Lines and patterns

Kindergarten students helped make last weekend's "Country Christmas" festive with these colorful decorations. We practiced making different types of lines and patterns and experimented with the watercolor resist technique. 

United States Quarters by Grades 3 & 4

Third and fourth graders are studying the United States of America.  Each student is a member of a group that is focusing on one region of the country.  Students chose states from their regions and recreated the state quarters.  We used the U.S. Mint Education web page to see what the quarters look like.  Students did not trace and used their artistic licenses to choose colors for their quarters. 

Wolf Kahn Landscapes

FIrst and second graders learned about artist Wolf Kahn.  Wolf Kahn is well known for his paintings and pastels of landscapes and trees.  He spends summers and falls on his farm in Vermont, so many of these landscapes seem quite familiar.

First and second grade artists learned about the parts of a landscape: foreground, middle ground and background.  We divided our paper into three sections and used blended chalk pastels to create the layers of the background, then drew trees over the top. 

Here are some examples of Wolf Kahn's landscapes. 

Here are the chalk pastel landscapes created by first and second grade artists. 

My Visit to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Over the long weekend, I went to check out the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art on the Hampshire College campus.  I've wanted to visit this special place for a long time, so I was very excited to finally make it there.  

In addition to having displays showing Eric Carle's work, the museum also featured another favorite artist, Mo Willems, of "Knufflebunny" and "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" fame.  

The entry hall of the museum is decorated with his painted murals by Eric Carle. 

Kids love to explore the giant Very Hungry Caterpillar.  That's my niece, Samantha, on the left.

The art studio is filled with materials and project to inspire young artists.  The sun was perfect during our visit to show off these beautiful texture pieces. 

Art inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

Mark and Willis get CREATIVE! 

Great advice and inspiration for all artists

Colorful artwork everywhere!