Zilker Elementary Art Class

5th Grade Hundertwasser Flowers

2012-02-13T09:00:00.001-06:00

Fifth grade students are learning about the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We talked about how he lived through the second World War in Vienna, and how that affected his view of life. He remembers the craters that the bombs had left in the city, and how the rain filled them, and small life emerged from them eventually. We talked about how flowers can stand for the re-emergence of life in the spring after the long winter. We also looked at many of Hundertwasser's paintings and drawings, and focused on his paintings that showed flowers. Then we started our own mixed media process for creating our own unique flower drawing that would be inspired by Hundertwasser.

First fifth graders each painted two papers, one with warm colors, and the other with cool colors.

The next class we drew flowers on one paper and cut them out and added them to the other paper. Some students chose the cool color for a background, while others chose the warm color paper.

Last, students added a variety of lines with markers. Special thanks to the art blog Deep Space Sparkle for this wonderful lesson idea!

4th Grade Aboriginal Dot Paintings

2012-02-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

Fourth Grade Artists are studying the art of the Australian Aboriginees. These native people of Australia use dots of paint to create their images. A lot of their painting subjects are animals. Fourth Graders each chose a native Texan animal, and had to draw the outline of their animal, then cut it out and include it in their artwork as a black silhouette. Then students drew one or two x-ray drawings: an image of one of the animal's bones or organs. The last step was to add patterns of dots to their animals using tempera paint and swabs. Students also included an Aboriginal symbol, concentric circles, on the backgrounds of their artworks. The concentric circle stands for family, or a village.

3rd Grade Clay Fish Sculptures

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Third Grade students are creating fish sculptures out of clay. Students here are adding side fins and eyes using the score and slip method.

Students then added texture and different kinds of lines with the pin or needle tools. Students also had to add gills and a mouth.

Last, students painted one color of glaze onto the fired clay sculptures. Using one color creates UNITY, a principle of art we were studying with this particular lesson. Look for these beautiful sculptures in the hallway at school soon!

2nd Grade Akuaba Dolls

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

In celebration of Black History month, second graders are studying African art from Ghana. The Akan tribe creates akuaba dolls out of clay or wood. Students choose one of the three styles to create a clay doll of their own. They designed the dolls details using geometric shapes.

Here students are cutting the shape of the dolls out of a clay slab.

Students then drew the details onto the clay surface using a pin or needle tool. Our last step will be adding the African colors to the dolls with glaze.

1st Grade Self Portrait Collage

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of my all-time favorite projects! First Graders have been patiently working on their self portrait collages for a few weeks now. We work step-by-step and really concentrate on details that make the portraits come alive and look very realistic. Here are a few works in progress. We learned about symmetry, overlapping, and folding techniques.

Kinder Pattern Paintings

2012-01-09T14:57:00.003-06:00

Kinder students drew beautiful patterns using crayons. We reviewed all of the geometric shapes, free form shapes, and different kinds of lines and discussed how we could combine those elements of art and make them repeat to create patterns. Then we practiced painting, remembering how to use our brushes gently so we take care of the bristles. After the paintings were dry, we created a wonderful soft sculpture with the paper; look for these sculptures to be "swimming" home soon!

2011-12-20T13:11:00.002-06:00

Happy Holidays from Zilker Special Areas Teachers!!

Zilker's Festival of Lights

2011-12-12T07:47:00.002-06:00

Zilker students are helping to paint a special mural that will be part of Zilker's second annual Festival of Lights. Please join us Friday, December 16th, at the front of the school at 6pm. We will have a trail of lights, food vendors, artists selling crafts, and wonderful holiday singing from our own Zilker Panthers under the guidance of Ms. Price, our music teacher. Rumors are also circulating that Santa may even pay Zilker a visit that evening! Please join us for an evening of family fun and look for the finished mural...it will be interactive!!

3rd Grade Clay Fish Sculpture

2011-12-05T15:10:00.000-06:00

Third Graders are working hard on their clay fish sculptures. First, we sculpted the body of the fish using a baseball sized piece of clay. Then we added side fins on using another piece of clay. In order to attach the separate piece permanently, students had to first score both pieces of clay, then add slip, which is clay mixed with water that acts like a glue. Finally, students smoothed the seams between the two pieces of clay.
The next art class we were able to add details with clay tools. Students had to draw eyes, gills, and carve a mouth for their fish. Then students added texture on the bodies. Next, students used the clay pin tool to draw lines on all of the fins. The sculptures look fabulous. They are now drying and will be ready to go into the kiln the second week of December. Our final step will be painting one color of glaze onto the bisque-fired ceramic surface of the fish.

4th & 5th Architecture Drawings

2011-11-28T11:40:00.000-06:00

Fourth and Fifth grade architectural drawings are on display at Zilker! They are intricate and amazing to look at in person. Students worked so hard and created wonderful patterns, all with a sharpie pen. Thanks to the blog Deep Space Sparkle where I got the lesson idea!

5th Grade Perspective Drawings

2011-11-14T08:30:00.000-06:00

Fifth Graders are working on one-point perspective drawings of art galleries. Students had to use six perspective techniques in their artwork: converging lines, size, overlapping, color, detail, and placement. Here students are using their creativity to design the artwork on the walls and sculptures on the floor. Students are also paying close attention to their color, and using atmospheric perception to try to make the artworks on the side walls appear closer than the artworks on the back wall.

