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Each year, the Gifted Art group at Hendrix collaborates to create a book. This year's book is the fourth in the series. It's titled The Rainbow Brush, and is styled after Marcus Pfister's The Rainbow Fish. The book tells the story of a not-very-nice paintbrush who is fortunate to be more colorful than the other brushes- similar to the Rainbow Fish's colorful scales in the original story. Throughout our story, the Rainbow Brush learns the value of sharing, and comes to understand what it means to be a true friend. Please enjoy this digital version of our book! Our book The Rainbow Brush joins three previous collaborations:
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We don't often do holiday-themed projects, but this color-mixing experience allowed students to add a festive twist if they wished! This lesson was inspired by one of my very favorite books, Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill. It's a book of poems inspired by colors! Here you can read a few examples or listen to a recording of the poems. My favorite is the one called What is White? Here's part of it: "White is marshmallow and vanilla ice cream and the part you can't remember in a dream. White is the sound of a light foot walking White is the beautiful broken lace of snowflakes falling on your face." The poems use beautiful figurative language to describe qualities of each color. The poems often describe the colors as having a taste or a smell, and we used this idea as the foundation of the poems students would write on their own. But first, students had to get inspired by mixing their perfect color! This was a good review of basic color theory concepts- or "color science" as we call it. Each student received a plate with the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) plus white and black. I reminded students that all other colors are made from combinations of these basic colors. Students were tasked with creating the most beautiful and interesting color they could imagine. We did the mixing and blending right on top of these index cards, and by the end of the day, students had an assortment of every color of the rainbow! It reminded me of visiting the paint-sample section of Lowe's or Home Depot! Next, students chose a color to describe in a poem. I gave them a template to help them get their ideas organized, and encouraged them to focus on describing each color using all five senses. This took some creative thinking, since colors don't literally have a taste or a smell- but it was fun to use our imaginations! Most students chose to use a holiday or winter theme when naming their colors and writing their poems, although that was not one of the requirements. Here are some of the most creative examples. Our students came up with some beautifully descriptive phrases! Christmas Tree Green Christmas Tree Green is the color of a beautiful tree. Christmas Tree Green sounds like the little bitty branches falling off the tree when my cat walks under it. Christmas Tree Green tastes like a mint sizzling in my mouth. Christmas Tree Green smells like a fresh cut pine in the forest. Christmas Tree Green feels like a lumpy bump on a piece of wood. Christmas Tree Green makes me not want to go to sleep on Christmas Eve because Santa will be here soon. -Ava Christmas Fire Orange Christmas Fire Orange is the color of little flames crackling in the fireplace. It looks like a sunset going down. It sounds like popcorn popping. It tastes like a cinnamon swirl. It feels like a bright star on top of the tree. -Selena Snowflake Snowflake is the color of sky in winter Snowflake looks like the frosting on a sugar cookie Snowflake sounds like rain falling from the sky. Snowflake tastes like a blueberry snowcone. Snowflake smells like a flower blooming in the garden. Snowflake feels like the clouds over our home. Snowflake makes me smile all the time. -Natali Firewood Firewood is the color of the twinkling fire sparking from the wood. Firewood looks like the morning sun rising into the night sky. Firewood sounds like the leaves flying through the breeze of wind. Firewood tastes like the cookies my mother bakes on Christmas Eve. Firewood smells like the smoke coming from a burning fire. -Abigail Frozen Mint Leaf Frozen Mint Leaf is the color of the frost on the mint leaves on a cold day in the garden. Frozen Mint Leaf looks like the deep minty blue ocean along the coast. Frozen Mint Leaf sounds like the joyful laughter of kids playing at the park. Frozen Mint Leaf tastes like the mint leaves with frost on them. Frozen Mint Leaf smells like peppermints on Christmas Eve. Frozen Mint Leaf feels like sheets of ice in your hands. Frozen Mint Leaf is to celebrate the most popular time of year, Christmas, as the snow falls like the feathers from doves flying around your house. -Caleb Frosted Cranberry Frosted Cranberry is the color of bright red covered over by white. Frosted Cranberry looks like a bright red-violet. Frosted Cranberry sounds like the glass ornaments on my tree. Frosted Cranberry tastes like the sweetness of a warm fire and the coldness of the snow outside. Frosted Cranberry smells like my teacher’s Scentsy in our room. Frosted Cranberry feels like a white Christmas. Frosted Cranberry makes me smile when I see it. Frosted Cranberry is so many things to me. -Addyson Winter Pine Bark Winter Pine Bark is the color of white Christmas cookies on a picnic plate. Winter Pine Bark looks like