This Week in Art...

Here are some updates of what the different grade levels have been creating in the art room!

Kdg.- Kindergarteners have been learning about functional art versus art for art's sake, so we have been creating candy jars using found objects. The students have been using the found objects to trace and stamp. They loved thinking about all the candies they like and recreating them.

1st- First graders have been working on creating tree houses. We learned about shelters and how tree houses can be a type of shelter. The tree houses have both visual texture and actual texture. This project is great because the tree houses really give the students an opportunity to use their imaginations. One treehouse I saw had traps and laser beams!

2nd- The second graders have been finishing up their warm and cool color fish for the book fair next week. They learned a new technique called wax resist to create a colorful effect on their fish.

3rd- Third graders just finished their sea turtles for the book fair-- they look GREAT. There are even a few teenage mutant ninja sea turtles on display throughout the school. The students really enjoyed thinking about different ways to design their turtle shells.

4th- Fourth graders are taking a break from their Jasper Johns Pop Art Collagraph lesson to paint their ceramic grotesques (a gargoyle without a spout). We're using black and silver acrylic paint to give them the look of stone.

5th- Fifth graders have been glazing their Wayne Thiebaud inspired ceramic donuts. Some of them look so real! The students have been learning about how the glazing process works and some troubleshooting while using glaze.   Glazing and ceramics involves a LOT of chemistry, which is always fascinating to the students.

Welcome to the Art Room at Langston Hughes!

I will use this blog to keep you updated on what all the Langston artists are creating and exploring. Enjoy!

Kdg.- The kindergarteners are finishing up their Pattern Paintings, which they learned how to create patterns using shapes, lines, letters, numbers, colors, or simple pictures. They used crayons and watercolor to create a wax resist. Their works will be on display in the hallway soon! Now we are learning about functional art and creating "candy jars". The students are using found objects to trace and stamp candies in their jars.

1st- First Graders are finishing their native american teepees and should be bringing them home this week. They learned about how the teepee is a 3D cone and how native americans used the teepees to tell stories with symbols-- which we also created on our teepees! Now we are beginning a new lesson about tree houses. Students will create their own tree houses with rooms, details, visual texture, actual texture, and patterns.

2nd- For the Book Fair coming up on Friday, Feb. 13th, 2nd grade is helping create art for the hallway display outside the library. The theme is "Under the Sea", so we've been busy making tissue paper seahorses that were inspired by Eric Carle's book, Mister Seahorse.

3rd- Third Graders are also helping create art for the Book Fair display. We're making sea turtles using painted paper. Earlier in the year, we had learned about tints and shades, so we used that knowledge when making the painted papers for the turtles. Now we're using oil pastels to create shell detail and texture-- they're really enjoying the process.

4th- Fourth Grade is finishing up their Valentine Zentangles and should be bringing them home soon. They really enjoyed learning how Zentangling is a form of doodling used to relax. We played soft music in the classroom while they worked. The kids loved the low-key feelings the Zentangling brought. Expect to see those coming home soon! Our next project is about the Pop artist, Jasper Johns. The students will create collagraphs with letters and numbers that are meaningful to them.

5th- Fifth grade has just finished their Lakota Winter Counts and are beginning to "glaze" their Wayne Thiebaud-inspired ceramic donuts. Once the donuts are fired, we'll use beads to create sprinkles, write artist statements, and enjoy real donuts in class.