April 6th-10th

Hello all,

This is what the Langston artists are working on this week...

Kdg.- Kindergarteners are learning about the mythical story of Sacred Dogs (horses) told in the book, The Gift of the Sacred Dog by Paul Goble. The classes have been listening to the story and learned about a Native American artist, Kevin Red Star. Kevin Red Star depicts horses in his works, much like the ones shown in the story. The students have been busy drawing their own fanciful sacred dog scenes with colorful details and backgrounds.

1st- First graders have been making their snake, bat, and worm headbands for the upcoming music program. After they finished their headbands, we have been learned about the abstract expressionist artist, Wassily Kandinsky. Now we're making abstract paintings using crayons and watercolors. The students are tracing their hands and overlapping them so the hands are abstracted, then filling in some spaces with lines and patterns. It's great seeing the students work together to trace each others hands.

2nd- Second grade students, like the 1st graders, have been making Dr. Seuss headbands for the music program. Aside from the headbands, 2nd grade has been learning about turtles in Native American culture and now we're making ceramic turtles-- I would have pictures, but my hands are covered in clay when we work on them! :)

A "Cat" hat. Great craftsmanship!

3rd- Third graders have been learning about the legend of the Blue Willow, which is a famous chinese folklore that is often depicted on blue and white porcelain ceramics that have been dated back to the Tang dynasty. Because porcelain isn't available, we've been using paper plates, sharpies, and tempera to make our own Blue Willow plates. The plates feature a design on the outer ridge, inner ridge, and a story in the middle. The students are really enjoying thinking of their own story!

4th- Fourth graders have been learning about the ancient Aztec Sunstone, which was created by the Aztecs and is thought to have been a calendar. Students have been creating their own woven versions of an Aztec Sun. The students picked a color scheme for their loom and yarn (analogous, monochromatic, warm, cool). Now that most of the kids are done with the weaving, we are placing our woven looms onto a paper mosaic background. They're coming along beautifully.

Its hard to believe this is a 4th graders work! 

5th-Fifth graders are finishing up their fantasy maps, and are beginning to start on the next project, Space Scenes. The fantasy maps are AMAZING. The watercoloring really pulled together the whole map and the students really enjoyed experimenting with color mixing-- so fun.

Not finished yet, but coming along so nicely! 

Such a fun idea for a compass rose.

March 23rd-27th

Hi everyone,

The students are back from spring break and have been busy in the art room-- even making March Madness masterpieces. The one below was made prior to the Jayhawk's defeat. :(

Here's what each grade is up to!

K- Kindergarten students are learning about the artist Hanoch Piven, who creates portraits of famous artists using found objects. We're using things around the classroom to assemble our self-portraits, such as paper clips, foam, beads, pipe cleaners, string, etc. The kids are really loving creating these colorful and silly portraits.

1st- First graders are either finishing up the Paul Klee Building Blocks lesson or making their headbands for the 1st grade music program. Mrs. Szeleywcz's class made their brown bat headbands yesterday, complete with insects on the band-- adorable!

2nd- Second grade students are learning about art from the past and present. We have been having discussions about what clues tell us when an artwork was made. 2nd graders also compared and contrasted works of art to learn more about art from the past and present.

3rd- Third grade students are finishing up their cubist animals and getting ready for their field trip on April 9th to the Spencer Art Museum. A docent from the Spencer will be visiting the third grade classes to talk about the museum and the exhibits we'll be seeing. This trip is the day after MAP testing, so this is a great reward for students after their hard work.

4th- Fourth graders are finishing up their Jasper Johns Pop Art Collagraphs. We have finished printing and are now completing a self-assessment rubric and doing a scavenger hunt! The scavenger hunt is great because it allows the students to study each other's works.

5th- Fifth graders are creating their Fantasy Exploration Maps. Students looked at the work of Allison Murray Whittingston for inspiration. Maps need to have a compass rose, labels, a border, a theme, and small pictures. The students have been very excited about this project and love having total creative power. We are learning about watercolors and how to create value with water/paint proportions. Can't wait to see how the Maps look with color!

March 2nd-6th

Hello!

I missed last week's post due to conferences, but here's what we're working on this week in the Art room.