a tree’s bark with snow drizzled on it. Winter Pine Bark sounds like a white wolf howling in the snow. Winter Pine Bark tastes like gingerbread with sweet icing on it. Winter Pine Bark smells like sweet baked Christmas cake with red icing. Winte Pine Bark feels like a Christmas tree covered in ice. Winter Pine Bark makes me think about the presents that are coming. -Chloe Christmas Pine Christmas Pine Green is the color of a fresh pine tree ready to decorate. Christmas Pine looks like a velvety dress for a Christmas party. Christmas Pine sounds like a silent night. Christmas Pine tastes like a happy family dinner. Christmas Pine smells like waking up to see presents under the tree. -Echo Snow White Snow White is the color of the puffy white snow laying on the winter ground. Snow White looks like the snow I dream of in my sweet Christmas dreams. Snow White sounds like me remembering very sad days. Snow White tastes like sweet cotton candy. Snow White smells like mint candy canes and blue frosting. Snow White feels like cold sugar and winter snow. -Irina Everest Green Everest Green is the color of spring leaves falling. Everest Green looks like Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s green vegetable paintings. Everest Green sounds like flowers popping up in cartoons. Everest Green tastes like basil with a little hint of pepper. Everest Green smells like peppermint leaves dipped in watermelon juice. -Ardynn Golden Tree Golden Tree is the color of an empty tree in the snow with no leaves. Golden Tree looks like a gold medal. Golden Tree sounds like a cool breeze through the snowy trees. Golden Tree tastes like a perfect golden sugar cookie. Golden Tree tastes like a delicious cake baking. Golden Tree feels like a snowflake on your nose. Golden Tree makes me feel excited. -Maliyah Christmas Present Pink Chirstmas Present Pink is a color glowing with beauty. Christmas Present Pink looks like a bright pink box under the Christmas tree. Christmas Present Pink sounds like tearing paper as you rip it off the present on Christmas morning. Christmas Present Pink tastes like a fresh strawberry dipped in cream. Christmas Present Pink smells like a cotton candy scented candle. Christmas Present Pink feels like a box with a great big bow. Christmas Present Pink makes me as happy as when I see my present. -Ava Mint Joy Mint Joy is the color of fun. Mint Joy looks like candy. Mint Joy tastes like a mint melting slowly in my mouth. Mint Joy smells delicious. Mint Joy feels like a pillow made of snow. Mint Joy makes me happy. -Carlos Frozen Crystal Shard Frozen Crystal Shard is the color of blue and it looks like an icicle. Frozen Crystal Shard sounds like it’s going to fall and be really sharp. Frozen Crystal Shard smells like it’s been in a freezer for years. Frozen Crystal Shard feels very cold… Brrr! Frozen Crystal Shard is a very cold crystal and it makes me want to lick it. -Jadyn Reindeer Coat Reindeer Coat is the color of Rudolph’s soft fur. Reindeer Coat looks like a willow tree’s pale bark. Reindeer Coat sounds like the crackling and popping of a warm bright fire. Reindeer Coat tastes like a fresh baked sugar cookie. Reindeer Coat smells like sweet orange and cinnamon. Reindeer Coat feels like a cozy blanket. Reindeer Coat makes me happy. Reindeer Coat is Christmas morning. -Echo Sparkly Present Sparkly Present is the color of red Christmas sweaters. Sparkly Present looks like Santa Claus riding in his big red sleigh. Sparkly Present sounds like kids opening their presents from Santa. Sparkly Present tastes like red Christmas cookies with lots of sprinkles. Sparkly Present smells like yummy brownies with chocolate icing. Sparkly Present makes me excited for Christmas morning. Sparkly Present is shiny and sparkly and glittery. -Chloe Evening Snow Evening Snow is the color of slippery snow on your porch. It looks like clouds in your room. It sounds like the crackling of a fire. It tastes like the batch of brownies your mom just made. It smells like cinnamon. It makes me happy on a sad night. -Mya Peppermint Peppermint is the color of mint ice cream. It sounds like Christmas carols in my head. It tastes like candy canes in my cocoa before bed. It smells like the pumpkin spice candle my mom bought. It feels like being in bed on Christmas Eve. It makes me feel so happy in my dreams. -Mya Rudolph Red Rudolph Red looks like a hot fire on Christmas Day. Rudolph Red sounds like the beeps on my new phone. Rudolph Red tastes like coffee sitting on the table. Rudolph Red smells like the candy cane candle in the window. Rudolph Red feels like the teddy bear from your grandma. Rudolph Red makes me want to fly with Santa! -Lydia Christmas Tree Green Christmas Tree Green Is the color of the soft armchair I sit in by the fire. Christmas Tree Green looks like the needles that fell off the Christmas tree. Christmas Tree Green sounds like a soft breeze on Christmas Eve. Christmas Tree Green tastes like chocolate from my stocking. Christmas Tree Green smells like the cookies mom is baking for Santa. Christmas Tree Green feels like hot chocolate in my mouth. Christmas Tree Green makes me want to play in the snow. -Olga Cranberry Juice Pink Cranberry Juice Pink is the color of Christmas ornaments. Cranberry Juice Pink looks like wrapping paper on my presents. Cranberry Juice Pink sounds like snow falling on the ground. Cranberry Juice Pink tastes soft and velvety like the cake I’m eating right now. Cranberry Juice Pink smells like a pie fresh in the oven. Cranberry Juice Pink feels like a snowball in my hands. Cranberry Juice Pink makes me shout with happiness. -Olga Ice Queen Ice Queen is the color of ice that has melted into pieces. Ice Queen looks like snow, but blue. Ice Queen sounds like winter in my ears. Ice Queen tastes like ice cream melted in my mouth. Ice Queen smells like frozen berries. Ice Queen makes me think of the snow outside my house. Ice Queen is the music in my ears. -Sayla Silver Ornament
