 |
| 6th graders Ava, Elijah, and Tamar are working hard on their aquarium designs! Awesome job, kids! |
January, 2018
5th and 6th grade artists have been polishing up their drawing skills this month while tackling the advanced technique of linear perspective! This is a mathematical way of creating the illusion of space by using a vanishing point to show receding lines. Artists began using linear perspective during the Renaissance in Europe, so it is a relatively new technique. We started by practicing drawing simple boxes in perspective, working our way toward drawing a glass aquarium tunnel. Students reviewed watercolor techniques after drawing their perspective tunnel, then they practiced drawing a variety of sea creatures to add to the scene. We had the opportunity to attend class only 3 times during the month of January, so we will finish our drawings in February. I am looking forward to seeing these amazing art pieces finished!
 |
| 6th grade perspective experimental drawings |
 |
| 5th grade perspective practice drawings |
 |
| 5th graders carefully apply a watercolor wash onto their aquarium drawings. Beautiful work! |
 |
| Gavin and Carrington are working on some nice drawings! |
 |
| 5th graders Egypt and Kaitlyn enjoy a lively dialogue, while Elizabeth uses a ruler to finish up her perspective lines. |
 |
| 6th graders Joshua, Nathan, and Kendall practice their drawing skills in Art class. |
 |
| Joshua, Diana, and Allissa are creating some beautiful pieces! Way to go! |
December, 2017:
Students in 5th and 6th grade met twice for the month of December; both classes were dedicated to having an "Open Studio" environment where the focus was on creative thinking! The kids could choose an art creation station; designing Ojo de Dios woven ornaments, paper ornaments, Christmas cards, cut paper snowflakes, or drawings.
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create:" #3: "Students will develop new ideas through open-ended experiments, using various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art."
Weeks 13-15:
November 29: Shhhh! We are working on a secret gift for someone we love. It will be a surprise, so more details will come later!
On November 22, students participated in a well earned Open Studio Day. We had the opportunity to choose from cardboard sculpture, Lego sculpture, painting, or drawing. Students had a great time designing original art pieces of their own choosing!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #3: "Students will develop new ideas through open-ended experiments, using various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art."
"Create," #1: "Investigate, plan, make; work collaboratively to develop new and innovative ideas for creating art."
Nov. 15: Students participated in designing an original holiday card for the Over the Mountain Journal holiday card contest. We discussed what holiday traditions are celebrated in the students' families and then got out the art supplies to make our card. The best cards will be chosen for the paper to publish next month! Exciting!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Connect," Interpret #14: "Students will generate a group of ideas and concepts reflecting current interests that could be investigated in personal art making."
Week 12:
This week, we cut out our jewels and glued them to our amazing painted landscapes. Then, we used our imaginations to invent more images to add to these "surreal" environments. The results are beautiful!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #3: "Students will develop new ideas through open-ended experiments, using various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art."
 |
| 5th grade |
 |
| 6th grade |
Week Eleven:
This afternoon we learned a few facts about landscape painting! The further away from earth, the sky looks darker. The closer to the horizon, it looks lighter. Also, distant objects appear much lighter (and bluer) the farther away they get. This is called atmospheric perspective. We painted the sky from dark to light, blending the tints and shades. Then, we overlapped several layers of hills on top, first the lighter hills in the distance, then the closer hills, making the color a little darker each time. Next time we will cut out our jewels and add them to these landscape paintings, creating a "surreal" design. I can't wait to see everything come together!
Week Ten:
5th and 6th graders learned all about tints and shades this afternoon. A tint is white mixed with a color (pink, baby blue, mint green, etc.) and a shade is black mixed with a color (navy blue, maroon, forest green, etc.). Students got to use paint palettes to mix tints and shades of one color, using these to paint their fabulous jewel drawings from last week. They are amazing!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #6: "Students will make observations and reflect on whether personal artwork conveys the intended meaning and revise accordingly."
 |
| Paintings by 5th and 6th grade HCA artists! |
Matthew 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
Week Nine:
 |
| 5th and 6th grade drawings, October 11, 2017 |
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We read several scriptures in Matthew today, where Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure. Students prayed for each other before we got started with the lesson. (I based our lesson on this one from Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists blog.)
This afternoon, 5th and 6th grade students were challenged to do an observational drawing of jewels! One of the things I feel is very important to get students to practice in art class is learning to be observant of the world around us; to notice small details. We definitely did that today! Students drew slowly, attempting to capture the shapes and lines of jewels. I advised them to remain quiet while they drew, and to look more at the picture of the jewel than at their paper. Several students expressed frustration, saying, "I can't get it right! I just can't do this!" However, after drawing silently for a few minutes, these same students rocked the assignment to draw two jewels! It just takes time, focus, and effort to accomplish your goals. We will be painting these "treasure" drawings with tints and shades of a color next week as we continue our focus on "value; the lightness or darkness of a color or tone."