K- Kindergarteners have finally finished their party hats that focused on their knowledge of functional art vs. art for art's sake. This project reviewed so many things we've learned over the past month or two-- cutting, gluing, stamping, oil pastels, patterns, and types of art. I just love how the kids made every aspect of the hat except the paper.

1st- First graders are finishing up their tree houses. This project is so adorable and also so lengthy. Here's a preview of our next project, Paul Klee Building Block Cityscapes. One class took a break and started this project and their so colorful and really brighten up the hallway.

2nd- Second Graders are continuing to work on their warm color monsters and cool/neutral color robots. We read a book called "I Need My Monster" and they all really enjoyed that while drawing their monsters. I am emphasizing to them the importance of craftsmanship and filling the space.

3rd- Third grade is learning about different portrait viewpoints (frontal, profile, and 3/4 view). This is an extension of our knowledge of landscape viewpoints (bird's eye, worm's eye, and eye level). To practice our understanding, we've been learning about Pablo Picasso and Cubism. He used multiple viewpoints in his portraits. The students are making Cubist Animals using multiple perspectives. This is a really hard concept and the kids impressed me with how quickly they picked it up!

4th- Fourth graders are in the printing stage of their collagraphs. Collagraphs are a form of printmaking in which a printing plate is made from cardboard, string, foam, or other found objects. The printing is a messy experience, but teaches the importance of following directions and listening--that's for sure.

5th- Fifth graders just finished adding sprinkles to their ceramic Wayne Thiebaud-inspired donuts and enjoyed donuts in class. Now we are beginning to plan our Fantasy Exploration Maps based on the artwork of Allison Murray Whittington. Everyone is getting very creative with their map themes! While their maps are in progress, here are some photos of the finished donuts.

Feb. 16th- Feb. 20th

It's been a fast and furious week here at Langston. Between the Bookfair, the pancake feed, and a four day week, it has been busy! Here is what the Langston Artists have been up to this week:

Kdg.- Kindergarteners have been reviewing Functional Art (art that a person can use for something) vs. Art for Art's Sake (art we just look at and enjoy). This is a pretty high-level concept, but the students really seem to grasp it well! We will continue reviewing and next week I will assess their understanding. We have finished the candy jars and are moving onto Party Hats! Their party hats will use their knowledge of line, shape, color, and pattern. We just need to add tassels on the top and the strips to fit around their heads!

1st- First graders have been continuing to learn about shelters and how they keep us safe and happy. We have been creating details in our tree houses and adding patterned wallpaper. The students have been practicing following directions in order to draw the branches. Next we'll add actual texture in the form of leaves! When we finish, the students will share with the class what is in their treehouse and the various details.

2nd- Second grade students have been reviewing warm and cool colors this week. We are in the process of making a monster painting using warm colors. Warm colors are generally used for things that are alive and breathing, like a monster! It's great seeing how creative the students get with their monsters. Next, we'll make Cool Color Robots!

3rd- Third graders have finished up their Zentangles and are now learning about different portrait viewpoints: frontal, profile, and 3/4 view. The students also learned about Pablo Picasso and Cubism. Cubism often uses multiple portrait viewpoints, so it's a perfect tie-in. We'll be making Cubist Animals this week and next. I'll have pictures up next week-- expect some colorful and fragmented mammals :)

4th- Fourth graders are finishing up painting their grotesques, wrapping them in newsprint, and taking them home. The black-silver paint really added to their stone quality! Now we are continuing with our Jasper Johns Collagraph. A collagraph is a type of printmaking in which a printing plate it made from cardboard, string, foam, and other found materials. The students have proposed a composition to me and a partner at their table, and then started making their collagraph printing plates. The students have been very excited about this-- one student even made a collagraph outside of class after learning how to make one!

5th- Fifth graders have been slowly but surely finishing glazing their donuts. They should be coming home next week! Now we are beginning a Fantastical Maps lesson. Students have been learning about the history of cartography, types of maps, features of a map, and have looked at the artwork of Allison Murray Whittington, who creates pirate-esque fantasy maps of imagined lands. Students have begun brainstorming what different aspects they would like to include in their fantasy maps. In the mean time, here are some pictures of their finished Lakota Winter Counts.

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.