Silver Ornament is the color of Santa’s sleigh on a frozen winter night. Silver Ornament looks like fog in the night sky. Silver Ornament sounds like snow falling on a cloudy winter day. Silver Ornament smells like cookies fresh out of the oven. Silver Ornament tastes like mint candy on Christmas morning. Silver Ornament feels like the soft warm blanket on my bed. -Bethany Third grade students tackled a big subject in their latest project . . . Art as a method of bringing social change. We began by talking about some of the reasons artists make art- sometimes it's simply for enjoyment or to bring beauty to the world, but sometimes it's for a greater purpose, like to educate viewers about a topic or encourage them to think about something from a new perspective. Students were already familiar with the idea of an author writing for a specific purpose- such as to entertain, persuade, or inform- and were able to apply those concepts to art-making. I asked students to think about our society, and to choose something they didn't like about the world we live in. I offered a few ideas to get them started, such as bullying, pollution, or animals in need, but encouraged students to think of an issue that has affected their own lives. Their goal was to create an artwork that would communicate a message about their chosen topic and would inspire change in their viewer. This project was very student-driven. I offered students access to many different art supplies and encouraged them to choose what they were comfortable with and what would best communicate their ideas. Students could choose from paint, markers, colored pencils, white or colored paper, and various collage materials. Allowing the students this much choice really helps students to be invested in their work and committed to doing their best. Here are some of the finished projects. While the artworks are not as polished as I would like them to be, I think the message behind these works makes them each successful. Several students chose topics that were very personal to them. I was proud of them for being risk-takers and being willing to share their feelings! "I am sad because there are kids that do not have friends. I wish kids would have friends and never be lonely. Some kids don’t have friends and that makes me sad. I wish kids were not lonely. I would like to help people that don’t have friends. I would like to change the world by giving everybody friends and nobody being mean." "Please help the dogs. Help dogs that are homeless. Help them by giving them food and water. I drew a person giving food and water to a dog. We can help collect money and food for the animal shelter." "My change is for my family to stop fighting. Then we will be a happy family. Then we will have a good life. My picture shows my family. We are being nice to each other in my painting. It shows hearts so you will see we are a happy family." "We need to stop killing deers. Hunting is bad because it hurts the animals. We should keep the deers alive because they are beautiful and Santa needs the deers." "The change I want to make is to change the world by being a teacher. I want to help children learn about math. My art has six children and a teacher and the children have notebooks open and they have pencils in their hands and there are chairs and desks and a board. Teachers are important because they help us learn." "We need to stop oil in the ocean. Otters and beavers get stuck. They also get stuck in the soda holders. They choke and they can’t get out. People have to save them. My art shows an otter. There are blue tears on his face. The black oil is all around him." "I want to see everyone accepting each other. I want to see new colors and people liking the new colors. I showed this because people need to change and love each other in life. We can change our ways in life and make better choices." "My change is to make people not be on the road in a storm. You will get a message when a storm is about to happen and will get cover. People will all have homes and be protected and be safe." "My change is to stop littering. My art shows if you don’t stop it this is what’s going to happen. Just look at it- there are no trees, there is nothing left because of littering. You should start now or later. If we do this everything will last forever. It will help Earth a lot." "People should stop smoking. It is dangerous. It smells bad. It hurts our lungs. It makes us very sick. It makes your lungs black. You will have a crazy voice when you use a machine to talk." "My change is to make stuff not cost much money. Some people don’t have enough money to buy stuff. In my picture stuff costs $60. There are three men holding a suitcase and their faces are mad. We should tell the president to lower the prices. We can also tell the people that work at the stores." "My change is to stop killing animals. I feel depressed when I see one die. My art shows a person killing a dog/cat. Then it shows two dogs eating. It says let them eat food too. It also says to donate money to animal shelters to start the change. You should spread the word to other people." "I want people to stop drinking. I know people that drink. I don’t want them to get in trouble. My painting shows that my uncle died in a wreck with a tree. I know where he crashed. It is too late for him. But not too late for other people. This painting shows my mom. She is crying because my uncle died. The sign shows no drinking. I painted the tree and the crashed car." "People are crashing cars and they die from the crashing. They don’t want to die. They crash because they don’t watch where they are going and they are on their phones and they don’t see where they are going. My change is for them to stop looking at their phones and look where they are driving." On the last day of the project, I introduced students to some master artists whose work addresses social issues. Typically I show other artworks at the start of a project; however this time I intentionally waited until students' work was well underway. I wanted them to think for themselves rather than copying imagery from another artist. Here are a few of the works we looked at: Keith Haring: themes of love and peace Keith Haring began his art career by creating large chalk drawings that he displayed in subways cars in New York City. His work was seen by the many people riding the subway each day. His imagery often shows love and friendship. As his career grew, he began painting murals in buildings like schools and hospitals. His later work focused on raising money to find cures for illnesses. Marisol Escobar: feminist issues This sculpture is a portrait of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The small figures he is holding in his hand appear to be birds; however, when you look closer you realize they have people's faces. They faces are those of his wife and two daughters. The bird shapes are a reference to his wife, Lady Bird. The contrast in size makes him seem very powerful, while the female figures seem less important- almost like pets. This artwork points out the unbalanced power between the male and the females. Romare Bearden: celebrating African-American communities Romare Bearden was part of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. Some of his most famous works are his collages featuring African-American neighborhoods. He wanted to celebrate the communities and give others a glimpse of what life was like. This image, which is part of a large artwork called The Block, shows a group of street musicians performing outside a barber shop. Kerry James Marshall: civil rights Kerry James Marshall was a child in the 1960's, and grew up during the civil rights movement. His artwork celebrates the leaders of the time and the sacrifices they made. In this painting, a woman is creating a shrine to the leaders of the time. She is dressed all in black to symbolize mourning their loss, and is painted wearing wings like an angel. Chris Jordan: waste, excess, and consumerism This artist is the most contemporary, and the one that students were most interested in. Chris Jordan creates digital collages representing all the things we waste every day. The above artwork is a copy of Seurat's painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte- but when you look closer, you see it's made up of soda cans! He explains that this artwork is made of 106,000 cans- the amount the US uses every thirty seconds. The gallery on his website is quite interesting, and really puts into perspective the resources our country wastes. Here are his other works I showed to students: Building Blocks: representing the 1.2 million students who drop out of high school each year Car Keys: shows the 260,000 gallons of gasoline used by U.S. cars in one minute Plastic Bottles: the 2 million plastic drink bottles we use every fifteen minutes We finished up with this video featuring an artist from Uganda, "Mr. Art", and how he hopes to inspire change in his city of Kampala through his artwork. My goal for this activity was to show kindergartners how Art can be a way to communicate. Students have been learning about communication in many forms- writing, speaking, singing, even through picture symbols. In this lesson, they experienced art-making to communicate feelings. We looked at several examples of art that portrayed a clear mood. This led to lots of good discussion- we looked at this painting, Picasso's The Old Guitarist, and they immediately said "he's sad!" When I asked them HOW they knew he was sad, they had great answers. Students explained that his head was hanging down, he looks tired, and his clothes are ragged and dirty. It took a little guiding to get them to realize the significance of the color blue, and that it was a symbol for sadness. This talk of colors led us into the next discussion. We looked at this painting with the bold red slashes, and discussed how red is often a symbol for anger. I told them that sometimes when we're really mad, we even say "I'm seeing red!!" I had each student pretend to hold an imaginary paintbrush and slash their arm through the air like they were making the marks in this painting. I asked them to think about a time they were really mad, and let that energy come out in the movements they were making. Then we looked at some paintings with bright happy colors. One student commented that when you're feeling happy, you might want to jump up and down, and it looked like the shapes in this painting were bouncing and jumping! What a great observation! We also looked at dark, scary, paintings: And lonely, empty, artworks: And artworks that were almost vibrating with excitement! Then it was time for students to make some expressive marks of their own. I played several selections of music, each with a different emotion- happy, sad, angry, scared, excited, calm, and proud. Each student interpreted that emotion through the marks that they made. Here's a short video demonstrating some of their interpretations! The second day's activity was an extension of learning from the first day. This time instead of focusing specifically on expressing emotion, students painted to music and responded to it. Their goal was to represent the sounds they were hearing with lines on their paper. I told them to picture their paintbrush dancing to the music! Here is the second short video. I was pleased with how thoughtful the students' marks were, and they LOVED painting this way! For a fun end to our lesson, I shared the video below with students. It's a good example of making marks in response to sounds. Each unique sound is represented by an individual line that reflects the changes in pitch and tempo. We talked about how each line was like a symbol for the sound it represented. In their current IB unit, second graders have been learning about how authors express themselves through their writing. In Art, we explored how making art is also a way for people to share their thoughts and feelings! I asked students to think of a memory that was tied to a strong emotion. They made oil pastel drawings illustrating that memory. The drawings didn't have to really be a scene showing the event- instead, they could mix up the objects they drew and make it look kind of dream-like, like when a memory is kind of hazy or confused. I told them it was kind of like taking apart a jigsaw puzzle- all the pieces are still there, but they are not arranged in a way that makes sense. The next step was to include the emotion of their memory. We looked at some paintings that communicated feelings, and discussed how the colors and the energy behind the brushstrokes described the emotion. For example, look at this painting and imagine how the artist's arm would have moved when making these scribbling lines- you can almost feel the anger! Now compare that painting to this calm, dull, sad one- it's a completely different feeling! And this painting has a happy, joyful, excited feeling- it's almost like the colors and shapes are dancing! Students took what they learned about expressing emotion and applied it to the backgrounds of their memory paintings. The colors they chose and the brushstrokes they used all work together to communicate the mood of the memory. Look for lots of blues in the sad memories, reds in the angry ones, and yellows and pinks in the happy memories! "I was at an orca show. There were orcas there. There were trainers helping the orcas do tricks. It was exciting. Then there were orcas in a small pool. I loved to see the orcas." "Today was my cousin’s birthday! My cousin is turning eleven! My cousins live in North Carolina. Thousands of people were there. All of us jumped on the trampoline! Then I almost fell off the trampoline! We came back inside. While we were inside we watched Fuller House. After that it was time for cake! I waited until it was present time. But we spent the night with them. She opened the presents in the morning and she loved mine!!! But then it was time to go! I cried all day! I was so mad and sad I had to go! " "Today I had to clean my room. It was cold outside today. I had to clean my room by myself. I was very mad and kind of sad because I didn’t want to. My room was very dirty. " "I had dance and we ate cupcakes. We danced and danced. It was fun and I was happy. My friend Emma was there too. " "I was with my daddy and mommy and grandma and my papa and Graham and Anna and Uncle Tim and Aunt Leslie. We went to the beach. It was so much fun. It was on the Fourth of July. It was fun watching the fireworks. We were outside. It was so hot. I was yelling because it was too hot for my feet. It was really sunny. I loved it outside. It was so beautiful. We were happy. It was a fun time. " "My uncle and my dad and my mom were with me. We were watching a great movie It was good. But we saw a red and blue light outside. The weather was cold. It was night. It was scary. And my mom was scared too. The police were in my neighbor’s yard because they always have a party. The police went past my house. They went to my other neighbor’s house. We had to turn off the TV and the lights. And I couldn’t find my dad. He was hiding. It was scary. And my cat was walking outside all night. " "It was fun at the beach. We got to eat. On the last day we went to the water park. I went on the slide. I got seashells and then we went home. " "My mom, Gigi, Papa, and sister were with me. I fell off my scooter. It was the afternoon. It was hot out. I was feeling sad and hurt. " "Today I am so delighted because I am going to the movies! I went with my mom, my sisters, my brother, and my dad. We are going to see the Star Wars movie! They have popcorn and soda. It was so much fun. When I got home I went right to bed. " "This is my mom. She got pulled over and I was scared. The cop came and he was smiling. He came and asked my mom for license and registration. He said please though. My mom was scared because she couldn’t find it and I got scared too. " "I remember when I went to the dinosaur zoo. I felt unsure if it was safe or not. I was with my mom and dad and Anna. I was nervous about if it was safe! It was exciting. " "This story is about my mom and my stepdad and my grandma and the police and the old lady and her two kids. My mom was backing out of the driveway and looked left and right and the old lady came! We couldn’t see her so we got hit. It was in the morning. It was outside in the front yard. My mom was mad and I was crying and that old lady was mad too. But no one got hurt. " "In New Jersey I met Jake Paul and Messi. We played soccer in New Jersey and I played basketball. We went to New Jersey for my birthday. It was a pretty place and we wanted to travel. I went with just my mom. "
This year Hendrix participated in International Dot Day 2017. On this day each year, artists all over the world celebrate the creativity and inspiration found in Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot. The Dot is the story of a young artist named Vashti who thinks she can't draw. Her teacher tries to help her by saying "Just make a mark and see where it takes you!" Vashti angrily jabs her pencil into her paper, leaving a black dot behind. The next time Vashti comes to Art, she sees her black dot hanging on the wall! She says to herself "Hmmph. I can make a better dot than that!" And she does! Her teacher's encouragement and support was all Vashti needed to be successful. By the end of the story, Vashti has taken on the role of teacher, and the book ends with her helping a little boy learn to "make his mark!" The book has inspired artists all over the world, and each year in September, International Dot Day is celebrated! This year over 10 million artists in over 170 countries were part of the celebration- and our Hendrix artists were included in that number! Hendrix artists celebrated by making their own dot-inspired artworks. These paintings will be on display at our school during the month of September. I am looking forward to this being a new tradition for our school! After we finished our paintings, students loved hearing this message of inspiration from The Dot author Peter H. Reynolds! It was almost like getting to meet him ourselves! We are already excited to celebrate International Dot Day 2018! One of my goals this year is to be more intentional about critiquing artwork with my students- analyzing artwork for its successes and identifying areas that could be improved. We often share our work with each other in class, but it often stops there- with just sharing. A true critique needs participation from the viewer, and is a much deeper and purposeful way of looking at art. A well-done critique benefits both the artist and the viewer. First we talked about WHY we critique artwork in the first place. I shared this video- the story of Austin's butterfly and how the critique process shaped his success. It's a GREAT example of having a growth mindset. It's only a few minutes long- it's really worth watching! Today's activity was a small step in the right direction. I introduced a critique method called "Two Stars and a Wish." The viewer makes two positive comments about something he finds successful about the work (these are the "stars") and then one suggestion for improvement (a "wish" to see something changed.) Instead of critiquing classmates' artwork, I decided to have students critique works by master artists. One reason is that I want to show students that no matter how "good" a work is, there is always something that could be questioned. Chances are good that the artist made that decision on purpose and considers it successful, but the viewer has the right to have a different opinion. For example- one of the works we looked at as a class was one of Picasso's cubist portraits- where the eyes are both on the same side and the nose is off to the other side. One of the "wish" comments was "I wish he hadn't made the eyes crooked." I explained to students that even though Picasso structured the face that way intentionally, and that painting in that style made him famous, that we as the viewers are allowed to not like it. I wanted students to realize that liking or not liking a work of art is a choice each of us makes- our opinions aren't right or wrong. The second reason we began with critiques of master works rather than students' own works is that it's much less intimidating for them! If they can learn to make honest and thoughtful comments about a work they don't have an emotional connection to, then I'm hoping it will make it easier to share truthful opinions about friends' artworks and to hear comments about their own works. Students chose an artwork, wrote 2 stars and a wish, then shared their comments with a partner. "I like the big 5. I like the details of the picture. I wish the picture had more color." "I like how the leaves have designs. I like how the red leaf is crooked. I wish it had more color." "The skull looks realistic. The skull is broken. (I wish) the background was changed to the sky." "They put good details. They did good work. I wish they had put more color in the faces." "I love that she put that fan there. I love the necklace that she has on her neck. I wish I knew her." "The flowers are colorful. The door is colorful. The sunset is colorful. I wish it wasn't creepy." ![]() "I like how he is smoothing it out. (the hat) I like how he drew the moon. I like how he looks at himself. I wish he didn't put a freckle." ![]() "I like the girl's hair.
The mom's dress is so pretty. I wish the dress were pink." Our schedule has changed a great deal this year. It's been quite an adjustment for both the teachers and the students, but things are settling into place well. We are now using a rotation schedule, and we have A-week, B-week, and C-week. One benefit of the new schedule is that students in 1st-4th grades will have hour-long sessions for Art this year, increased from the 45-minute classes we had in the past. Kindergartners will have half-hour sessions, but will come to Art twice as often. It works out that in each three-week cycle of the rotation, all students will have 2 1/2 hours of Art! Each Friday, all art classes will last only 30 minutes, and each classroom will have one Friday session in each three-week cycle. Since our "Friday Sessions" are so short, we'll use these days for skill-builder exercises, rather than continuing our regular art projects. I'm excited to get to try some new activities with students! This session's activity was based on a new book I discovered over the summer, called "Swatch: the Girl Who Loved Color." Here's a preview video from the publisher- "Swatch" is an imaginative little girl who sees colors as wild, free, creatures. She tries to tame the colors and trap them in jars. She soon realizes that the colors aren't meant to be tamed, and instead should remain free. She releases the colors and they swirl together, making a masterpiece. Swatch describes her favorite colors with wonderful figurative language. She gives colors names like "rumble-tumble pink", "bravest green", and "in-between gray." After we read the book, students were asked to name their own color and write a description of it. This artist even drew his own interpretation of Swatch, riding the colors through the sky! And this artist drew herself as Swatch, complete with stripes of face paint like the character in the book!
At the end of the lesson, students shared their color creations with each other. It's become a tradition for each year's Art Club to create a book. This year our book is titled Brown Crayon, Brown Crayon, What Will You Make? It's written and illustrated in the style of the classic Brown Bear, Brown, Bear, What Do You See? The text is written in a similar pattern as the original, and the illustrations are created using a similar method- by painting textured papers and then collaging them into a scene. Our inspiration, and our own version! Each art club member chose a crayon color, and planned and created the illustration. I helped some with the text, since it was tricky to get the right rhyming pattern and the correct number of syllables. The book is the result of about six weeks of hard work! A hardcover copy is now in our school library. We finished the book around the middle of the year, but didn't make this video until recently. I know you'll enjoy it! (the video may need to load completely before it will play.) Brown Crayon, Brown Crayon is the third in our series of Art Club books. It joins Goodnight Art Room (inspired by Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon) and If You Give An Artist a Pencil (based on If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff). Recently our school hosted an event promoting literacy. The theme was "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"- all about baseball. We had baseball books, snacks, games, music- even some real baseball players came to visit! Our art project for the night was inspired by the circular shape of a baseball- we did "Circle Painting"! The concept of Circle Painting was developed as a way to bring harmony and unity to communities through collaborative art-making. (Visit circlepainting.org for more information and to see how Circle Painting has transformed communities all over the world!) The main goal behind our Circle Painting project was for painters to create any design they wished using ONLY circles. Also, the painting is meant to happen in a very respectful and considerate way- you can add to a circle someone has already made, but your additions shouldn't cover up or overtake the original circle. I loved seeing our school community make art together. Students, parents, siblings, grandparents, and even the teachers had a part in making these artworks happen! And here are some of the finished canvases. They are gorgeous! |
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