Grade 4 – Fall Units Update

Fourth graders have been very busy in regular art, learning how to create a realistic looking still life drawing. They learned how to show space or depth in their work by overlapping objects and how to draw cylinders 3-dimensionally. To understand these concepts, students utilized our class iPads and the app Explain Everything to photograph still lifes they set up, and draw on the photographs. This helped them see how to draw what they were seeing. Finally students practiced observation drawings in pencil, and moved onto their final, which was colored with oil pastels.

Check out the in progress photographs below, and be sure to visit Conant to check out some of the work on display in the front lobby. OR visit our online gallery on Artsonia to see all the work.

In extra art, which ended this past week, students in room 19 worked on a weaving unit that combined science and art. The work was inspired by the artist Nathalie Miebach who creates sculptural basket weavings that are determined by a collection of scientific data, typically weather data. Students learned and studied her work, and then set out to use a data set of their choosing to create a pouch weaving. The most popular data set was the temperature of a particular location for a month or so. Students were able to use weather underground to research data as far back as 2005, in a number of locations all around the world.

Be sure to check out the in progress photos below, and visit our online gallery on Artsonia to see the finished pouches, and to read the artist statements explaining what data they used.

Collaborative weaving to understand how to use data

Pouch weaving

We also have big things coming with units that student teacher Miss LeBold has developed for these last few weeks before the winter break. Be sure to check the ConantArt instagram feed for more frequent updates!

Pinwheel Making Event! 12/8 6:30-8:00 pm

Stop by Conant School on Tuesday December 8 between 6:30 pm-8:00 pm to make a pinwheel to donate! For each pinwheel collected the Bezos Family Foundation, in part with Students Rebuild, will donate $2.

The money donated will go to the Healing Classrooms program. The program helps train teachers in special techniques to engage conflict-affected children with social-emotional learning opportunities and to create secure, nurturing learning environments. Some of the pinwheels collected will also be distributed to Healing Classrooms in Lebanon and Iraq. More information about Healing Classrooms can be found here.

The Conant goal is to raise $1500, so we need to make about 350 more pinwheels to go along with the pinwheels that were already made and donated as part of Pinwheels for Peace earlier this year.

If you’d like to make some pinwheels but can’t attend the event, feel free to make them and drop them off – There will be a collection bin in the front lobby for pinwheels – Pinwheels will be sent 12/23, so please drop off your pinwheels before the break!

Here is a short video about the project. It includes how to make a pinwheel at the end.

Grade 3 – Fall Units Update

Third graders have been so amazing while creating their landscape drawings inspired by Grandmas Moses. If you don’t know much about her, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, or as most people know her, Grandma Moses is considered a primitive artist. This is because she never had any formal art schooling, and actually picked up painting when she was 78 years old. To learn more about her we read the book Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Grandma Moses by Mike Venezia.

Labeling the foreground, middle ground, background, and horizon line

First students learned and identified the foreground, middle ground, background, and horizon line in some of Grandma Moses paintings. Then they spent time thinking about a place from memory that they would like to draw for their landscape drawing. Some students decided on places they’ve visited on vacation, or places they’ve lived. These sketches were then used as the basis for a final drawing. Many days were spent drawing all the important details, and coloring in with colored pencils.

Coloring the landscapes in with colored pencils took lots of hard work

Be sure to check out our online gallery on Artsonia to see all of the finished pieces, and to read the students artist statements.

In extra art, third graders in room 10 worked on creating a weaving that utilized a pattern. These weavings are what I like to call ‘mug rugs’, which means the functional use is that they are similar to a coaster.

In second grade students create a weaving in connection to their Kenya studies in the classroom, so this unit builds on the skills learned in second grade. Students developed a pattern and planned it out prior to weaving. They also learned how to remove their weaving from the loom (what holds the weaving together while it’s being worked on), by tying the weft thread.

Again, check out some of the weavings below, and visit our online gallery on Artsonia to see all the work. It should be noted that these galleries of student work is managed by the students, using our class set of iPads.

Grade 2 – Fall Units Update

In second grade we started off the year with one of my favorite units. This unit has students’ focus on observation and teaches them more about printmaking, one of my favorite types of art to make.

Students first start by learning about why artists draw from observation. Our big idea for this unit is Artists draw to record what they see. Their job for the first class was to practice their observation skills and draw leaves from observation. When you look at their final pieces you will notice that they observed the edges of the leaves, as well as the veins inside the leaves.

On day two, students transferred their best drawing to a styrofoam printing plate, and explored how they could create a rubbing with paper and crayons. You may have seen some of these awesome rubbings at home, because students were able to take them home the same day.

The rest of our unit was spent learning how to create a print, just like printmakers do. They learned how to ink their plate using crayola markers, how to place the paper, and pull a print. This required some practice and patience.

Drawing from observation on Day 1

Finally they selected their best print, titled it, and uploaded it to our online gallery on Artsonia using one of our art room iPads. Be sure to click-through to check out the entire gallery of work on Artsonia. The best prints are also currently on display at Conant on one of the bulletin boards right off the front lobby.

