Honoring

Fourth and fifth grade students created a collective series of work to honor veterans for Veterans Day this year.

Students created the Ohio flag.

They also made a flag of the United States.

Students also created a poster for the army, navy , air force, marines and the coast guard.

After drawing the design and tracing it with marker, students added a wash of watercolor paint for the background.

After retracing the poster with marker, students began to use dots of paint in a pointillistic manner.

Every group began adding dots of color to their art work.

Collectively the work began to take shape as dots and colors began to fill in the design.

It was fun to watch the students take ownership of their work as their skills increased.

All of the students were introduced to new art techniques and design ideas as they worked cooperatively on this project.

Here are examples of their work:

 

 

 

 

Bare bones drawing

Third grade students have been learning about contour and continuous line drawing.

Students have been using “George”, our classroom skeleton, as a model.

These drawing exercises have been forcing the students to explore a new method of drawing.

Everyone has learned new skills in this new method of drawing.

It’s exciting to see students’ drawing skills improve through this process.

The line in a continuous line drawing is unbroken from the beginning to the end. The drawing tool stays in constant contact with the surface of the paper during the entire length of the drawing process.

It has been great fun to see the third graders’ confidence grow in their drawing abilities as the school year progresses.

 

Neon flowers

Second grade students created neon flowers in the manner of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Students were divided into groups and, after viewing work by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe, began drawing large flowers.

Every group worked cooperatively.

After drawing their flowers, students moved to marker to enhance their pencil work.

The students worked very well together to complete this stage of their images.

Next students employed neon crayons.

Each group decided which areas to color and not to color with crayon.

The second graders worked hard to add rich color with the neon crayons.

The final step was to add liquid watercolor.

Students used related colors and worked to dry the remaining paint away with towels.

Here are some examples of their images:

 

 

 

 

Cards

Most of the elementary art students participated in creating some type card for Mother’s Day this year.

Kindergarten students used colored pencils to create line pattern with their Mother’s Day card.

First graders used scissors and crayons to create a pop-out card for their moms.

Second grade students created a cut out Mom card.

Third grade students created an M-shaped card for Mother’s Day.

Everyone concentrated on creating the perfect card for Mom!

All of the students incorporated learned skills and some new ones to create a card filled with design elements.

I’m sure every mom was thrilled with their uniquely created card for Mother’s Day!

Colors of the Rainbow

Kindergarten and first grade students explored the rainbow through the use of primary and secondary colors.

Students used watercolor paints to explore the rainbow.

Everyone learned about the colors of the rainbow.

Students learned about the primary and secondary colors and how they are part of the rainbow.

Everyone enjoyed the painting process.

After completing the painting process, students used crayons to add details to their paintings.

Students added clouds and the sun to their rainbow image.

All of the students were very focused during their studio time.

Everyone also had a great time in art!

Here are some examples of their work:

 

Shamrock shapes

Kindergarten and first grade students have been exploring the shamrock shape.

Students first cut out a shamrock stencil shape.

After cutting out the stencil, students transferred the shape to green construction paper to make their own shamrock.

After creating their own shamrocks, students created a shamrock person.

Again students used their stencils to create their shamrock cartoon characters.

Everyone was excited to use their imaginations as they made their shamrock people.

Students also enjoyed using crayons and markers to complete their drawings.

Here are some examples of the kindergarten and first grade drawings:

 

 

 

 

 

Multicolored hearts

Kindergarten and first grade students explored creating stencil designs with hearts.

After creating a heart stencil with a positive and negative shape, students explored adding color.

First graders focused on creating texture with their designs.

Kindergarten students explored combining colors together for their hearts.

Everyone loved the opportunity to explore new ways of creating heart designs.

There are a multitude of creative ways to use stencils, and  everyone learned to make and create with them in art class.

Hearts for learning

Kindergarten students explored the heart shape as they learned how to create a heart shaped stencil.

Students developed their cutting skills in this project as they folded and cut out a heart shape.

Cutting is a difficult skill to master, and everyone builds their skills with this project.

The next step is to use the stencil to create heart shapes.

This step requires focus and the use of two hands in the drawing and tracing process.

Finally students have the opportunity to create many colors and textures on their hearts.

All of the students love the opportunity to express themselves with many new types of art materials.

Here are some examples of their heart designs:

 

 

Bug building

Sixth grade students have been developing bugs from 3D shapes.

After researching bugs and the shape of bugs, students were given a cylinder to use to create their bug.

Everyone had different ideas on how to begin building a 3D shape.

Most students began with painting their cylinder.

As the process of building continued the students’ creativity grew.

Everyone worked at a different pace, fostering an environment of mutual encouragement.

Students were required to do problem solving as they built their bugs.

There were many collaborations during the creative process as students aided each other.  I am looking forward to seeing their completed creations.

Arbor Day

Fifth grade students recently participated in the City of Willard’s Arbor Day poster contest.

The poster contest was sponsored by the Willard Tree Commission.

Students were given the theme “Trees are good for life.”

After learning about Arbor Day, students created three ideas and picked their best idea for their poster.

Lettering was a large part of the students’ design for their posters.

Everyone had a variety of materials to choose from to create their poster.

I was very proud of the hard work most everyone put into their posters.

This was a great project for the students to become aware of their community and environment and how they have a part in their local community.

Students also learned about the process it takes to come up with an idea and turn it into a poster to educate their community.

Here are some examples of their posters: