brain works...

Sixth graders are focusing their inspiration on World Facts and History this year... so for this project, we talked about the Eastern and Western Hemisphere's of the world and the theory that they mirror the Right and Left sides of the brain in the way that they function, their attitudes, and their experiences. We explored the different functions of the two sides of the brain, and compared them to the elements of art. Then, we got to work on our brain art!

Artists were to design the left side of the brain using collage, sharpies, and charcoal pencils to show "left brain" functions... they were able to explore blending and value through the use of the charcoal pencils, and add a little dimension to that side. 

For the right side, the watercolor studio was opened! Artists practiced on ATC's before doing a wash of color on the right brain.

Then they were to use their imagination to find images in the dried watercolor... like seeing objects in the clouds... and add details and outlines to those things. A very "Right Brain" activity! 

music and harmony...

5th graders got introduced to the Watercolor Studio for this project! They began by making six different Artist Trading Cards practicing several watercolor techniques - wet on dry marks, wet on wet washes and blending, crayon resist, salt, rubbing alcohol, and pen and ink designs.

Then we discussed HARMONY as a Principle of Art. We compared Harmony in Art to Harmony in Music! We also explored several different ways to use COLOR as harmony in their artwork, such as warm/cool colors, analogous, triadic, and split complementary!

For this challenge, Artists were to create a piece of artwork using the drawing, collage, and/or watercolor studios that showed HARMONY, with a theme of MUSIC. We also talked about how to tie in the principle of Rhythm and all of the elements from our previous lessons. I'm so impressed with their solutions... :)

wild rhythm...

Fifth graders began this lesson by talking about Andy Goldsworthy and his temporary nature artworks. After talking about visual RHYTHM, comparing it to music, and finding the ways that Goldsworthy used rhythm in his artworks... artists practiced creating visual rhythms as a group using craft supplies (like popsicle sticks, seeds, wood shapes, beads, etc). We took pictures of these temporary artworks, and then artists filled out an Artist Statement describing what they did and how they showed RHYTHM.

Then we started our final challenge... WILD RHYTHM!

The goals were this: create a piece of artwork using the drawing and/or collage centers that demonstrates VISUAL RHYTHM. They were reminded to think about all of the Elements of Art that we discussed in our last project - especially focusing on SPACE.

Check out the amazing projects:

art at the fair...

We were given the opportunity to display some of our artwork at the Williams County Fair this year!

All grades are using Artist Trading Cards this year... as practice for techniques, as projects, and as "free art" when finished early. I gave each student a pocket page protector to store their cards in, and throughout the year we will be participating in ATC trades with other students at Bryan City Schools, other schools, and throughout the world!

These are the 3rd graders' ATC's from their first day in Art... one student drew a line on the card, then they passed them to their left, and another student finished the drawing using their imagination. I was so impressed with their creativity! Didn't they turn out great?!

Fifth grade started out the year reviewing the Elements of Art - Line, Shape, Value, Form, Texture, Color, and Space. They created these accordion books to show a sample of each Element. Throughout the semester we will be focusing on the Principles of Art and how the Elements are used to accomplish these, and then at the end the Principles will be drawn on the back of the accordion books! 

And, finally 6th graders are learning about World Facts and History combined with the Art Elements and Principles, so we connected the theory of Pangea and the continents with Puzzle Pieces that were inspired by our own personal interests. We focused on using the element of Space and principle of Contrast to create a visually pleasing composition. I loved learning more about my new artists through these artworks!