Watercolor Paintings

I think I might call every project my favorite project, but these watercolor paintings are actually my favorite. Historically, most of my students have said that the watercolor lesson was their favorite, too, because it opens them up to a new media and they are given a lot of choice in subject matter. Let me outline the lesson:

We start by creating watercolor booklets to teach each of the watercolor techniques. Last semester I created a video tutorial for students to follow along to, which I love because it allows me to walk around the room and help the students who need assistance instead of being stuck at the front of the room instructing. The video is also linked to my lesson slideshow, so students are able to go back and re-watch it at any time if they forget how to implement one of the techniques. The booklets are made out of one sheet of paper, so they can essentially take them anywhere! When I first started out painting with watercolor, I enjoyed sitting outside and painting my surroundings, so the booklet was a helpful bit of inspiration for trying different techniques.

Next I introduced students to the project, where they ultimately choose between painting a landscape, dragon, or animal. This year I had students create thumbnail sketches of all three subjects and receive feedback from their peers before finalizing their subject matter. Once they decided on one of the three subjects, students sketched out a full-page rough draft. Each class completed a TAG (tell something nice, ask a question, give a suggestion) critique to provide further feedback on their ideas. After the critique, students were able to make final alterations to their rough drafts before moving on to their finals. 

I have been beyond impressed by the artwork my students have been producing this week! The goal is to use at least three watercolor techniques in their paintings, and I've been seeing some used in new ways than I've ever seen before. I cannot wait until these paintings are finished so I can add them to the Virtual Art Show to show off! Here are some works-in-progress:

Check out my Twitter and Instagram for more frequent updates on the painting process!

Elements of Art

This was another short week due to snow, but we had enough time for students to review the Elements of Art! I call it a review because these are concepts that every student first learns in elementary school, and we are conducting lessons to help reactivate this information in our brains. The past three years I have had students take notes while I stand around and basically lecture, providing examples of the elements through little pictures. The lesson wasn't so exciting for students, so I decided to make a change and I put together a digital scavenger hunt! First students watched a video that described each of the seven elements. Then, following the prompts of the sequential slides, students either typed in the definition or they were searching for imagery that demonstrated the element. I am beyond proud of the examples that these students were able to uncover! Once students completed the scavenger hunt, they started working on sketches and rough drafts to plan for their Elements of Art Composition, where they must demonstrate the 7 Elements of Art through subject matter of their choosing. Some artists are choosing to divide their paper into sections devoted specifically to one element, while others are creating a cohesive composition that subtly incorporates all seven elements. After the long weekend, we're going to get started on our final artwork. Students can use colored pencil, pencil, marker, or crayon to complete their artwork and show off their knowledge of the elements!

5th Grade

5th grade has been doing a tremendous job working on their assignments both in and out of the classroom. During the month of November, students were given another Doodle Calendar to complete; this time, the calendar was predominantly comprised of depictions of the Greek gods or goddesses we discussed in class. Creating a drawing of a symbol or pyhsical representation of each god or goddess helped students practice for the subject matter of their two Ancient Greek projects as well as help them to remember the significance of each god or goddess in Greek mythology. Here are a few of the outstanding Doodle Calendars:

Students have been using Chromebooks in class to access the Ancient Greek Symbaloo I put together in order to plan their Greek Vase compositions. Students had to chose any vase shape to draw and fill with either a scene, a character, or a symbol from Greek mythology, and complete it with a variety of Greek-inspired patterns. Students planned the drawings out in their sketchbooks first and have been working on transferring their ideas to their handmade scratch art paper. I am so pleased with the outcome of this project! I have never tried using scratch art for this project, and as it is more difficult because students must work slowly and have a secure plan, the final product is beautiful! The last update I posted including rough draft drawings from 5A, so here are a few I snapped from 5B today:

You will just have to wait to see the final artwork when I update the Virtual Art Show next week!

Term II Update

Good morning artists & families!

The start of Term II brings forth new projects for every class. Fifth grade started Greek Vase Painting, but with a twist! In the past I have taught this project where students are using Sharpies to draw a traditional looking Greek vase depicting a scene from mythology, but this year, students created their own scratch art paper and will etch their designs in the paper. The Element focus of this project is space and etching away from the surface will be a great way for artists to understand negative space. Below are some examples of the artist's rough drafts. They have been using Chromebooks to access links on a Symbaloo (on the 5th grade page) to help them with their depiction of mythology. Once their entire rough draft is drawn, they will then color in the areas they want to keep black and the areas that are going to be etched to reveal the red.

   

Sixth grade artists just started Medieval Weavings. So far, students have learned the key words loom, warp, weft, and shuttle and have created their looms. Next, students will practice various weaving techniques so they are prepared to create a tapestry weaving incorporating at least three different techniques. Seventh grade was introduced to Stained Glass Windows last week and have been working diligently on rough drafts. Students were given choice in the subject matter of their artwork, the only requirement is that the image is broken up by window panes to simulate the intricate designs of actual stained glass. Artists will be using acrylic paint to create their designs on a piece of glass that will sit inside a small picture frame. Here are examples of a few rough drafts:

Ultimately, this is what the project will look like:

Teacher Sample

Eighth grade artists viewed a presentation on Art Nouveau and the artist Gustav Klimt. Their next project is to create a Klimt-inspired composition by surrounding a human figure with a scene filled with Zentangles. So far, students have found an image from a magazine, cut it out, and are working on a rough draft. They will access a Symbaloo on my website (under the 8th grade tab) that provides them with several examples on Zentangles and ideas from past student artwork. Below is an example from an artists in 2015:

As always, continue to check back on my blog to read about what is happening in the art room. I try to write a post at least once a week, so for more frequent updates follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @MsStrasserArt. I can't wait to see the masterpieces these young artists will create!