Embedded Files
What we've been working on!
What we've been working on!
May: 50 States Stars
May: 50 States Stars
This project, was created in honor of Memorial Day. Collaboratively, we created a star for each of our 50 united states. Each star contains: the abbreviation of the state represented, the shape of the state on a map, and the year the state was admitted into the U.S. The stars were created using blue railroad board, red and blue paint, black sharpies, glue, and glitter! Thanks to Mrs. Cooney for putting on a wonderful celebration and inviting us to take part as artists.
May: Landmark Zentangles
May: Landmark Zentangles
This month we are participated in a "yoga for the mind" activity by creating Zentangles! Zentangles are said to: 1) help relieve stress, 2) improve hand coordination & creativity, 3) help insomnia, 4) support relaxation, 5) increase attention span, & 6) help us problem solve. Our zentangles were inspired by our favorite landmarks from around the world, and were completed using watercolor paint to brighten up our backgrounds. We hope our zentangles bring you some "calm" today
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.1.5a) Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.1.5a) Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice.
March: Spirit Animal Inspiration
March: Spirit Animal Inspiration
For this project, our fifth graders explored the many ways in which artists take inspiration from the animals around us. Animals inspire different cultures, they become the focus of movies, and they are often the subject of artworks. Traditional Mexican artists created Alebrijes (such as those in the Pixar movie Coco), and in Panama artists make Molas. Humans often connect their personality traits to the traits of animals. Examples can be seen in the patronuses in Harry Potter, in the Zodiac signs of the Lunar New Year calendar, and in the individual "spirit animals" people connect to. For the first step of this project, the fifth graders thought about their own personality traits and which animals they shared these traits with. Next, they created a geometric sketch of their animal and planned out how they could use 5 (it must be 5- no more no less!) different patterns in their collage. Finally, the artists used the techniques of tracing and overlapping to cut and glue their patterned papers and create their featured animal. Some of the papers we used were screen-printed and others were hand pressed! We hope our animal collages lift up your "spirit" today!
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
January/February: Impressionism Winter Lampposts
January/February: Impressionism Winter Lampposts
For this project, we are taking inspiration from impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh. Impressionist artists focus on two main things in their works: 1) emphasizing light, & 2) showing their brushstrokes. For these paintings we experimented with various tempera paint techniques such as: wet-on-wet mixing, wet-on-dry mixing, dabbing (using cotton swabs), blending, sponge texture painting, and working with various size brushes. We did not start this painting with a pencil sketch. Because of this, we learned that in painting we make mistakes often and that's okay! Learning to work with our mistakes or trying to fix them takes practice. We wanted our paintings to show the energy and movement of a magical snowy sky. We hope our winter lampposts inspire you to "glow" today.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
December: National Inclusive Schools Week (Dec.2nd-6th)
December: National Inclusive Schools Week (Dec.2nd-6th)
This month our school, once again, celebrated National Inclusive Schools Week. The focus of the week this year was Every Voice Matters. The celebrations looked different in each of our specials and in our individual classrooms. In the art room, we were inspired to share our voices by looking at how the company Life WTR helps others use theirs. We tracked a few different artists across the United States as they used their creativity to bring art, community relationships, resources, positivity, inspiration, and joy to communities in need. Life WTR always supports artists by using their works as the images on their water bottle labels, but right now they have a goal to do more. Their "canvas for change" campaign is hoping to bring art to 10 million students across our 50 United States. There are so many students around our country who don't get to make art, so Life WTR is bringing art to them! This work inspired us to create our own water bottle label designs and share our voices, too. We asked ourselves: "If we could share one message with the world what would it be? What would it look like? Our label designs were colored using the material of our choice. Now that they are laminated, we might use our designs as book marks! We hope our artworks inspire you to use your voice today.
November: Remembrance Weavings
November: Remembrance Weavings
This month we have continued working on our radial weavings. A radial weaving is made using yarn, and it is in the shape of a circle (like a dreamcatcher!). Our weavings are inspired by our memories. To start, we brainstormed different ways we hold on to our memories such as collecting souvenirs or stamps, taking photos, writing postcards, buying stickers, and of course... by making art! Each of our weavings are different; they act as a way for us to remember someone or something in our lives. The first step in making our weavings was creating the loom. Our looms are made out of paper and colored pencil. They have value, shading, texture, and exactly 17 holes. In any kind of weaving, the loom is the structure that holds the yarn while the artist weaves. The center of our weavings are created by using an over, under, over, under technique. Following the pattern is so important! We hope our artworks remind you of something that makes you smile today.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.1.5a) Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.1.5a) Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice.
October: Veteran's Day Portraits
October: Veteran's Day Portraits
We began work on the Veterans Day portraits Miss Lasto collected from our Saugatuck families. We are working individually to draw the portraits using HB and 6B pencils. We learned about how the value scale helps us create the look of highlights, shadows, facial features, and other forms. Learning to shade is not easy, but the more we practice the easier it becomes. To finish and prepare for display, we created American flag backgrounds using recycled newspaper. For this part of the project we used paint markers and glue. We are excited we get the chance to thank and honor our community veterans and share them with you. We hope they encourage you to be brave today.
National Standard: (VA:Cr1.1.5a) Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art-making.
National Standard: (VA:Cr1.1.5a) Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art-making.
September/October: "No Place for Hate" Silhouettes
September/October: "No Place for Hate" Silhouettes
In the art room this month we participated in an activity that was school wide! Our friends, siblings, neighbors, and family group members have been working on the same project. We've loved checking in on their progress during class, and learning more about one another. This year, SES is taking part in No Place For Hate, a program that promotes kindness, inclusivity, and belonging among many other things. We will be collaborating on No Place for Hate activities throughout the year here at SES, but our very first activity was this one!
We created silhouettes of our profiles by thinking about the features that makes us who we are (nose, mouth, chin, hats, hair, glasses, bows, etc.!). Inside of our silhouettes you will find some of the things that are meaningful to us. We found began to notice the many similarities and differences we have across our school and celebrated them both. We talked about the foods we eat, sports we play, family members we have, animals we love, countries we come from, holidays we celebrate, languages we speak, games we play, and more. Finally, we experimented with water colors to fill our background space and finish our works for our multi-colored hallway display.
We hope our silhouettes help you connect to what is special to you!
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
National Standard: (VA:Cr2.2.5a) Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment.
Warm up: Keith Haring Comes to the Library
Warm up: Keith Haring Comes to the Library
National Standard: (VA:Cn11.1.5a) Identify how art is used to inform or change beliefs, values, or behaviors of an individual or society.
National Standard: (VA:Cn11.1.5a) Identify how art is used to inform or change beliefs, values, or behaviors of an individual or society.
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