February 2026

So much is happening in February that inspires our Art Making - Black History Month, Valentine's Day, the Winter Olympics, Lunar New Year, Winter Storms and the beginning of the Art competition season call for entry applications!

Aspen Trees

Collage

A hope for warmer weather propelled students to produce a collage made of torn and printed papers. To suggest the white birch tree bark, students stamped black horizontal lines onto long white torn paper tree trunk shapes. These were glued to light blue papers to represent a light sky colored background. Two different green papers were torn into leaf shapes and collaged mostly at the tops of the white tree trunks producing beautiful birch tree works of art.

SC K, 1st GRADE

Heart Wall Decor

Air Dry Clay

In this lesson SC Kindergarten and 1st grade students explored sculpting with air dry clay and working with the heart shape which symbolizes love. Students also created texture and self expression in their heart artworks when they pressed beads and gems into them and painted them with their favorite colors. Students could each produce one, two or three hearts working their fine hand-motor skills. All hearts were poked with a hole so that students could thread a colored pipe cleaner through and twist to shape a loop enabling the artworks to be hung on a wall.

1st Grade

Alma Thomas

inspired

Snowman

In recognition of Black History Month (February) and International Women's Day (March 8), first Graders learned about African American Artist Alma Thomas for inspiration of a winter snowman work of art. Thomas started painting professionally after 30 years of teaching Art (when she was 70), and invented a new style of painting using short brush strokes and patterns in bright colors to show feeling and movement. She gained national success and became the first African American woman to have an exhibition at the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

Our students borrowed some of Thomas's style to produce a mixed media artwork featuring a personalized snowman drawn with colorful crayons. Students surrounded their snowmen wit bright sunny backgrounds produced with small, patterned shapes of warm colors created with paint sticks to suggest a bright sunny day. Under the snowmen are cool colored strokes of paint representing the ground. A light dusting of peach and blue chalk pastels fills in the white paper spaces in between these warm and cool colored areas. The result - happy snowmen possibly getting ready for a spring melt.

2nd GRade

Antarctic Penguins

Sculpture

Second graders painted the penguin air dry clay sculptures they made last month, in a realistic way by observing photos of the birds. Then they created a small part of the bird's habitat using recycled cardboard onto which ocean water and waves were painted with blue and white tempera paints. Pieces of broken Styrofoam (recycled packaging) were glued on top of the "ocean water" to represent melted and floating sheets of glacial ice or iceburgs. Lastly, the penguins were glued on top of the Styrofoam pieces with construction glue. (More to come on this project next month).

Third Grade

African inspired Symmetrical Mask Collage

Masks have been made by Africans for thousands of years and are still being made today. In the past, they were used by tribes for many purposes such as carrying on traditions and religious celebrations. They were also used in funerals, the harvest, to mark growing up milestones and more. They can be made of wood, metal, clay, or bone and adorned with paint, beads, feathers and more. In contemporary Africa, while masks are no longer commonly used in tribal ceremonies, they are still being made as works of art that continue to contribute to the continent’s rich history.

Inspired by Black History Month 3rd graders observed samples of African masks and learned the meaning of symmetry and contrast so that they could create a symmetrical and contrasting mask inspired by traditional and contemporary African masks. Students chose two high contrasting colors and cut them in half ovals to make a face. Using the extra pieces of cut off paper, students learned to cut shapes for facial features holding two different colors of paper at the same time and then glueing them down. Hair, hat, horns, ears, jewelry, etc. could be added on each side of the symmetrical line. Black and white tempera paints dotted with Q-tips on opposing sides created further personalization and interest.

Third Grade

Movable Imaginary

Horse Carousel

Collaboration

The Asian Lunar New Year which began this month, celebrates the year of the horse. The horse symbolizes strength, energy, vitality, and a sense of free spirit. In December, our 3rd grade students created 3-dimensional imaginary carousel horses. In January, six students were selected to further collaborate and develop their horses into an actual movable carousel which was programed to spin and make sound via a STEAM collaboration with Ms. Venuella's Computer Science STEM team who are using Legos motors and computer software. This month, the carousel was produced with colored paper, gold cardboard, wood, air dry clay, gold and silver ribbons, Sharpies, and gold paint. This work was submitted to the prestigious PS Art Show competition. To see the carousel move to music, click on the QR code at right.

Fourth Grade

Yinka Shonibare Inspired Ankara Spheres and Butterflies of Freedom

Because its Black History month, students were introduced to the work of contemporary British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare. He uses Ankara batik fabrics as a key component in all his work and symbolically comments on global issues.

Our students invented brightly colored patterns including personal symbols to mimic the Ankara batik fabric that Shonibare uses. Two 4th grade classes created sphere-focused 2D artworks, while 2 other 4th grade classes produced butterflies. The latter were inspired by Shonibare's "Butterfly Kid” Series which explores identity, culture, migration and freedom.

Fourth Grade

We are giving some of our fourth grade Art Club artists another shot at having their fabulous artworks presented to the New York community. Each dog portrait was framed with a bright colored paper and grouped together collaboratively inside a black frame embellished with multi-colored paws drawn by the students. This artwork was also submitted to the prestigious PS Art Show. There were so many kinds of dogs students could have drawn, but these are linked to NY symbols and we want more New Yorkers to see them.

Art Club - New York Dogs

2nd-5th Grade

Stop Motion Animation Filmmaking Update

Our five classes producing stop motion animation films directed by Magic Box Productions sponsored filmmaker Danilo Randjic-Coleman, who is our Artist in Residence continues to progress. This month, all student groups worked together to produce sound for their films. Students in grades 2-5 created voice-over narrations, character conversations and sound effects for each of their stories. Every student in the program was invited to tape a part. Danilo gave director's cues and taped all sounds which he will edit together (see above). Students also created visual credits - an artwork of their names which will be added to the ends of the final films. Next month final edits will be made and a sneak preview will be offered. Stay tuned...