Creepy Clay Creatures

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More creepy creatures in air clay by @waitsfieldschool #gradesthreeandfour

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Oct 25, 2019 at 11:15am PDT

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#gradesthreeandfour at @waitsfieldschool made some creepy imaginary creatures with air clay. Stay tuned to learn more about their creations!

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Oct 23, 2019 at 8:02am PDT

Home

Inspired by "Home," by Carson Ellis 

This magical picture book of different types of homes inspired this first and second grade project.  Watch a video of the book here:



Then watch a short interview with Carson Ellis and see her very own home!


Also, CLICK HERE to see some really cool homes from around the world!And, since I can't get enough of these really cool homes, here's another video about houses around the world.  You won't believe the treehouse in this movie! 

Kindergarten Collages inspired by "Perfect Square"

Kindergarten Artists read "Perfect Square" by Michael Hall.

Last week, while learning about color mixing, we used watercolor paints to paint squares of paper. Today, Kindergarten artists were challenged to see what they could turn their painted squares into. 

Is it a bird or a plane? Grass or a tree? A garden, a mouth, a window or a ghost?

Dragons for Chinese New Year

Every Chinese New Year Parade ends with a Dragon Dance. The parades start on New Year's Day and continue for the next fifteen days until the end of the festivities with the Lantern Festival.

The Dragon Parade is a highlight of the festivities. The Dragon represents wisdom, power, and wealth and a very important aspect of Chinese Culture. It is also said that the Dragon Dance performed on New Year's Day scares away the evil spirits and all the bad luck with them...

During the Dance, a dozen or so performers hold the dragon up on poles. They raise and lower the Dragon making him "dance" as they wind through the masses to the sounds of horns, drums and gongs. (from http://www.china-family-adventure.com/dragon-dance.html)

Here is a Dragon Puppet the was used in a Chinese New Year parade.

First and second grade artists looked at many examples of Chinese Dragons and then drew their own using construction paper crayons and oil pastels. 

Robots!

First and second grade artists designed and painted ROBOTS of every variety! We used metallic paint and added shadows and highlights to make the robots look three-dimensional.  Every Robot has a name and a job. 

Here are some of the robot resources that we used to inspire our robots. This video gave us ideas of how to use different basic shape to build our robots' bodies. 

Monster Draw!

 

First and second grade artists loved drawing MONSTERS! We used the game Monster Draw as our inspiration and we read "Jeremy Draws a Monster," by Peter McCarty.  We used Gel markers on black paper and colored pencils on white cardstock.

Home

First and second grade artists read the beautiful book "Home," by Carson Ellis.  The words in this book are simple, but the drawings are exquisite!  This book illustrates all different types of homes, some real and some made up.  After reading the book, first and second grade artists imagined homes that felt special to them, either based on their real homes or on fantasy.  

This beautiful video shows author and illustrator Carson Ellis working on "Home" in her own home and studio. 


Material World

In the book "Material World," photographer Peter Menzel photographs families around the world sitting outside of their homes with their prized possessions on display.  This images show the many different types of homes that exist in the world, as well as the differences in what people value.

First and second grade artists drew homes, either real or imagined or a combination of both. We used black oil pastels to outline and liquid watercolors to paint. 

#waitsfieldschool #grades1and2 read "Home," by #carsonellis and painted pictures of homes, real and imagined.

A photo posted by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Sep 18, 2015 at 11:49am PDT

imagination

Imagination!

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.  Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Knowledge encircles the world. ~ Albert Einstein