Welcome back to the SES Art Room!

The SES Art room kicked off the year with a "Dot" project based on the popular book, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds.

The Dot is the first of three books -- a trilogy of books dedicated to creativity. In this first book, we meet a girl named Vashti who has convinced herself she can not draw. Her teacher dares her to make a mark. Vashti makes one little dot on her sheet of paper... which turns out to be the beginning of her creative journey!

Teachers around the world have used this book as inspiration for teaching children about expressing themselves through art.  As a result, September 15th has become International Dot day, when students make their "own mark and see where it goes".  

K-1 students made their own "dots" and explored the use of expressive lines.  See examples below.

May Project: Hundertwasser Windows

Window Right, Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Project description:

• VTS - Visual Thinking Strategy based on viewing and discussion of Hundertwasser's decorative windows.
• Why did he want to beautify his city? To add life and happiness back into his city
• Designing expressive window patterns including raindrops, spirals, rings and repeating patterns.
• Layout and gluing of mosaic tiles symmetrically
• Development of view through their window = creativity 

Vocabulary

• Mosaic tiles
• Eccentric
• Symmetry

Resources:

• Book - A JOURNEY IN THE WORLD OF FANTASY WITH HUNDERTWASSER. by Prestel

Art Materials:

• Oil pastel
• Tempera paint
• solid and patterned mosaic tiles
• Sparkle crayons
• Metallic crayons
• Standard crayons
• Plastic crayons

Examples of Student work:

April Project: Hundertwasser Portraits

Three-Eyed Green Buddha with a  Hat, Friedensreich Hundertasser, 1963

Project description:

• A brief introduction to life of Hundertwasser.
• VTS - Visual Thinking Strategy used to explore Hundertwasser portraits with hats.  Students identified what they noticed and what they wondered about as they explored his work.
• Proper placement of facial features on face.
• How to drool eyes, nose, mouth
• Fine motor skills involved cutting, laying out pieces and gluing.

Vocabulary

• Portraits versus Self-portraits
• Patterns
• Spirals
• Tattoos

Resources:

• Book - A JOURNEY IN THE WORLD OF FANTASY WITH HUNDERTWASSER. by Prestel

Art Materials:

• Construction paper
• Water color paper
• Oil pastel 
• Tempera cakes

Examples of Student work:

March Project: Mixed Media Patterns

Project description:

• Printing process practiced and explored using cardboard and a specific process.
• Tempera cakes were used to add simple patterns
• Oil Pastels completed our work using additional patterns.

Vocabulary

• Printing
• Printer's Ink
• Patterns
• Abstract Art

Resources: 

• Book - PATTERN FISH by Trudy Harris

Art Materials:

• Printers Ink
• Cardboard
• Oil Pastels
• Tempera Paint

Examples of Student work:

February Project: Intro To Printing - Thinking with a Line

Project description:

• Lines provide the groundwork for all art.  Students warmed up by printing basic types of lines.  Next, they were asked to experiment with connecting lines to make shapes within a given space.  Students followed specific directions to complete their prints.  Tempera cakes and oil pastel patterns were added in each shape.

Resources: 

• Book - I SPY SHAPES IN ART by Lucy Micklethwait

Art Materials:

• Printers Ink
• Oil Pastels
• Tempera Paint

Examples of Student work:

January Project: ZIGZAG

Project attributes:

• Literature and art - Read story to artists about a doll maker who creates Zigzag from scraps of fabric.  She promises him that "some child will love you".  The story is about Zigzag's quest to find a loving child of his own.
• Practice with fine motor skills - lots of tracing, scissor cutting and gluing

Vocabulary:

• Front & back of doll
• Patterns

Resources: 

• Book - Zigzag by Robert D. San Souci

Art Materials:

• Tag board
• Construction paper
• Wall paper
• Patterned paper
• Buttons
• Yarn
• Ribbon
• Markers
• Batting

Examples of Student work: