5th grade worked on a project that required them to work together in groups or pairs on a unified idea. Their only requirement (besides working nicely together!) was to use the figure as a start. One student was traced on large paper and the group worked together to bring the outline to life. Some chose to make their figure look realistic and some chose a more abstract route.

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And congrats to these two who worked awesomely on their figure! So awesome, in fact, that their picture will be displayed in the Salina frame at the DPS administration center boardroom. Woot woot!

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Stay tuned for the rest of 5th grade’s figures and how we decided to display them! 

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Today was the last full day of school. Tomorrow we have a half day and then that’s it!  Fin!  Done!  Adios!  I decided earlier this morning that we would try some collaborative painting today… and I’m so glad we did. 

Middle school students painted the black outline with shapes and designs.  The only requirement was that the shapes had to touch one another.

My elementary students, two 4th grade classes, painted inside the lines.  I was super proud of how well they worked together.

Aaaaand the finished paintings! I might have to have them make more next year so I can wallpaper my house.

What an awesome way to end the year:)

It seems that every time I go to take a picture at school, my phone (which is also my camera) is dead. So this post is playing catch up! Enjoy the photos!

Here are a couple of the 5th grade’s finished superhero/villain pieces….

4Th grade made these Jasper Johns-inspired flag paintings to display for 5th grade’s Memorial Day concert.

They used an old chapter book page for the smallest flag, newspaper for the medium flag, and plain white construction paper for the largest flag. I love love love how they turned out!

Here is a part of the display by the auditorium…

A big thank you to my 8th grade helpers, Doha and Nawf for taping and stringing everything together.

We are in the process of a project involving multiple parts and techniques! Perfect for the end of the year when you want to revisit/review skills.  I was inspired by another art teacher for this superhero themed project (check out Cassie Stephens’ blog here).  We have been focusing on Pop Art and this project seemed to fit right in.

Here is a preview of some backgrounds 5th grade made for their soon-to-be cities. Oil pastels were used for details and watercolors for the rest of the scene.  The paint does not stick to the pastel.  We discussed how this is called a resist.

Before drawing our superheroes (and super villains), we spent a class doing some gesture drawings. We focused on how the body can be drawn using simple shapes.  Here is a sample of some of our heroes.

Superheroes need a city to protect. So next up, we will be using our home made scratch art paper to “scratch” our city scape!  Check back soon:)

April was poetry month, so 7th and 8th grade 2D students created and illustrated poems using old chapter book pages.  They picked which words and phrases they wanted to use and “blacked out” the unused portions.  Prior to, we discussed tone and mood and how both authors and artists can create moods within their work. Cross curricular coolness! 

At Salina, we are literally in the shadow of the Ford Rouge plant.  So when I saw this idea for construction paper “stones,” I immediately thought of Fordite, also known as Ford or Motor Agate.

Back when cars were spray painted by hand, overspray would accumulate on the skids used to hold up the car frames. This paint would build up and be baked repeatedly.  When chunks of it were removed and polished, something awesome happened…

Cars are painted differently now, so authentic Fordite is in limited supply.

3D students mimicked this effect by gluing layers of construction paper together and sanding it once dry. A coat of Mod Podge was applied to protect the piece and add shine.

Some students chose to make a thicker “stone” and some chose a thinner look to turn into a pendant.

I loved this project:)

My first hour middle school students have been working with a variety of media as they discover and perfect their skills!

Pop art candy paintings emphasized design and composition.

We looked at how illuminated manuscripts were made and how important these special illustrations were to religious text.  Here is one of our art show students with her illuminated letter R.

The paintings below are inspired by the Aboriginal dot paintings of Australia. Some of the paintings will be on display at Salina’s Diversity Night event next month.