How does that happen?

Sometime in the art classroom things happen that crack me up. Well here is one of them-

Cooper was using glue and applying it to his work with a Q-tip.  I guess he got pretty carried away. Paint in the face, marker on the nose, paint water in your lap..the kids are always good sports and laugh as much as I do at the mishaps. Good times.

Weaving Accomplished

The second grade fiber artists have finished their circle weaving and they are very excited about the work.  The artists could finish off their piece of work by coloring in the loom or taking their work off the loom and making a "nest".  Either way they are super cool.

Art that raises awareness and helps others

Craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite.

The long definition and background history:
http://craftivism.com/definition.html

Here a few examples of craftivism that the students here at Shamrock will be learning about.  There are so many craft causes, what a great way to use our hands.

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project:
http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/index.html

Naomi's Tree:
http://yarnbombing.com/cheery-cherry-bombing

Just paint

So often young students are told what they need to do, how they need to do it, what to do when they are done..everything is a directive. Being able to just create often gets swept aside with assignments and data collecting.  In the art room, I like to be able to give the students amble time to just explore a material, no directions, just them and their brush (and Dave Brubeck on the stereo).  The room fills with such great creative energy and the young artists are so engaged in their work they seem to lose track of time and distractions.  They are also truly proud of their artistic choices.

More Collages

Here are some more pieces of art by the third and fourth grade artists.  For an explanation of the work scroll down to the previous posts.  These works show me just how clever the young artists can get.  I love the Klieg lights in the last piece!

Whooo's Painting Ceramic Owls?

The first graders, that's who!  After making some great owl paintings the first grade artists created clay owls.  We were focusing on getting a lot of texture onto our owls and including all the owl parts. They get crazy excited about clay, the class is a riot.  I love it.

More Collages

Here is more work by the third and fourth grade artists.  Look at the post below to see the link to the artist whose work inspired the project.

Ryan Kapp's work

Grade 4

Grade 3

Grade 3

New Work

Third and fourth grade are working on a great quick lesson I saw over the holidays.  It came from a teacher in California :
http://zamoranoarts.blogspot.com/2010/12/making-things-brighter.html

and features an artists from Chicago:
http://ryankapp.com/prints/

I love the lesson because it packs a lot of punch for a collage.  We worked on background, middle ground and foreground. We learned about analogous colors, revisited shape and balance.  What was fun for the kids was to look at Ryan's prints, they were familiar with the silkscreen process and loved the cool factor of his skateboard decks.

I couldn't wait to get these up on the blog. I do not think that they are even finished with this work, so I will put up more work when it is completed.

Different but the Same

Sometimes in art class we will do things a little bit different. The kindergarten is drawing pictures of peace, we learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr , they love to hear the stories of how "he was really nice to people" and "how he tried to help people". Part of the lesson includes talking about differences.  To illustrate the same but different we look at a brown egg and a white egg and consider their sameness and differences.  We discuss how they are like people and we then guess if the eggs will be the same on the inside even thought the are different on the outside.  I love this lesson and it has such a strong visual element to it that the students always remember it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Millions of Americans are expected to honor Dr. King and answer President Obama's call to service by volunteering on the January 19 King Holiday. More than 11,400 service projects are taking place across the country, more than double last year. Americans will make it "a day on, not a day off" by delivering meals, refurbishing schools, reading to children, signing up mentors, and much, much more.

Find a volunteer event in central Indiana.

The following events are scheduled for Monday, January 19th, in honor of Martin Luther King Day. See Indy Downtown Inc. for more events.

• 16th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Breakfast. This free event encourages youth to embrace Dr. King's non-violent principles of respect, dignity and stability, while highlighting the importance of education and youth leadership. At George Washington Community High School, 2215 W. Washington St. Breakfast is served from 8:30-9:30 a.m. and the program runs from 10-noon. Christamore House: 317-635-7211.

• The Children's Museum will offer free admission.

• The Indiana Historical Society - The society presents its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day Celebration. Family activities and crafts, discussions, spoken word, storytelling, and dance and musical performances from the Asante Children's Theatre, Kenyetta Dance Company, Tasha Jones and the Write Me Project and The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra. The Martin Luther King Community Center will present their annual "Living the Legacy" award in the afternoon. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St. Free admission. 317-232-1882.

• Indianapolis Museum of Art - Free programs and activities from noon-6 p.m., including art-making activities, guided tours and, at 6 p.m. in the Tobias Theater, a performance of The Music, Martin & Me. The presentation uses photographs, video, spoken word and a diverse stylistic mix of live music to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s impact. Free tickets are available the day of the performance. 317-923-1331.

• The Madame Walker Theatre Center presents "Keep the Dream Alive" at 12:15 p.m. The event follows the Freedom Walk, which begins at noon at the Indianapolis Urban League, down the street from the theatre at 777 Indiana Ave. A procession will make its way down the sidewalk to the theater. 317-236-2099.
• University of Indianapolis - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration from noon to 1:30 pm at the Ransburg Auditorium. Patricia Russell-McCloud (former Federal Communications Commission attorney) is featured speaker. The free program will also include music by the campus Jazz Combo and Concert Choir. 317-788-3583.

• White River State Park - Free admission to park attractions with a canned good donation to Gleaners Food Bank, and free parking. Guests on MLK Day can register to win a trip for four to Washington, D.C.

Circle Weaving

The Second graders have started circle weaving on cardboard rounds.  I really do not like weaving myself, but I have found that the student artists think it's the bomb!

We will start to add more textural yarn and add-ons as we progress.  The hardest part was getting the warp on the loom.  I have to thank Mr. E for posting guidelines.

http://artwithmre.blogspot.com/2009/11/ends-outs-of-circle-weaving.html

Check back for the finished products.

The poem by my desk

There is an old taped up piece of paper on my file cabinet by my desk. On that piece of paper is a poem I cup out five years ago. It reminds me of the wonder of children and why I love to teach, even on days when I might feel grumpy. Enjoy

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2006/09/25#