Embedded Files
Welcome to the start of the new 25-26 year in Art!
Fifth grade jumped right into the new year by "learning to be creative within the confines of our limitations." They watched a TED talk by Phil Hansen, called "Embrace the Shake". When Phil Hansen's dedication to his art led to permanent nerve damage and a shaking hand, he turned a limitation into a creative catalyst.
Each 5th grade table of 2 to 4 people was given 3 or 4 pieces of non-traditional drawing material and were challenged to create a piece of art that could hang on a wall. They could use anytime of drawing material or paints that would work on the materials.
End of the 24-25 year.
Falling for Foreshortening
Foreshortening is when something in a two-dimensional picture looks like it is coming toward you because of a change in size. The fifth graders final project is a picture of themselves falling out of or into a background as they will be leaving Brownsville and moving on this year. It is done in conjunction with the final poem of the year written in their classrooms., a poem about where they come from. They are hung along the halls or in the multipurpose room for graduation.
They begin with a tracing of their hands and feet on a piece of paper. They draw the details of the bottom of their shoes and hands first. Then they fit their body between the hands and feet, getting smaller in the distance. The pictures are done in colored pencil, sometimes marker in the backgrounds. They have reviewed facial proportions and have mirrors to help in drawing their faces and skin tones.
Stuart Davis Abstracts
Students will learn about proto-Pop artist Stuart Davis and how he moved from Social Realism to a proto-pop abstraction, using his life in the city, jazz themes, advertisements and logos. They will see how he simplified and rearranged his forms and colors to develop his abstract paintings
Then they will create an abstract picture from a popular culture object. I buy mainly candies, cereals, drinks, and crayons, but they may bring in objects from home or empty boxes with marketing logos of objects. They will design and sketch the layout of the abstracted object with the guidance of principles of design, choose complementary and contrasting colors as needed to make the image "pop", and paint it with care and precision, outlining with Sharpie if needed.
Clay Containers
Fifth graders made a clay container that started with two similar sized pinch pots. They joined these pots together using the score and slip method and sealed it with a small clay coil. Once smoothed they kept the air trapped inside and tapped out a square or other shaped form to make their container. Next they decorated it by adding on clay or incising into the clay. Once it was finished they made an uneven cut to separate the lid from the container and cleaned and smoothed the inside portion. They were bisque fired and then glazed for the final firing.
Page updated
Report abuse