encouraged them to name their insect, based on the characteristics.    I decided to tap into their musical intelligence by having them compose a sound for their insect.  How could that sound be symbolized?
 They could map it! (video above) One thing that blew me away was seeing the collaboration among students.  Transcending any limitations of spoken language, the map became the tool of communication.  And in its use, students traveled from the abstract to the concrete and back again.  What a journey!