"Taco Fish" in progress...

Our first class of second graders have made their "taco fish!" Who knew that fish could have so much character? Soon they'll be fired and painted and ready to swim home with our students. To create the fish, our artists had to use their fine motor skills to manipulate the clay in many different ways. Pinching, rolling, and flattening are just a few of the techniques that were used to construct them. Stay tuned for the pictures of the finished pieces...

Fourth Grade Non-Representational Designs

These simple, but interesting works were created after our students studied the differences between representational, abstract, and non-representational art. Representational being the kind of art that shows objects that are easily recognizable, such as a portrait or a landscape. Non-representational art shows no ojects at all but is more concerned with lines, colors, and shapes (the above artworks are examples of this type of art.) Abstract art may start with recognizable objects, but they are in some way distorted or changed. Think of a portrait by Picasso, for example, in which the nose and mouth and eyes may be in the wrong places!

Second Grade Native American Story Hides

The people of the Lakota-Sioux tribe were known for recording stories on pieces of animal hides. They would also conduct a "winter count" using the hides to keep track of the numbers of horses, crops, and other important resources within their village. Using native pictographs, our second grade artists created these written "stories" on paper that we distressed to give an old, leathery appearance. A little stitching around the edges finished them off nicely.

Fourth Grade Leaf Collage

To create this project, our fourth grade artists studied the differences between "positive space" and "negative space" in art. Using watercolors sprinkled with salt the students were able to make some very interesting patterns on plain paper. This was a brand new technique for most of the students and the results were surprising and pleasing. Then we used real leaves to trace and cut out our shape elements. These are simple but elegant works of art.

Finished First Grade Self-Portraits

Our self-portraits are finished! We've painted a watercolor background for them and "framed" our faces inside a colored matte. We spent a lot of time emphasizing the proper proportions of the face and correct placement of the eyes, nose, mouth, etc... We think they turned out wonderfully!

City Collages

These charming cityscape collages were made by the children in Mrs. Withers's and Mrs. Allen's classes. We are working on developing hand/eye coordination and motor skills along with the proper use of tools and materials.

Taco Fish???

You've never heard of a taco fish? Our second grade artists will be starting their clay projects in the next couple of weeks and they will be making these cute little sea creatures. We start with a flat, round, slab of clay and fold it like a taco. Sealing the top edges closed, we leave a big hole for the mouth at the front. We add eyes, fins, and some texture patterns to finish them off and then into the kiln they go. Finished fish will be painted with bright colors to "bring them to life." Student examples to follow...

Finished 3rd Grade Mosaics

The finished product!

First Grade Self Portraits

After spending some time learning about the human face and it's proportions, our first grade artists have started working on these self-portraits. These "heads" will be part of a larger final collage piece that will be finished up during our coming art classes.

5th Grade Weavings in Progress

Our fifth grade artists began their Fiber Arts Unit before the holiday break, but picked right back up where they left off. Using cardboard looms and a variety of yarn, grass, and scrap fabrics, they will create a hanging work of art that would make any wall proud!