1st & 2nd grade Gallery

1st & 2nd graders created

Shaggy Dogs

What we learned:

• How to create a shaggy texture by gluing only the top of each strip of paper down

• How to create painted paper where you mix colors directly on the paper

• That analogous colors give you the best results when mixing (colors next to each other on the color wheel)

• How to create and cut out their own style of nose, collar and eyes

1st grade Self-Portraits

The 1st graders created self-portraits using a mirror at the beginning of the year, in August 2023. A few weeks ago they completed a 2nd self-portrait (March 2024) and it's been fun to place them side-by-side to compare their skill growth!  Some students have really improved their fine motor skills!

2nd grade created

Sea Otters

What we learned:

• Many facts about sea otters- ask a 2nd grader what they know!- including that mama sea otters carry their babies on their bellies for up to 8 months until they learn how to swim

• How to draw a sea otter mama and baby

• How to add texture using washable markers

• How to turn markers into watercolor paints by adding water

• How to paint lines that look like ripples of water

2nd graders made

“Scarfies”

(Self-Portraits wearing scarves!)

What we learned:

• Sgraffito- an Italian term that means “to etch into” a surface. We created this effect by layering oil pastels (warm colors underneath cool colors) and used etching tools to create patterns in our scarves, hats, boots and mittens.

• We read the book “Extra Yarn” and talked about what an Illustrator does.

• We reviewed the oil pastel and watercolor resist technique.

Spring Bird Collages

1st grade

What we learned:

• A collage  is a piece of artwork created with more than 1 kind of paper

• How to draw a simple bird

• How to draw a birdhouse

1st grade

Polar Bear & Northern Lights Paintings

Inspired by the artist Ted Harrison

What we learned:

• About the artist Ted Harrison, who was an art teacher in Northern Canada!

• What the Northern Lights are and what causes them 

• How to paint a colorful landscape like Ted Harrison

• What kinds of animals live in the far north

• How to draw a polar bear with texture

• Contrast- light colors & dark colors beside each other

Paul Cézanne Inspired

Still Life Drawings

2nd grade

What we learned:

• Artist Paul Cézanne is well known for his still life paintings of fruit and bright colors

• A Still Life is a drawing or painting of objects that do not move.

• How to layer a variety of oil pastel colors to make an object more colorful and interesting to look at. We used its complementary color (green) for adding shading.

• How to draw an apple by observing one in real life, practicing together, and then tasting it- yum!

1st grade

Winter Tree Paintings

What we learned:

• How to paint a dark, winter sky by letting colors mix on the brush and naturally blend together

• How to draw simple evergreen trees

• How adding white “snow” on a dark background adds a pop of contrasting color 

Concentric Circles Penguin Painting 

1st grade Christmas Gala artwork

The 1st graders learned about what concentric circles are and how to create their own using ink daubers. They looked at photos of a variety of penguins, watched a video of a baby chick hatching and then learned how to draw a baby penguin step-by-step. They drew their penguins with water-based markers, so the next step was to use brushes dipped in water to paint on top of the marker. This made the penguins look fluffy.  It was such a fun process! The last step was adding snow, of course! I absolutely love how these turned out! Each penguin has such personality!

Circle Collages

2nd grade Christmas Gala project

The 2nd graders started their project by creating painted paper with paint sticks. They painted on a variety of papers- construction paper, old book pages and sheet music. Then they traced circles in a variety of sizes and cut, layered and glued them onto their paper. The last step was adding a variety of designs with metallic sharpies.

Fall Pumpkins

1st grade

What we learned:

• Printing- how to take an object other than a paintbrush to create lines (we used cardboard)

• How to draw and add shading to a pumpkin

• Cutting with scissors

How to create texture with paper for the grass

2nd grade dogs are ready for

Sweater Weather!

What we learned:

1. How to make painted paper

2. How to draw a variety of dogs

3. How to weave with paper

4. Warp- the part of the weaving that doesn’t move

5. Weft- the strips that you weave over & under the warp

2nd grade

Flower Bouquets

Inspired by Folk artist

Heather Galler

2nd graders reviewed the work of Heather Galler, an artist they first learned about last year.  This time we focused on studying the way she drew flowers and how she added line and shape designs in bright colors. Students practiced drawing the flowers in their sketchbooks first, then drew their final flowers on large pieces of paper with ink daubers so they could get dark, bold black lines. They added design with oil pastels and finished their masterpieces with watercolor paints.

2nd grade

Henri Rousseau Tigers

What we learned:

• About the French artist Henri Rousseau: that he never left France… but painted jungles!

• That “Magical Realism” means artwork that is based in reality with a touch of magic or unrealistic elements

• How to blend oil pastels

• How to draw a tiger in the style of “magical realism”

• How to draw jungle plants

• That gluing fake leaves onto their drawing makes it a “mixed media” artwork!

Cicada Drawings

1st grade

There’s no denying it- 1st graders love cicadas! After many days of collecting cicada shells at recess and during Outdoor Ed, it became clear that it was time for 1st graders to use their observational knowledge in learning how to draw them.

What we learned:

• Cicada facts (in Outdoor Ed)

• The details and colors of a cicada by closely observing one in Art class

• How to draw a cicada

• How to make the wings appear clear by using white crayon

• How watercolor resists the wax in crayons

Dream House Drawings

1st grade

The first graders got to use their wild imaginations to create drawings of their dream homes! They are so creative! We outlined the drawings in Sharpie markers, colored with crayons and added background colors with watercolor paints.

Abstract Expressionist 

Self-Portraits

2nd grade

What we learned:

• Abstract = Lines! Shapes! Colors! Not meant to look like an object

• Expressionist = Artwork that expresses feelings

• Self-Portrait = A portrait of yourself

• Composition = How an artist arranges the elements of their artwork