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #6: "Students will make observations and reflect on whether personal artwork conveys the intended meaning and revise accordingly."
Week Eight:
Students used charcoal to shade their creatures; they thought about where the shadow would fall and where the shadow would be on the form of the creature itself. We also learned a new art vocabulary term; "value = dark and light."
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Students chose one art piece to finish with watercolor paint, either the imaginary landscape or the creature. These art pieces represent a lot of learning; space techniques, drawing textures, watercolor techniques, and shading techniques. I am proud of their work! These will go on display next to the art room this week.
 |
| 5th grade art pieces |
 |
| 6th grade art pieces |
Week Seven:
5th and 6th grade artists continued painting this week, using several different watercolor techniques. We learned how to use salt to create an interesting texture in the paint as well as how to lift off the color to create clouds. Also, we used paper clips for the sgraffito technique, scratching into the paper to make texture lines. White crayon acts as an excellent resist for watercolor paint as well. The artist in this video demonstrates many more techniques, including blowing the paint into a tree shape with a straw!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Week Six:
We are continuing to learn about art techniques this week; drawing textures! Mrs. Nichols demonstrated drawing a variety of textures after we discussed different types of animals and animal coverings. How do you draw fur? How do you draw scales? What about feathers? Students experimented with drawing all kinds of animal coverings on their imaginary creatures!
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Week Five:
Students were delighted to see the watercolor paints come out this week! We learned how to use the tip of the brush to paint smaller details and to drop different colors together to create an interesting color "wash." When painting, it is a good idea to paint the background first - most students had time to complete these areas.
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
Week Four:
Last week, 5th and 6th graders exercised their creativity by using the same five elements/symbols to invent at least 10 imaginary creatures. This week, we will think of a fantastic environment for these creatures, learning how to set space up in a drawing. Students will learn about overlapping, placement, and size as we discuss the Hudson River School landscape artists Albert Bierstadt (Looking Down Yosemite Valley) and Frederick E. Church. Artists can create the illusion of space by making close things appear larger and distant things very small. They can also place things lower on the page to appear closer and higher to appear farther away.
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art."
 |
| Looking Down Yosemite Valley, Albert Bierstadt, 1865, Birmingham Museum of Art
Dr. Seuss also used these artist's tricks when he illustrated his children's books - here is one drawing from The Lorax where you can see size, overlapping, and placement used to create a sense of distance!
Below are a few 5th and 6th grade sketches created on Wednesday. Students were learning to create a sense of space while they invented a creative environment for their imaginary creatures. Creativity is at the very top of Bloom's chart of higher order thinking skills. It takes intense thought and effort to make something out of nothing!
|
 |
| Tamar is thoughtful as she builds her imaginary environment. |
 |
| August 30, sketches by Kendall, Grade 6 |
Week Three: "Exercise Your Creativity;" this activity was the catalyst for some deep thinking as students used the same five elements to invent ten creatures. They will pick their favorite creature to add to an imaginative environment next week.
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #2: "Students will formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art. Example: make, share, and revise a list of ideas and preliminary sketches."
Week Two: Pre-Instruction Self-Portraits
Week One: We did a "Make It Challenge," where students were provided with a variety of art supplies and given the assignment to make "something." Sometimes, the emphasis is on the process of making art, not on the finished product! Decision making, problem solving, and creating all contribute to the development of higher order thinking skills.
Alabama Course of Study Content Standards, "Create," #3: "Students will develop new ideas through open-ended experiments, using various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art."
"Create," #1: "Investigate, plan, make; work collaboratively to develop new and innovative ideas for creating art."
 |
| 5th grade pre-instruction self-portraits |
 |
| 6th grade pre-instruction self-portraits |
5th and 6th grade artists will explore a variety of materials and techniques, including drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Both the 5th and 6th grade class meet once per week (all year) for 45 minutes. Students are encouraged to do their best work on each project, and to behave with courtesy and respect toward the teacher and fellow classmates. At the end of the grading period, each student is asked to submit their best piece for display in the annual art show. In addition, art pieces are periodically displayed in the school hallway next to the art room. 6th grade students are evaluated with a grade for this class. Finished artwork is graded based on 3 main criteria:
1. creativity/originality
2. craftsmanship/neatness
3. participation/effort
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.