Transferring the best drawing to their styrofoam printing plate on day 2

Creating rubbings of their printing plates on day 2

Learning and practicing their printmaking skills on days 3-5

In extra art room 8 has been exploring and learning about the built environment. Our big idea for this unit is Artists practice thoughtful observation of the built environment around them. While working on this unit students learned about two artists: Arthur Fuller Davis, who was a librarian at the Acton Memorial Library, and James Rizzi, who was a Pop Artist from New York.

First students started by exploring drawings of various buildings around Acton on our iPads, to learn that buildings are made of basic shapes. On day two students started using their observation skills, drawing either Acton Town Hall, Exchange Hall, or the Acton Memorial Library. These observation drawings helped students understand the parts of a building, so they could then use their imagination to create buildings inspired by the artwork of James Rizzi.

Shape inventory using iPads and the app Explain Everything

Be sure to stop by Conant to check out a selection of work on display in the hall by room 5! Also, visit our online art gallery on Artsonia to see all the James Rizzi inspired drawings.

Observation drawings of Acton buildings

Coloring James Rizzi inspired buildings

Grade 1 – Fall Units Update

First graders have been very busy this school year. Just like all of the other classes, it was a busy start to the year with our Pinwheels for Peace installation. After that was complete, in regular art we’ve been working on a unit that is a big surprise for their parents, so you won’t find any information about that yet!

BUT room 4 has been busy with another unit in extra art, and started learning about sculpture. Our big ideas for this unit were: Sculpture is different from other art forms; Artists make both temporary and permanent sculpture; and Artists explore materials by making temporary sculptures.

Students learned that sculpture is a type of three dimensional artwork where drawing and painting are types of two dimensional art work. They also explored plasticine clay to learn how they could manipulate it with their hands while making a temporary sculpture.

Finally, students learned how to make a pinch pot and created one out of clay that was fired in the kiln at the junior high. These fired pieces were then painted and drawn from observation.

First graders exploring clay on day 1

First graders learning how to make a pinch pot on day 2

First graders making their final pinch pot on day 3

Currently you can find some of this work on display in the front lobby of Conant and there is a sampling of the work below. If you are unable to make it in to see the work on display be sure to check out all of the work online at our school art gallery on Artsonia.

Observation Drawing

Completed Pinch Pot

Grade K – Fall Units Update

The fall got off to a great start with our pinwheels for peace project! After all of the pinwheels were finished we got right into our first units, which vary for each grade level.

Kindergarten classes started with a skills assessment drawing, which helps me learn where all of my new students are with their coloring, cutting, gluing, and drawing. I gave them a paper with a collection of shapes, that when cut out and put together, make a person. See below for some finished examples and in-progress photographs!

The next unit in kindergarten was an intro to two of the elements of art. We first focused on line, doing a line match on the smartboard, and a practice drawing. Kindergarteners practiced drawing lines like horizontal, vertical, jagged, dotted, thick, and curvy.

On day two, we learned about the element of art called shape. Lines can be used to draw shapes. The lines kindergarten students drew the week before turned into shapes where they touched and crossed over one another.

These found shapes were colored in using a variety of materials. Students explored markers, crayons, and oil pastels.

Our most recent unit explored how shapes can be used to create the details of our drawing. Using the book Ship Shapes as inspiration, students created a seascape oil pastel drawing. They noticed and used triangles, squares, rectangles, semi-circles, and ovals to create the buildings, and animals in their seascape. To finish their work kindergarteners using medium and dark blue to paint in the sky and water. This technique is called oil pastel resist.

The page from the book Ship Shapes that inspired our own work

Welcome Back – Pinwheels for Peace

A belated welcome back to everyone here on the Conant Art blog!

To get this year started, students participated again in the international art installation project known as Pinwheels for Peace. To celebrate students in each grade designed a pinwheel with symbols of peace on one side, and words of peace on the other. These pinwheels were then installed on International Day of Peace, September 21, 2015.

The installation went really well and all the pinwheels were out for everyone to see over the weekend. If you didn’t get a chance to see the pinwheels outside, or would like to see more about the process, check out the photos below.

Also, stay tuned for more information about how you can get involved and make a pinwheel to help children who have had to leave Syria due to the conflict there. Conant School is participating in the Students Rebuild: Healing Classrooms Challenge, and will be donating our pinwheels to help raise money. I am so proud of all the students who decided to donate their pinwheels….we have almost the entire school participating!

Our student teacher, Miss LeBold taught a few Pinwheels for Peace lessons

Installing Pinwheels

Installing Pinwheels

Installing Pinwheels

Installing Pinwheels

Regular Art Update: Grades 3 & 4

Grade 3: Third graders learned about the group of artist known as the Fauvists. We looked at some of the paintings by Henri Matisse and compared them to Claude Monet, to learn about how the Fauvists were creating paintings very different from most painters at the time. Taking our cues from the Fauvists, third graders were limited in their color choices, and were pushed to try non-representational colors for their landscapes. Check out some in-process photos below, and make sure to click through to see the finished pieces on Artsonia!