Happy Trunk-Or-Treat :)

 Ms. Beverage and I dressed up as The Elements of Art to celebrate Trunk or Treat at FCCS! Students were very surprised when they saw our costumes. We had a lot of fun making out shirts, and I'm definitely going to wear this outfit when I teach students about the Elements of Art in the future! :)

Art Contests

I am creating a new tab on my blog titled Art Contests. I believe that it is so important for young artists to create art outside of the classroom and FCPS gives us many opportunity to do so through the contest and art shows it makes available.

All contest information and guidelines will be posted under the Art Contests tab for you to peruse. Let me know if you are interested in participating in any of the contests!

End of Term & Updates

October 29th marks the end of the first term. This is a reminder for students who are still missing their signed syllabus, Elements and Principles graphic organizer, and the Ox-Plow book that they have until this coming Thursday, October 29th to turn these assignments.

Fifth grade students are finishing up their Cuneiform Tablets and are moving on to the Chicken Sarcophagi, which they are making in conjunction with their mummified chickens in History with Mr. Kenny. The fifth grade projects have been much smaller than the 6th-8th grade projects, which is why they have been able to complete  more within the term.

Sixth grade has been working on Islamic RE-Designs for the last few weeks and will continue this project into Term II. Students looked at traditional Islamic patterns and put together rough draft drawings incorporating the Islamic patterns, including geometric, plant-like, and rope designs. This project is intricate because it is mixed media, meaning students will be coloring with colored pencils, markers and finally painting with acrylic paint.

Seventh and eighth grade artists have been looking at Impressionist artist Claude Monet in the first unit in Modern Art. They, too, spent time working on a rough draft practicing drawing landscapes and recreating the Impressionistic technique with oil pastels to simulate oil paint. The focus is to practice short, overlapping strokes of color with an emphasis on light. Students have chosen a wide array of landscape reference photos, so each one is quite unique!

Square 1 Art

This week students will be bringing home a Square 1 Art paper to work on for homework. If you are unfamiliar with it, Square 1 Art is an art fundraiser that helps raise money for the art room! Students will use the paper provided to draw a picture of their choice. The paper will be collected (and graded as homework) and then sent out to the Square 1 Art company who will then be able to turn the artwork into keepsakes. Later in the term students will bring home information on purchasing keepsakes, like phone cases, decorative pillows and flags, and coffee mugs, and part of the proceeds go toward the FCCS art department so we can buy new art supplies!

These keepsakes make GREAT holiday gifts since the keepsakes will be in for pickup in December. Artwork suggestions include:

• A holiday theme
• Winter theme
• Self portrait
• Family pet/favorite animal

The company suggests that students use vibrant art mediums, like markers or acrylic paint, because they will print well. Colored pencils or crayons may be used as well, but they must be used with enough pressure to keep the color dark and completely full. Vibrant colors show up best when printed, so black and white or pencil drawings are discouraged.

It is imperative that this homework assignment is turned in on the day it is due. All orders must be submitted prior to Monday, October 19th -- this is the day that the artwork will be mailed to the Square 1 Art company.

Due dates are as follows:

6 & 7/8(1) - Monday, October 12

5(1) & 7/8(2) - Tuesday, October 13

5(2) - Thursday, October 15




More information and examples of keepsakes can be found at https://www.square1art.com/.

Please contact me ASAP if anyone is struggling with coming up with an idea for their artwork. Students are only given one S1A paper, so it is suggested that students practice sketching their image on scrap paper or their sketchbooks before they draw on the final paper.


Click the LINK to access the homework instructions.