Elements of Art

 The Elements of Art are the building blocks to creating and discussing any work of Art. They are:
1) Line-The path of a point.
2) Shape-2-D, enclosed space
3) Form-3D object
4) Value-Range from light to dark
5) Space-Areas in and around art
6) Texture-Implied or real; touch
7) Color-ROYGBIV
Students in grades 2-5 studied these elements carefully and created these projects that demonstrate their understanding of  each of these concepts. The back ground behind the students names has seven areas--one area for each of the Elements. We had many great class discussions as we analyzed drawings, photographs and sculptures using these art words.  We will be using this knowledge in every art project this year.

Welcome!

 Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year! I have many exciting new Art projects planned out and ready to go. Grades kdg and first will begin by learning about lines and using a variety of lines to create simple drawings. Grades 2-5 will be learning about and reviewing the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, space, color, texture and value). We will be creating a cool mixed media piece the shows off our knowledge of these elements. Pictures of these projects will coming soon!

2nd grade 3-D Cities

 2nd grade artists looked at Edward Hopper. His most famous painting is Nighthawks where several lonely figures sit in an illuminated diner. Hopper was an American Realist painter; he painted what he saw. His paintings have been described as things you would see if you were driving through a new town. He was fascinated with light and shadow. We tried to capture light and shadow in our city paintings. We used warm colors in the sky and cool colors for our buildings. Our buildings are lit up on one side and painted with a tint of a cool color (light blue, light purple). The shadow side is a bit darker. We began our cities buildings by drawing a simple arrow that pointed up and creatively turned these arrows into what you see here.

3rd Grade Self-Portraits

 Third grade artists looked at the art and life of Amadeo Modigiliani. Although a sculptor at heart, he is most famous for his paintings. He painted portraits from life. While the people were recognizable, they were distorted. His portraits typically featured elongated, oval tilted heads and long necks. We used mirrors to observe the basic shapes of ourselves--our eyes, our hair, eyebrows, etc.  Unlike Modigliani, who was a painter, we used construction paper and glue in our collages. Collage is a french word meaning glue. Every third grader has a self-portrait hanging in the art room. It's been fun for the students trying to guess who is who.

5th Grade Rockin' Lock-in Mural

 The 5th grade mural was a huge success! Thank you to all the parents that made it possible. In honor of Earth Day, 5th graders printed using recycled and re-purposed found objects. We printed on old doors, instead of new boards. There are three doors; each one a primary color. These will be on permanent display, hanging in the media center. Thank you again to everyone who participated!

O'Keeffe Pastel Flowers

 3rd grade artists learned about the life and artwork of Georgia O'Keeffe.  She is a famous female artist known for cropping her paintings of flowers. She would paint one or two really big and colorful flowers. Sometimes she would crop her paintings so much that they became abstract.We began our drawings by drawing one large flower that was cropped-meaning it had to touch all four sides of the paper. Then we outlined our drawings in white school glue and let them dry. The following class we used pastels to create tints (lights) and shades (darks) and make our flowers look 3-D and realistic. This was a new project that turned out really well. I overheard several students telling other students that this was the greatest drawing they had ever made. How cool!

Design an Ad Contest

 The 5th graders all participated in the Wednesday Journal's "Design an Ad" contest where students designed advertisements for local businesses. The businesses then choose their favorite ads and these ads were published in the newspaper! These are the Holmes School winners. Congratulations!