Doodle Calendars

I am so pleased with the results of the October Doodle Calendars! The feedback that I received from students is that they enjoyed working on them and liked drawing a small image for homework each week (instead of full-page, full-color assignments in previous years). If my young artists are going to improve their skills, they should certainly be drawing a little bit each day. This does not mean they need to be working on giant artworks, but if they are at least doodling a small amount, they will improve their artistic skills over time.

Here are a few of the exceptional Doodle Calendars I received from students:

 I look forward to seeing my students complete more Doodle Calendars in the future. October consisted of a variety of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design for all of the students, but future calendars will be different for each grade level and correspond to the projects and techniques students are practicing. If a student ever loses their Doodle Calendar they must ask for a new one.

Happy doodling!

Week 7 Update

This last week has been very busy and very productive in the art room! I am excited to share a few slideshows of in-progress artworks of the current projects. Enjoy!

Week 5 Update

All of my classes have been making so much progress! 5th and 6th grade artists have just about completed their Elements of Art posters (anyone still working must complete it for homework this week), so they should be prepared for the upcoming Elements quiz.

5A - 10/17
5B - 10/19
6 - 10/16
7 - 10/17
8 - 10/9

8th grade began their first unit on Wednesday: Impressionism Landscapes. They viewed a slideshow on Impressionist Claude Monet and picked out a landscape image to use as a reference photo for their drawing. Students will recreate the Impressionism technique using oil pastels simulating the artist's use of oil paints. In the past, this project has turned out so beautiful, so I cannot wait to see what my 8th grade artists will create this year!

Next week, the other four grades will begin their first projects as well. 5th grade will look at the Ancient Egyptian mummification process and begin creating their chicken sarcophagi, which will be the final resting place for the chicken mummies they will make with Mr. Kenny. 6th grade will look at images of Islamic art and begin drawing a pattern in which they will use to create a radially balanced relief print. 7th grade will learn about Renaissance artist Lorenzo Ghiberti and his Gates of Paradise before drawing rough draft images of a scene of their choosing that displays foreground, middle ground, and background. More information on all of these projects can be found in the designated grade's tab on my website.

Last thing: Square 1 Art order forms and squickers should be coming to FCCS the middle of next week. Please keep an eye out for those packets! All of the student artwork that was submitted looked absolutely beautful, so I hope you would not want to miss out on preserving their drawings in a one-of-a-kind keepsake!

Elements of Art

I am so proud of all my classes for how much they remember from previous art classes! This week students reviewed the Elements of Art and 5th and 6th graders are currently working on practicing using all 7 Elements by creating a poster that somehow displays all of them. Here are some in-progress pictures from today's 6th graders:

Self Portraits

Hanging outside the Art Room are a combination of 5-8 self portraits and K-4 selfies. As more students complete their drawings, more artwork will hang in the halls. So far all these portraits are fantastic!

Square 1 Art

Square 1 Art is a great fundraiser for the FCCS Art Room that allows parents to forever preserve their child's artwork in a one-of-a-kind keepsake. Middle school students are allowed to choose their own subject matter - the goal is to create a beautiful artwork that they will want to purchase printed on keepsakes. Every year I stock up on stationary and order a coffee mug with my drawing on it.

Students are working both in class and at home on their designs. As they are working at home, please check in with them to ensure they are creating their best work! S1A keepsakes make excellent holiday gifts for family members, friends, and even teachers. For more information about Square 1 Art or to preview the products available, check out www.square1art.com.

The S1A timeline is as follows:

Friday, September 29 - Artwork is DUE to Ms. Strasser in order to ship all of the artwork together that day after school
Wednesday, October 11 - FCCS receives custom catalogs with squickers
Monday, October 23 - Deadline for keepsake orders
Wednesday, November 15 - Approximate date of keepsake arrival

I can't wait to see everyone's final artwork!

First/Second Week

I am so very happy to be returning to FCCS for my third year of teaching. This past week has been fantastic! I have enjoyed getting to know my new students as well as catching up with my returning ones. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the About Me paper students filled out on their first day and I thought that I should share a little bit about myself, too:

1. I have only ever taught at FCCS, but I was a student teacher at Windsor Knolls Middle, Centerville Elementary, Walkersville High, and Governor Thomas Johnson Middle. 
2. I have always loved art! As a kid, I would staple paper together to create random picture books.
3. I have been a Girl Scout since 2nd grade and just recently gained my lifetime membership! With my troop I traveled to Savannah, GA and NYC and have camped in just about form possible (tent, cabin, tipi, platform tent, just to name a few).
4. My favorite art medium is charcoal because I love how smooth it is when drawing. 
5. My favorite school subject has always been art, but I also really like algebra and chemistry - in my next life I think it would be fun to be a science teacher!
6. My favorite colors are pink, yellow, and orange, but I have recently fallen in love with mint green.
7. Instead of picking a favorite book, I picked a favorite play: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. 
8. I love theater! My grandparents would take my sister and I to see operas and musicals when I was younger. My favorite musicals are Fiddler on the Roof, Peter Pan, Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton (even though I have not actually seen this one live). 
9. I've never had a conventional pet, just fish. If I could have any pet, I would like a tiny pig.
10. I love art history just as much as art making. I originally started college in the hopes of becoming a museum curator, but decided that teaching was the right career for me, and I'm glad I made the switch!

The first assignment for students this year is to create a self portrait. I want to see each students' drawing style. I am excited to tuck these portraits away (after they've been proudly displayed in the hallway, of course) until the end of the school year where students can compare the two drawings and see how they've grown as artists over the course of the year. Below are a few examples of in-progress portraits. 

I really look forward to getting to know my students even more throughout the year and helping them evolve their art skills!