Art with Mr. Dant

October

Kindergarten: Kindergarten continues to work on thier Jim Dine inspired projects and we will soon transition into Hispanic Heritage project and Fall themed projects. As we start these projects students will begin to learn how to properly use a variety of art tools such as watercolor paints, oil pastels, as well begin to work on our art vocabulary. 

First: First grade is finishing up their Fall inspired Warm/Cool color leaf projects. As the students finish these we are creating coffee filter marigolds as their contribution to the ALL SCHOOL ofrenda (an altar of remembrance). I am working with Mr Ramirez (our new Spanish teacher) to teach our students about the Mexican traditions surrounding Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and I am creating projects for several classes based on Dia de los Muertos, which will be displayed alongside the ofrenda. On October 15th we will be sending out an all school announcement to invite families to bring in offerings, in remembrance of their lost loved ones, to add to our altar. 

Second: Second grade is currently finishing up our collaborative project on Frida Kahlo. As students finish their contribution to our Frida mural they are practicing their Mirrored Symmetry drawings (in the form of monarch butterflies). These Monarch butterflies will be they Second grade contribution to our ALL SCHOOL ofrenda. Monarchs are a very common image seen in Dia de los Muertos celebration as their begin to appear around this time of year, having migrated South for the winter months.  We will also be working on a Warm/Cool project surrounding the traditional Aztec Sun/Moon art for our final Hispanic Heritage project.

Third: Third grade is rocking the Art room! They have finished both of their two Pablo Picasso inspired projects. They first project was a quick and silly project based on Nina Laden's book When Pigasso met Mootisse. We used oil pastel to create our own Cubist style pig portraits. For our second project we talked more about Picasso, taking a deeper dive into his use of color, collage, and music to create some of his most iconic pieces. We started our spanish guitar project by collaging scraps of paper to our background, then we added some visional texture, using texture rubbings as well as scraps of sheet music. Finally we finished it off by using oil pastels directly on the collage, drawing the guitar style of the students choice. Third grade will also creating sugar skull paintings for Hispanic Heritage month and will serve as their contribution to the school's ofrenda.

Fourth: Fourth grade continues with their exploration of the Surrealist art movement. We are finishing up our Hispanic Heritage spotlight of Joan Miro. His loose lines, his endless iconic use of symbols and color makes him a great chance for students to get away from the idea of realistic images and allows them to create using more of an imaginative approach. As we close out our lesson on Miro we move right into our surrealist Self-Portraits. For this project I started by taking simple portraits of each student. They were allow to be silly or keep it more classic. Next I printed each picture, asked them to cut out their portrait, and then instructed them to lop off  a small portion of the tops of their heads. Finally they are to glue down their portrait, and using the collage technique begin adding images of a variety of things that show what might be "exploding" out of their heads. These images should reflect something personal or connected to the artist..creating a sort of narrative that the viewer can learn about the artist.

Fifth: Fifth grade did an amazing jump on their Roy Lichtenstein inspired name projects! Has we transition to our next couple projects I am really impressed with the level of talent among these kids. Our last project was to design a shoe based on your own favorite candy and I was just so pleased with these results. Our latest project we are now starting is based in Modern Pop Artist Michael Albert. I felt his cross between mosaic collage and cereal box icons would be a perfect project for this group. I am very excited to see the results!

Sixth: As Sixth grade finishes up their name portraits we are starting to begin our next Contemporary art project. For this project they will start by using watercolors to paint a simple but colorful backdrop for their drawing. They were asked to stick to 3 colors and to choose a "color family" (Cool, Warm, Analogous,Primary, etc). Once they have completed their backdrop they will choose from a series of predetermined magazine editorial portraits of a variety of famous people. Next, I will demonstrate a very effective image transfer "hack" using oil pastel to create a monoprint of the original photo.

Seven: Seventh grade is completing their graffiti names and beginning to start their next project inspired by the stencil art of the iconic and mysterious Banksy. 

Eighth: Eighth grade is putting the finishing touches in touches on their Zentangle Silhouette "self-portraits" and we are transition to their Hispanic Heritage project. For their project we are learning about the tradition of Mexican hojalata. Hojalata is SPanish simple means Tin Art. This technique of embossing can be found throughout Mexico and the Southern border states. It is used for decorating mirrors, wall art and even christmas ornaments. Although their is endless styles and subjects featured in hojalata...it is also very common to see Catholic iconography such as saints, sacred hearts, doves, and so much more. For this lesson we focused on the Sacred Heart of Mary, it's endless interruption and created hangable (ie christmas ornaments) hojalata hearts.

August/September

WELCOME BACK!

The year is in full swing and there have obviously been few changes in my classroom for this 2024-25 school year. 

One of the biggest changes so far is in regards to the Original Works, art fundraiser. In the past your student's projects were sent home along with an order form. This form, the project, as well as the method of payment had to then be returned to school.  This year I worked with Original Works to setup an online version. With this you will be about to see your student's art and order any items directly from the dedicated website. I am hoping this will not only improve logistical issues but also promote more participation in the program. For those that do not know, this is a small but important fundraiser that directly raises money for my art curriculum. For ever idea purchased, a small portion comes back to our school to help raise money for future art needs.  Updates will be sent home as the order window gets closer. I have been told these make AMAZING gifts for Grandparents and Godparents.

With that said, here is a run down of what my K-8 students are currently working on.  

Kindergarten: These fantastic kids are starting to learn all about the 7 Elements of Art & 9 Principles of Design, starting with Line. In the coming weeks we will be learning about Artist Jim Dine and while using his famous heart motif we will be learning to create patterns and lines using the RESIST method of painting.

First:  For First grades' project I decided to challenge them with a project that I had previously done with 2nd grade. However, with this level of skill these awesome humans have shown me, I knew that they could handle it...and they have.  We are starting this year off by going more in depth with an artist we learned about last year, Paul Klee.  For this project we are focusing on Klee's painting Once Emerged from the Gray of Night. This is a watercolor painting full of shapes and colors, but not only that, it uses the lyrics of a poem by the same title as an artist element of its own. The shapes and lines created by the letters are as much as featured player in this painting as is the paint colors. After talking briefly about this piece, the student began brainstorming words, phrases, etc that describe them personally... so they can create their own "word painting". (on a side note this project also doubles as a lesson on spelling, writing, and self-identity). 

Second: In Second grade we are working on our Original Works project, of our rainy day color wheels. We are talking about color categories like Primary Colors (Red, Blue, Yellow), Secondary, Warm Colors, Cool Colors. We are learned some basics of using a ruler to not only measure but to use it as a tool to make straight lines.

Third: Third grade has also been talking a lot about color for their project. For their mixed media, cubist style flower vases, they were asked to focus on their color choices. I encouraged them to limit their color palettes to specific color groupings. One they have chosen their "group" I encourage them to stay within that group throughout the entire project. We reviewed the basic color groups; Primary, Secondary, Warm and Cool colors. I also introduced them to two new color groups... Complementary (opposite) and Analogous (alike) colors. 

Fourth: Fourth grade is going to get a little weird this year. By that, I mean we will be learning about the rise of Surrealism. We are kicking off this journey with our Original Works project, where the students were asked to imagine and create their "Fantasy" sandwich. Doesn't have to be realist, it doesn't have to be even edible. The objective is to give permission for them to use their imagination and encourage each student to create art projects that are personal and more individual.

Fifth: Fifth grade is objectively my favorite curriculum year. 5th grade will be focusing on Pop Art this year. For their first project we learned about Roy Lichtenstein, his comic book influenced art and the why Pop Art was such a game changer for the art world.

Sixth: Sixth grade might be starting off the year with the most challenging project but knowing this group's talent and potential I am extremely excited to see the results. This project is challenging in regards to the fact that it requires some real abstract, out of the box thinking. That is all on this for now.

Seventh: Seventh grade is jumping right into their Street Art Era and learning some basic graffiti writing styles and fonts for their Original Works project.

Eighth: Eighth grade is working on their focus while learning ways to incorporate the principles/elements of Pattern, Contract, and Negative Space so they can work on elevating those projects to the next level!