Aug. 16th-18th

First week-- CHECK. Off to a great start here in the Art room here at Langston!

Before diving into our first project, students went on a scavenger hunt around the art room. Hopefully, this will *slightly* squelch the need for the kids to ask me where the trash can lives.

After the hung, we have begun creating a school-wide collaboration of Lego Self-portraits. The vision is to create the student body of Langston as Lego mini figures-- "Lego Hughes Elementary" ha.

This is a great opportunity to get to know the students as they work and help them remember our most used routines around the room. It's fun seeing the students try to create the outfits they're ACTUALLY wearing. Accurate down to the socks!

Bobcats hard at work!

January 16th-20th

Take a look at what's been happening in the Art room!

Kdg: Kinders have finished their Winter Landscapes-- they look fantastic on display in the hall. Students practiced tearing paper, gluing, and cutting shapes to make houses with details like roofs, chimneys, doors, and windows. Then added "snow" with q-tips!

Now we are learning about line directions: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Practicing drawing straight lines can be challenging for EVERYONE, but these kinder are rocking it.

 1st: First graders have been reviewing and are being assessed about the 3 types of Art (portrait, still life, and landscape). Now, they're learning about the Chinese New Year! The dragon is a symbol of protection and good luck. We're creating C.N.Y. dragons by tracing our hands, and cutting other shapes for details. Can't wait to see them finished!

 2nd: 2nd graders are learning about 2D shapes vs 3D forms. We're beginning to create our 3D form Sculptures. Learning how to take a 2D paper and turn it into a 3D form is almost magical. Can't wait for these to be finished. 

3rd: Third graders have finished their coil points, which were painted to show repetition. 


Next, we did some quick snowflake doodles with liquid watercolor and sharpie. "Doodles" are fast and sometimes filled with mistakes-- learning to turn the mistake around change it into something beautiful is a concept that was discussed often.

Next up: Perspective/Point of View Snowmen!

 4th: Fourth graders are finished with their Winter Birch Trees (I've received MANY compliments from staff and students). Great work, 4th grade!
Now, we're learning about the Pop Art movement of the 60's, specifically, the artist, Jim Dine. Dine created a series of paintings and sculptures of hearts, a universally recognized symbol of love. Inspired by the colorful and rough look in Dine's work, we're creating hearts with tints and shades. 

 5th: Fifth graders did a Design Challenge last week in Art in which they worked in groups to create a container with a handle, a lid with a hinge. The container also had to hold the weight of 10 buttons. The students worked well together and really stretched their brain for new ideas, facing challenges with their designs, the students persevered through their struggles. 

Now, they are learning about the Adinkra cloths of Ghana. These cloths are printed with symbols representing values held by the community or a person who has recently passed away. 

The students are creating their own stamps using original symbols representing their personal values. 

Ms. Brown's Adinkra

Oct. 10th- Oct. 14th

Kdg: Kinders are learning about SCULPTURE. Sculptures are 3D and you can walk "all the way around" them, as oppose to a flat painting or drawing! Following our lesson about lines, kinder artists used paper to create a line sculpture. 

1st: As part of our Types of Art Unit, Firsties are creating a Still Life painting. They learned about the artist, Paul Cezanne, and his still life paintings of apples. Still Life paintings are pictures of THINGS.

2nd: Second grade artists are demonstrating their knowledge of warm and cool colors with these ornamental corns! 

3rd: After learning about tints, shades, and hues, 3rd graders are creating GORGEOUS moonlit pumpkins. The students placed pumpkins in the foreground, middle ground, and background-- which is a way of adding PERSPECTIVE! Perspective makes art look more realistic!

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4th: Fourth graders are finishing up a quick lesson about gesture drawing. Not only did we draw from live models (ie. ME and some volunteer students), but we also created foil action figures! We used our action figures to make gesture drawings. The key to drawing movement? Diagonal lines.

5th: Fifth graders drew their names in block letters using perspective, then placed them in a landscape setting, real or imaginary. These are so fun!

Sept. 12th-16th

Kdg: Kinders are reviewing and continuing to practice different types of lines with their Silly Line People. We are about to dive into line direction and primary colors with projects inspired by Piet Mondrian.

It doesn't get any cuter than this...

 1st: Firsties are identifying different types of art (portrait, landscape, still life) and are beginning their  Self-Portraits! Stay tuned-- they. are. hilarious.

Learning about NOUNS in Art!

 2nd: After reading the book, Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds, 2nd grade artists are creating Ish pictures! We discussed how "ish" means almost. And sometimes we make art that doesn't look exactly like what we're trying to make it look like and thats okay! All of our art is Ish!

The creativity is bubbling over with these kids.

 3rd: Third graders are finishing up their Matisse Name Collages and are now moving onto Watercolor Technique Quilts. We will learn and practice 6 techniques such as crayon resist, wet-on-wet, and gradient wash.

Please note-- the burger. Love.

AND PIZZA.

 4th: After many messy days, the fourth graders are finishing up their Value Crayons. The students are having a great time working together and using tones, tints, and shades (ask them about the song!) to create more realistic-looking crayons.

 5th: Fifth graders are learning about linear perspective in Art. Linear perspective is used to create depth and the illusion of space in a 2D work. Our way of practicing One-Point perspective is through our Name Landscape projects. This is a TOUGH concept for anyone, but the students are really persevering and making great progress. Pictures to come :)

3rd year's the charm! Aug. 17th- Sept. 1st

Just now getting back into the swing of things here in the Langston Art Room! Here's what we've been up to...

Kdg: Kinders are learning about the Art room, and the supplies we will use to make art this year. We are diving right in with learning about LINES. The students are painting curly, straight, castle, wavy, zig zag, and other lines in black. Now we will be learning about ROY G BIV, the colorful elf that lives at the end of the rainbow. ROY G BIV helps up remember the sequence of colors in the rainbow.

1st: First grade is reviewing lines, shapes, and patterns through our Pattern Name Projects. We're also reviewing how to treat our brushes like "ballerinas" and paint on our tip toes!

2nd: Second grade has been learning how to write in block and bubble lettering! This was challenging for most, but they rocked it. After writing their names in block or bubble, students added patterns inside the letters.

3rd: Third grade has been busy learning about Henri Matisse and how he "paints" with scissors in his collages. We're making Name Collages using positive space, negative space, organic shapes, and geometric shapes. LOVING these. 

4th: Fourth grade is creating Value Crayon Collaboratives. Students work as groups to organize huge crayons across their group of papers, then using chalk pastels to add value (lightness and darkness of a color). 

Here's what the finished product will look like!

5th: Fifth graders are making Radial Symmetry Paper Sculptures using two types of folds-- triangle and fold. These folded papers are then arranged into a radially symmetrical design. Can't wait to see these hung up in the hall!

Little lilypad.

Color combo is on point. 

Love the high-relief of some of these sculptures!