Lei

Here is a photo of me with the nice lei we made today in art class. Miss Kabulis presented a lesson using watercolor painting and construction paper to make a lei. Frist she reviewed the differnt types of watercolor painting and then we praced those. Once that was done, we began using those techniques to create a painting of our own using 2 of ways shown. We then cut out 24 flowers, using at least 4-5 from watercolor painting. Once they were cut out, we punched holes in the middle and put straws to separate them, creating a lei. The project was related to her hometown of Hawaii and was a fun, creative art project.
An extension of this could be to make more watercolor paintings so the lei is must more unique.

3-D Micro Lesson

This 3-D art project was the micro lesson my group had to teach. We began by reading the Dr. Suess book, Oh the places you go. This gave the students visuals and could get their imaginations rolling about Who-villes. Once we read the book we showed a few more pictures and introducing some vocabulary that went along with the project, such as complementary colors, warm colors, cool colors, and 3-D design. After, we modeled 3 different types of folds: bend, twist, tunel. We had the students back their art work first, with the color types they were assigned. Each tabel was assigned either cool, warm, or complementary colors to use. We then told them they had to use 7 different pieces of paper and had to have 3 different types of folds. They then got to explore and use their creativity to create and name their Who-villes. It was a fun project that sparked great creativity.

An additional project or extension could be to write about the Who-villes they created. We could also have the students explore 3-D design and research about different architects and places which have 3-D design.

Eye Popping into Whoville
This was our bulletin board we put up to display all the students' art work.

Pottery

For this art lesson, we used clay to create pots. They introduced the students to pottery, with a slight background. After, we began working with the clay kneading it and lightly throwing it on the tables. Once the clay was worked and checked for no air bubbles we began making the pot. We were asked to set aside a small piece of clay for the bottom of our pot. So we smoothed a piece about the size of our thumb and not very thick. It got placed into a baggie until the coil process would begin.We then split our clay into two piece, so it was easier to work with and rolled it out into a long coil or tube. Once we felt it was about the thinkness we wanted, we placed knotches in the coil and also on the bottom piece that we had put away. These knotches helped interlock the two piece together, so the pot is stable. We continued this process until the coil was used up and repeated the process with the last piece of clay. After we finished, we were to engrave or paint a symbol onto our pots. I made a heart for love and family. I also made a cross to symbolize my faith. Once it was painted, the project was complete.
I think a great additional lesson to this project would be to talk more about life symbol and our differnt cultures. I think that the students could give a short speech about their pots and the meaning behind the symbols on their pots. They could also write a one page story about the important aspects of their lives and share them with the class, so they may get a better understanding of one another and their differing cultures.

Marbling

This week the seventh graders learned about marbling. We were given a sheet of paper with a famous landmark or building on it. We were asked to sketch this drawing to the best of our abilities and then outline it in a black sharpie marker. Once we outlined it and cut out our sketches, we were able to begin the marbling process. The process began by coating the bottom on a tin pan with shaving cream and then adding splashes of color with a paint brush on top of the shaving cream. The trick was that we could only using three adjacent colors on the color wheel for paint. I chose blue, green, and yellow and then used a comb to brush the color spots together into a cool design. Once we created the design we wanted, we were asked to firmly press the drawing into the shaving cream. After we scrapped off the excess shaving cream and were left with a neat marbling design. The project ended with framing it and placing the name below the project.

An extension to this project could be to create famous landmarks and buildings just in South Dakota using the marbling technique. I also would let the students draw and find their own landmark or building to get more creativity. It could be an excellent activity to tie in with social studies and geography.

Print Making

In this lesson, the seventh grade students were asked to use print making, while creating a South Dakota background. The rail road cars were made by creating a stamp and roling the ink onto that stamp. We then pressed the stamp on a sheet of construction paper that would be the background for the rail road cars. The teachers also made us use some source of South Dakota grain or product for inside the rail road cars. I chose coal for in my cars and created a scene with corn, hills, and a barn to symbolize the South Dakota farming.

An extension to this activity could be to have students research more about print making and why it became so popular. I also believe it would be a great project to tie into a South Dakota unit and they could also write a page paper about their picture and background they created. The students could explain why they chose that background and its importance to South Dakota.

Blind Contour Drawing

This project was a blind flower drawing. We were required to draw three flowers on a piece of drawing paper without looking, using a white crayon so the flowers would appear. We then had to wet the paper down using water and a paint brush. After, we used warm and cool water colors to paint over the white crayon. Once we painted over the paper with colors, the flowers appeared.

An extension activity could be to use this as a flower unit. You could bring in flowers into the class and add in science by studying the flowers. They could also learn how to take care of flowers through this.

Bunny Plaid

In this project we learned about complimentary colors which include green and red, orange and blue, and purple and yellow. With these colors we were taught about plaid and how you create it by putting horizontal and vertical lines together using different colors. We used complementary colors to create plaid using paint and paper. After the plaid was created we used cut outs to glue the bunny together.

An extension to this activity could be using language arts and writing. I would have the students create a story about the bunny they created.

Macrame Key Chain

The project introduced the class to Macrame. Their are many different types of Macrame, in this project we made key chains. We were each told to useat least three beads on the key chain and have it at least three inches long.

An extension to this activity could be to relate this to social studies and language arts. I would allow the students to go into further depth about Macrame and the history behind it. A short one page paper would be a great ending to this art project.

Puzzle Piece

The project started by splitting the class into sections, warm and cool colors. The warm colors could choose to draw a duck or fox and the cool colors could choose to draw a fish or frog. Once we drew our animal, we had to give it texture of some sort. For the background, we either had to do lines, shapes, or patterns.



An extension to this activity could be to allow the students to choose any animal they chose and to possibly recreate another puzzle piece doing the opposite of the cool or warm colors and another art element (pattern, shapes, lines).

Hidden Picture

This project was extremely fun. Using 3D glasses we created our own 3D pictures, with hidden animals. It would be a great project for kids and they would truly enjoy it. You must use blue to get the original animal to show through  in 3D view and then must use several ways and warm colors to hide the animal.

An extension of this activity could be allowing the children to expolore the animal in their picture. They could research the animal and write a short description or paper on it.

Eric Carle Picture Book Example

Under the deep blue sea, all the sea creatures were happy, until the big black boat came moving in.

In art class we explored colors and textures through using paint. Eric Carle creates collages with different colors and paints, to create beautiful picture books. I used this method to create my own under water theme picture book page.

An extension to this activity could be for them to finish writing the book or story they created in the picture. They could also make the rest of the picture book pages and write the story or simply finishing writing the story in a work document.

Van Gogh Art #2

 This project was also based upon Van Gogh's work and its initial goal was to also create movement. The students were to cut out tissue paper and create their own background, sky theme. Once they have glued the tissue paper down, they uses sharpie markers and oil pastels to make more movement and definition to the background. They will also cut out a city or an idea of their own and paste it on the background. In the end it creates a "night" sceen, such as the one seen in Van Gogh's painting.
In my particular piece I based my directly from Van Gogh's work and recreated the Starry Night. I keep the night with dark colors and blues and made it a night in the city.

A teacher could extend this activity by allowing the students to simply create another one, but a complete original as long as they use movement. I would also allow them to be abstract and create whatever scene they would like. I think it would also be useful to display Van Gogh paintings and information around the room, while they complete the assignment.

Van Gogh Art

This piece was based on Van Gogh's paiting the starry night. It is a kindergarten finger painting lesson. It uses the dark colors of night to show the mood, but yet bright colors of yellow and white make the stars stand out, in which the students could chose the mood they want. The painting mimicks Van Gogh's painting style and uses great movement, creating swirls. It is an excellent lesson to show when learning about movement and colors. When doing the lesson, the students should have background knowledge and be allowed to create their own interpretation of Van Gogh's painting.

Elements of Art

Shapes/Colors/Contrasts

Space



Texture

Color

Emphasis

Footprints

Here are my footprints. This was an activity to describe myself and the important things in my life. My footprints are in purple because I truly like the color purple. I have a sun with a flower, which is made out of tissue paper, ribbon, and pipe cleaners, because it symbolizes that I love being outside especially in the spring time. I also put a picture of my family and boyfriend since they are the most important aspects in my life. A dog bone is one the foot since we have a new puppy. I also love fishing, so I added a Popsicle stick with a string to symbolize that. In the picture you can see all the other aspects about me!

This was an excellent activity for introductions and for teachers/peers to learn about one another. I plan to use this activity in my upcoming classroom. I could also extend this activity by using writing and having the children write a short page about their footprint art and how it relates to their personal lives. Another great activity would be to learn about a classmate and create another one for that classmate describing them. It would be a way for students to get acquainted.

Welcome to my Art Gallery

As I am getting starting learning about art concepts and elementary art ideas, I am opening up to art and the idea that I too can create art. Art is fun and can state meanings and feelings that words may not express.

We recently learned the elements of design. Mrs. Preszler showed and taught us what a line, shape, form, value, texture, and space in art is. We explored the different lines and how we can use different emotions to change the pressure we are applying to our pencils. An angry line was very dark and heavy, while a quiet line was very light and simple. The value scale is used for pressure and the different types of lines in art. Black means dark, which says one must apply great pressure to the pencil and white means applying no pressure to the pencil. Shapes can be geometric or organic. I also found that by shading a shape a 3D volume can be created. Texture appeals to the sense of touch. We have been asked to find 10 different textures throughout our house and environment. I also found it interesting how last week we created footprints using all sorts of materials. After learning about textures, I realized I had just used several textures, which all had different feelings of touch to them.