Observational Drawing by 2nd grade

Students in grade 2 are learning to look closely at objects, and to draw what they see, in preparation for creating still life painting. 

 We talked about how the secret to drawing realistically from observation is looking very closely at all the ins and outs and bumps and lines, and also, drawing very slowly.  Students were encouraged to move their pencil at the speed of an ant crawling along the object.  They were also told to look up a whole lot more than they looked down.  In most cases, the kids were really happy with the level of detail and realism in their drawings.  They surprised themselves, and now they know the secret to drawing that adults seem to forget!  

 
 

Post-It to the Puppets

Students in grades 3 and 4 displayed their finished puppets on the art tables, and walked around the room to look at each others work.  Next,we talked about complements, and how artists deserve specific complements that let them know what they did well and could repeat again on another piece.  

Some things the students brainstormed they could write about were: the way the puppet was put together or the way it moves (engineering), the details of the puppet in color and texture, the creativity in character design, and the neatness (craftsmanship). 

Students then walked around the room and left specific complements on post-its for their peers, next to a particular puppet.  The students loved doing this and many of them asked for more and more post-its to write on.  One class did not stop for the entire class period, and spent 30 minutes giving complements.  At the end of class, students headed back to their seat and read the complements that were left for them.  We made sure as a group that every puppet got some feedback.

Here are some more pics of the finished puppets.  
I will post a link to the youtube shadow shows once they are all filmed. 

Finished Puppet Complements

Students in grades 3 and 4 displayed their finished puppets on the art tables, and walked around the room to look at each others work.  Next,

Reflecting on Our Work

Several weeks ago, 2nd grade students used an "Art Sandwich" as a tool to critique and complement another student's collage illustration.
They paired up in class and gave each other two complements and a suggestion for improvement.  

Compliments are the carbs that keep us working and fuel our efforts, and suggestions are the protein that help us grow as artists and citizens and give us energy over the long haul.

It was very important for students to understand that saying "I like it" or "I think it's good" is a nice thing to say, but does not help the artist understand what about the art piece is strong, and should be tried again.

A special thanks to Ms. Kitty, the art teacher at Ravenswood for inventing and sharing the Art Sandwich with me, and so many other things, while I was student teaching! 

3-Day Portrait Sculpture Challenge

Students in grades 7-8 learned about busts and portraits as an introduction to sculpture and clay.
The first day they learned how to create the generalized proportions of the human face. 
Next, they each received a photograph of a famous person, and embraced the challenge of recreating that famous face to the best of their ability in clay. 

Students had to observe the famous faces closely, and notice all of the small things that makes each face unique.

Both myself and many of the students were impressed by the clay portraits they made in only 3 class periods.  Many of the students had never sculpted with clay before.

Two "Rosa Parks" by one 7th and one 8th grader

Pablo Picasso- amazing job by Jerry.

The finished Autobiographical Comic Strips

I thought I would post some images of some of the completed comic strips created by the 6-8th grade students.  Many of the students worked very hard on these, and they did a fabulous job telling their true story using pictures and words in tandem.  

Throughout this project, the students learned about thumbnail sketches, planning out a work of art, comic book conventions such as including panels and gutters, zooming in to the action, communicating through facial expressions, and varying your line weight. Students also learned how to use lines to create value.  Finally, I hope they learned that even if they can't draw perfectly or realistically, they can still use simple images to communicate a whole lot of (true) story and (hilarious) information to a viewer. 

Finishing Our Shadow Puppets

Students in the 3rd and 4th grades have now added color and details to their shadow puppets, making them enticing art objects as well as fabulous shadow play.  They chose either colored pencils, markers or both to bring their characters to life.  

A completed donkey puppet created by Alexander in 4th grade,  next to his original drawing and design.

Next, they joined each of their separately drawn and cut pieces together, using paper fasteners.  Next week, students will add the dowel rods to their puppets and begin rehearsing movements that tell the story of their folktale. 

A completed bird puppet by Alicia in 4th grade. 

Many of the puppets came out absolutely superb from the standpoint of successful engineering and design, as well as beauty and characterization. 
I will be posting more pictures of both the puppets and performances soon.

Here are links to some of the performances:  More to come!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jx7NAOYcwk&feature=youtu.be 

http://youtu.be/6Nm5qkKbqMQ