Second Grade Havdalah Spiceboxes

Second graders created beautiful spiceboxes with Sculpey, a polymer clay. The spicebox is used on Havdalah, a ceremony bidding goodbye to the Sabbath. We smell the sweet spices like cloves to remind us to have a "sweet" week.

As an introduction to the project, we looked at spiceboxes made of metal, ceramic, and wood.

For the base, they created a simple pinch pot. For the decoration, they chose colors with contrast and they flattened and rolled the colors together to create a spiral. Then, they rolled clay thin to create an outside layer. I sliced up the clay and they adorned their pinch pots. Here are some of the beautiful results!

First Grade Color Theory

First graders have been exploring the color wheel!

They learned about primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), and through projects based in experiential learning, they discovered how to mix and blend primary colors to create secondary colors (orange, green, and purple). Each project builds upon the next, as the color theory gets more complex. This week, they learned about complementary colors, which are pairs of colors that enhance each other- for example, blue and orange. They observed that Jewish painter Sonia Delaunay often juxtaposed complementary colors in her abstract paintings, and that Van Gogh used a blue background in a self-portrait to amplify the orange of his beard. 

For the first activity, I used a lesson with a game format. I told them that they needed to create a collage using primary colors, but that I'd be trying to "trick" them by giving them all the colors. I acted quite dramatic when a student picked up a purple piece of paper. I walked around offering them extra materials, and they had to say "yes please" to primary color materials or "no thank you" to secondary color materials. They gladly accepted blue glitter, but told me politely to put the purple ribbon back in the closet.

We looked at a work of art by Roy Lichtenstein, who often used primary colors in his works.

Another artist who often used primary colors is Piet Mondrian.

Here are some of the collages!

The next class, I introduced them to secondary colors. I told them that we would be making a color wheel, and that their project was to create circles with each color we had talked about- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. To their surprise, when they got to their seats, all they had was red, yellow, and blue! They had to figure out how to make their own secondary colors by mixing and blending paints. When the paints dried, they created their own color wheels:

The next week, we looked at pictures of Marc Chagall's stained glass windows from Jerusalem and they used layers of red, yellow, and blue cellophane to create secondary colors. I hung them up on the windows and the art room looks so beautiful!

This week, we explored complementary color pairs- blue/orange, red/green, and purple/yellow. Complementary colors are used for emphasis because they amplify each other when juxtaposed.  We looked at paintings by Sonia Delaunay, who often used complementary colors.  

The first graders drew circles and shapes and made sure to make the best and brightest drawing by putting the pairs of complementary colors together. Here is one example:

I developed this unit several years ago, and I love how it is both sequential and completely experiential. Each project helps the first graders see colors in a new way, through a variety of different media. And because the learning is based in experience, it really sticks with them! I have students who are in fourth grade who still point it out whenever I wear complementary colors. 

8th Grade Zentangles

Eighth graders explored Zentangles, a series of patterns and designs created by two artists as a hands-on alternative to focus and meditation exercises.  Though Zentangles appear complex, they are made of individual patterns that consist of simple lines and shapes that anyone can create.  The eighth graders had many choices of media, including fabric, paper, paint, and they could even create their Zentangle designs on everyday items like CD's, light bulbs, and lampshades.  They used official Zentangle patterns from the creators' blog in addition to their own original pattern designs.  Here are some of the amazing results!

Made in the Shade

Seventh graders have been learning about value, which is an element of art.  In visual art, elements are the properties of artwork that you can experience through sight and touch. These include:

• Texture
• Space
• Shape
• Color
• Value
• Line

Seventh graders learned that varying the pressure on a pencil can create a range of light and dark values.  To practice their shading, they created a line drawing, then divided or "shattered" it with dividing lines. Then, they shaded each newly created shape in with their pencils.

In other words, when faced with "shady" situations, these seventh graders used their "values" to guide them.  Here are some examples:

Drawing with Scissors

Today's kindergarten art project started off with a surprising turn of events! This letter arrived, addressed "To the Kindergarteners."

Drawing with scissors?! I asked the kindergarteners what they thought that meant. We had discussed collage and looked at Matisse's "Beasts of the Sea" the week before, and I was impressed when they both made the connection and remembered the word collage.  

We had also looked at a Van Gogh self-portrait last week. I asked them if they'd want to hang out with him after seeing his self portrait, and excited little hands flew up into the air. It was pretty unanimous that Van Gogh seemed too sad and angry to be any fun on a playdate.  I told them about his sad life and how no one liked his paintings at first because they were too new and different. Several of them said that they did like the painting, especially the swirls. I told them that luckily, people changed their minds and started thinking that it was ok for artists to try new things. One kindergartener made a great personal connection, telling all about how when he first tried swimming, it was scary and he didn't like it, but then he kept trying and now he loves it. 

I then demonstrated how to create a self-portrait collage. I asked them which shapes were good fits for different parts of the face and the body. I showed them how to draw shapes first and then cut, and how to apply a "just right" amount of glue. Here are some of the wonderful results of their "drawings with scissors."

By the way, the kids were very excited to find several markers, as well as all of the Sharpies and crayons, that had "missed the plane" to their vacation.  I explained that they must have overslept!

Super-Size O'Keeffe Drawings

Second graders have been learning about Georgia O'Keeffe. I have a special place in my heart for her, having taught art and creative writing at the Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe as a student. First, we explored her 1925 painting of a red poppy:

I asked them what they noticed and they noticed how big the flower was... so big that it doesn't even fit on the page! Then, I asked them why they thought O'Keeffe painted small things so big. They made great observations, suggesting that it was so that people would notice it more and see details they might not have seen.

The second graders chose an object such as a seashell, a flower, and a piece of fruit and sketched it super-size. They used my special homemade "O'Keeffe-o-scopes" to really zero in on the details of their object by seeing only their object and nothing around it.

A huge apple:

A gigantic flower:

Three humongous flowers:

A seriously big tomato:

A super-size seashell: