Artist~Teacher... tishalou

We have finished our first two weeks of school here in Fauquier County, Virginia. Our first week was interrupted by a little 5.8 earthquake and our first weekend was filled with wind and rain from Hurricane Irene! I borrowed a great first day project from Natalie at smART Class.
Every student created a monochromatic self portrait on a 4x6 index card. Students received thick markers, thin markers, colored pencils, regular crayons, and construction paper crayons all in different shades of the color of their tables.
I usually do not have any artwork ready to hang in time for back-to-school night because first we decorate our portfolios and next we create artwork for the Original Works fundraiser. Who says the portfolio has to be the first thing we do??
Here is is in the hallway - I made sure it was done before I left on Friday and luckily as each panel went up there was a helper walking by!

I put all the cards on butcher paper - I used up about 3 rolls of double stick tape using on e of my favorite tools in the art room - the Scotch ATG 700. I purchased mine through our school's Kurtz Bros account. It is awesome for mounting anything! I use it when getting ready for our yearly county art show.

A little update of what is going on in my room:
5th grade gargoyles are almost ready to be fired - one more class needs to finish.

4th grade - elongated portraits a la Modigliani. Adapted from Kathy's blog Art Projects for Kids http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/2008/09/modigliana-portraits.html They are adding a textured tissue paper background with mod podge.

3rd grade - not all classes are on the same day of the lesson thanks to these funky snow days but they are all enjoying painting hearts and learning about Jim Dine and Pop Art.

2nd grade is printing their Styrofoam plates to make some great radial symmetry designs. Inspired by the this lesson from Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue! http://art-paper-scissors.blogspot.com/2011/01/radial-symmetry-prints.html They are turning out great but I have found that I need to print with them in small groups or it is a disaster. I have four kids around the back table and ink the plate for them and then they line it up on their paper.


Kindergarten is taking a little break from art and PE while they rehearse for their big music performance next week.

I just finished up a lesson with 2nd grade that I have been teaching for a couple years now. I think it started out as a Fairfax County lesson and I have been editing and adding to it. First we start out by looking at Grant Wood's American Gothic.

I have set up a Flikr image that has everything I want to discuss and links to other facts...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15230787@N06/5090280059/ just roll over the image to see them all.

We have fun looking at and discussing parodies of the painting. This can bring up some interesting conversations. The pitchfork brings some great responses. Last year I asked what it was used for and someone said - "for an angry mob" this year one of my quiet little blond girls said: "to kill people."

Next students have to draw themselves with a friend or family member. One person has to overlap the other and there must be clues in the background that give hints to what the people are doing.

As students begin to finish I give them a worksheet that they have to write about what is going on in their picture. Then they will switch with a partner and they must write about the other person's artwork. I stress that they are not to try to guess what that person was drawing - they are to bring their own memories and experiences to the drawing and write about what the drawing reminds them of or what memory it brings up for them.

Students sharing what they wrote about each other's drawings.

The worksheet is from the book Talking About Student Art by Terry Barrett it is in the Davis Publications' Art Education in Practice Series which my professors used in Grad school. A lot of great stuff in them!

Love the pool details in the background.




priceless!



Self Portraits

I have the third graders create a head and shoulders self portrait - the way they currently know how to. This way I can see what they already know and how cartoon-y or anime-y they draw people. I get a wide range of abilities like these:

1. create the oval
2. divide the oval in half vertically and horizontally
3. Measure on ourselves and on Vinny and Frida to determine that our eyes are in the middle of the oval
4. Discuss how the face is 5 eyes wide - we measure on ourselves
5. Put a football shape right in the middle of our oval - create two more footballs on equally on either side. We know that the eyes will be the 2nd and 4th football, erase the other 3.
6.  Divide the space from the chin to the middle in half, create a guideline. This is where our nose will rest.
7. Below the nose make a spread out M for the top lip - the width of the mouth should go to the middle of the eyes. Create the bottom lip.
8. Measure on ourselves how the top of the ear lines up with the eye and the bottom of the ear with the bottom of the nose. Create ears that go from the middle guideline to the bottom guideline.
9. Divide the top of the head to the middle in half - this is the hairline. Stress that hair does not just grow out of the top of our head - it grows all the way around and on our forehead.
10. We turn the paper over and do a close up of an eye with detail and then add the detailed eyes on the sketch.
11. After practicing once we more on to the final paper - go over lightly sketching in the guidelines and then students use mirrors to make it look like them.