Elements of Art... A Happy Way to Start a Conversation!

This week students reviewed the Elements of Art and have been working on compositions that display their knowledge. Students have choice in how they represent the Elements of Art; the only requirement is that all seven are clearly present. I'm so proud of the creativity I have been seeing from students this week. Red Class has been making me hungry with all of their food-inspired drawings!

Kaleidoscope Name Designs

For the last two weeks, artists worked on Kaleidoscope Name Designs. I was blown away by the final artworks, many of which can be seen on the Virtual Art Show page of this blog. Students learned about Islamic Art and how much of the beautiful designs are created by tessellating a simpler image. Each student created a template of his or her own name and traced it several times by flipping it around the center of their paper, creating several mirrored images of their name. They had to select a harmonious color scheme (colors that present a pleasing appearance) to neatly add color with colored pencils. Here a few of the artworks, but please check out the rest on the slideshow!

Class Flags Build Community

During the first week of school students were introduced to "culture" in many of their classes. In CA, we talked about how individuals can belong to a specific culture, but we can also have a shared culture within the classroom. Students first brainstormed a list of things that were important to them and then discussed their lists with their tablemates. The entire table then had to generate a list of similarities that they shared with one another. Many cultural commonalities classmates shared were friends, sports, food, and technology. Each table worked together to design icons that symbolized part of their culture to add to a collaborative flag. Some tables displayed great collaboration by working on one icon together, taking turns designing, drawing, and coloring. Once all the icons were created, the class voted on the final design and layout of the overall flag. Each flag is completely unique and visually symbolizes the community the five classes have already established.

pets, friends, family, sports, sleeping, cell phones, Fortnite, video games, teal

food, trampolines, music, sports, dogs, family, football, art

friends, dogs, money, family, sports, Internet, water

friends, family, food, dogs, sports, art, music

Girl/Boy Scouts, entertainment, food, sports, Starbucks, family, friends

Happy First Day!

Happy first day of school and welcome to my blog! I am Ms. Strasser and I am very excited to be teaching Creative Arts at Oakdale Middle this year! Before I explain the usage of this blog, I want to introduce myself a bit. I like to consider myself a Frederick native, as I moved here when I was only seven. I am a graduate of TJ High (sorry, Oakdale wasn't built yet!) and a graduate of Hood College with a Bachelors in Art & Archaeology. For my first three years of teaching, I was a part-time art teacher at Frederick Classical Charter School. If you read the different posts on my blog and view the Virtual Art Shows, you'll find that these are all from my time at FCCS. Some of those projects are even precursors to what I'll be teaching in Creative Arts this year.

When I was student teaching, I spent one internship in a Creative Arts classroom and absolutely fell in LOVE with the curriculum. I believe that everyone is an artist who has a different way of expressing themselves, whether it is through visual arts, dance, music, or drama. More information about the course will be sent home later this week in my welcome letter. 

I love all things arts related. Visual arts have always been my true love, but I am an avid supporter of FCPS theater and band programs. You will often find me at a football game or marching band competition, cheering wildly from the sidelines. I also take great pride in trying to catch all of the spring musicals the county has to offer -- talk about some talent! I love to support my students in all that they do inside and out of school, so it is always a treat to see former and current students in school and community productions. This support doesn't start and stop at the arts -- let me know your athletic schedules; I would love to cheer you on!

In my (little) spare time, I am working on my Masters at Hood College in Curriculum & Instruction (because why would anyone ever want to leave the art room?) and I watch a lot of Netflix while lesson planning and grading work. I am currently in between seasons of several shows, so if there's something I'm missing, please shout it out! I also adore Baker Park and can be found walking or biking several laps around the park and surrounding areas. Pizza is my favorite food and I am unashamed to say that I love pumpkin spice lattes, but my latest obsession is bubble tea and I wished I lived in Urbana so I could enjoy Yo Bubble more frequently. Also, I love (almost) all genres of music and enjoy going to concerts and attending musical theater. Wolftrap is one of my favorite venues for all of the above and brings back great memories of my grandparents. 

I have not yet decided if I am going to use Google Classroom or Schoology; luckily students won't be getting chromebooks for a couple of weeks, so I have some time to decide. This blog will be used as a supplementary aid to whichever one. Under the Creative Arts tab, I might post videos or slideshows pertaining to lessons, or I might add additional, enriching links. The Virtual Art Show is one of my favorite things of being an art teacher because I love being able to show off my talented students. You can click through the ones that are there to see what some of my former students, and once we start making art at OMS, I'll add some of the best works there. The VAS only displays completed artwork, so if you ever are looking for glimpses of works-in-progress, follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram at @MsStrasserArt. I try to post a little every day, which turns in to a couple times each week, but it is a great tool for parents to see what their kids are up to and for students to find inspiration from their classmates. 

I am so excited to be working with the seventh grade OMS students this year. I will try to post weekly blog posts with items like classroom updates, calendar events, and in-progress photographs to keep everyone in the know. If parents or students ever have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to email me!

I hope everyone has a wonderful first week back. Happy art making!

"I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart." - Vincent Van Gogh