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:

what our choice-based classroom looks like...

I've had many people ask how my room is set up now that I am doing choice-based art, and so I thought I'd share some pictures! This concept is only a few months old in our classroom, so we're still adding and changing things around when we see the need... but this is what we have so far:


The first thing I did when I decided to begin Choice-Based Art is make some posters... I was introducing a new concept of making their artwork "WOW" - a Wonderful, Original Work of Art - so I put together a poster, inspired by one I found online, listing some things that they should make sure they have before they turn in a project. I also made a poster to show the steps they should take in making their artwork - Plan It, Make It, Reflect On It, Share It.

After a week or two using choice-based art, I realized I needed an example of what WOW might look like... so here it is:

We began with the Drawing Center... so far, this center has pencils, erasers, rulers, crayons, oil pastels, markers, colored pencils, permanent markers, mirrors, and texture plates. Our white paper is stored in this center as well, and we also have small baskets for taking supplies back to the table if they have a handful.

Collage was the next center we opened... colored paper, scrap boxes, scissors, glue, paper edging scissors, texture rollers, colored mosaic squares, and hole punches currently fill this center. My goal is to surround the center spaces with examples of how to use those materials... the students are just starting artworks about texture so they'll be able to use the Paper Sculpture poster soon! :)

Next to open was the Painting Center...

The painting center began with just watercolors (and remains that way for the younger groups)... but now has tempera on the orange table for the older students. This center also has paint shirts, paint brushes in different sizes, paper to protect the table underneath their paintings, and water bowls. It's also conveniently located near the sinks for easier cleanup!

The Clay Center is opening this week! I'm sure it will evolve and change as we go, but so far the supplies are on a cart near the kiln room door. Artists who are using clay will get a Masonite board to work on back at their table and a ball of clay out of the green bucket. Any tools that they might need to create their art piece will be available on this cart as well.

This area is what we call our Inspiration Station... it's filled with posters of famous artwork, tons of children's books, how to draw books, wooden manikins and 3D shapes... anything we can think of to give us some inspiration for our ideas. The students are encouraged to look through the items here when coming up with a plan for a new project.

This bulletin board is constantly changing... under each grade level is a list of standards for the year. I move the star to show which standard we are focusing on for each project, and hang an example underneath. Some of these examples are mine, and some are student's work. This area is a great reminder of what our goal is, and inspiration if an artist is in need. :)

These last two pictures are routines that we were using before we began Choice-Based Art... but are still important. Artists have jobs assigned by table color (and the crayons can be moved so jobs are changed throughout the year), and Art Room Noise Levels... I found this idea on Pinterest and love it. Does it give me a super quiet room? Unfortunately... not usually. But the kiddos know what Spy Talk is, appreciate the visual, and usually try hard to keep it there. :)

"Make Great Choices!" was something I added to my room at the beginning of the year, before we began Choice-Based Art, because it's something I always say (to my school kids and my kiddos at home)... and when I was collecting pictures to show of the room, it occurred to me that it now fits perfectly with our new way of learning!

Also, I think it's important to note, all of the centers are organized and clean in these pictures because of the mini-Artists in this room... not me! They know that if the center is a mess, it will be closed when they come back next week. This is great motivation to not only clean up after themselves, but also to help each other. :)