2nd grade artists study Georgia O'Keeffe

2011-11-07T09:09:00.003-06:00

Second graders are learning all about Georgia O'Keeffe. We read the book "My Name is Georgia" by Jeanette Winter, and students took notes about Georgia's life. We looked at several of her paintings, concentrating on her flower paintings.

Students then drew a technical drawing of a flower, labeling the separate parts. Students will be drawing expressive flowers in preparation for a flower painting. We will also be studying the intermediate colors and choosing one of them for the larger petals in the final flower painting.

First Grade Color Books

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

First Grade students are learning all about color! Students mixed primary colors to create secondary colors and made their own color wheels.

Then students learned about the complementary colors, the colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel.

Students created paintings using the cool colors: violet, green, and blue.

Students also created warm color paintings using red, orange, and yellow.

Kinder Five Senses Book

2011-10-24T11:26:00.001-05:00

Kinder art students are working on a whole unit about their Five Senses: Hearing, Seeing, Touching, Smelling, and Tasting. Each art day we have an experience exploring each of the five senses. Students draw about their experiences, and after we have explored all of the senses we put the drawings together to make a book. In these photos students are touching objects that are hidden inside cups and socks. This way students have to rely only on their sense of touch to identify the hidden objects. They then try to draw the objects.

Fourth Grade Artists build house sculptures

2011-10-17T11:07:00.003-05:00

Fourth graders are working hard on their house sculptures. First we brain-stormed adjectives that could describe older houses that had been neglected or abandoned. Some adjectives students thought of were: spooky, old, worn, tired, rickety, crooked, scary, sad, creaky, suspicious, dusty, rough, cold, forgotten, mysterious, and different. Then we started constructing the bottom walls of the house. Students learned that this project uses a lot of glue! Next we added a second level, roofs, and details like windows, boards, and shutters. Because the sculpture is three-dimensional, students are trying hard to make each side of the house interesting and varied. Check out some of their work in progress!

Third Grade study the art of Laurel Burch

2011-10-10T11:04:00.003-05:00

Third Graders are studying artist Laurel Burch. We concentrated on her beautiful paintings of cats and dogs. Each student practiced drawing different dogs or cats with imaginary patterns and human expressions. Students picked their best one to add oil pastel to. Before adding the color, students outlined their pencils lines with glue. Then students planned out their colors, making sure they had one pair of complementary colors. Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. Then students added oil pastels.

2nd Grade Cityscapes

2011-10-03T19:19:00.000-05:00

Shapes, lines, and imaginary colors...that's what second grade artists have been studying. Students drew part of Austin's downtown skyline, then choose the time of day and added a few details in the sky and on Ladybird Lake. Here you can see them adding imaginary color to their drawings with watercolors. LOVE the colors!!

Kinder students study free form shapes!

2011-09-29T15:17:00.001-05:00

It is officially Autumn, although it still feels like summer with our triple digit temperatures. Kinder students explored free form shapes in art class and created rubbings of leaves in honor of Autumn. The next day we painted our leaves with watercolors.
Students had to learn how to use their brushes gently - they all did a great job!

2nd Grade Pattern Animals

2011-09-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

Color! Color! Color! Second graders' animals look wonderful with the addition of watercolors.

4th & 5th Grade Russian Architecture Drawings

2011-09-14T11:35:00.006-05:00

4th and 5th grade Artists are creating wonderful towers full of value and texture! We looked at the incredible Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow Russia for inspiration. Students are concentrating on creating gray values and textures with sharpie pens. Students are really throwing caution to the wind using the permanent markers, and learning how to make mistakes look like incredible patterns or part of the original texture.

Celebrating Freedom Week in Art Class

2011-09-12T17:25:00.005-05:00

This week is Celebrate Freedom week in Austin ISD. In art class, we are looking at two American Artists and how they celebrate our country's history and freedom through their artworks.
Childe Hassam was an American of British descent, and he took personal pride in the allegiance of Britain, France and the United States during the First World War. His painting "Allied Day, May 1917" shows the American support for the U.S. entering the war. The scene in the painting depicts flags flying on Fifth Avenue in new York City, and if you look closely, you can see citizens marching in the streets in a Preparedness Parade. Hassam set up his easel on a balcony of a building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Second Street to paint the scene.
Norman Rockwell's 1943 painting "Free Speech" depicts a man standing up to speak about the famous "Four Freedoms" speech that Franklin D. Roosevelt made in his 1941 State of the Union address: Freedom of speech and expression, freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom of worship. Norman Rockwell had served in the military during World War I, and as an artist he wanted to continue to serve his country after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Rockwell did a series of four paintings about Roosevelt's Four freedoms speech, and all of them were published in "The Saturday Evening Post." These paintings helped galvanize the U.S. to action during the war.

Third Grade Pattern Beetles

2011-09-06T07:48:00.002-05:00

Third grade artists are reviewing line and shape for their first art project. Students first used shapes to draw the different parts of their insect: head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, and six legs. Then students started adding different lines and shapes to create patterns inside their insect shapes. Here students are creating their beautiful patterns.

5th and 4th Grade Graphic Designs

2011-09-02T14:52:00.004-05:00

Fourth and Fifth Grade students are working hard on their Graphic Designs, which will decorate the front cover of their sketchbooks. For this project, students are reviewing the art elements line and shape. Students are using shape and line in various ways: to show patterns, texture, or to show their individual interests. Throughout the year, we will be using the sketchbooks to work and write about art. Check out some of their work in progress!

Kinder Geometric Shapes

2011-09-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

Kinder students are learning about geometric shapes in art class. We concentrated on five geometric shapes: circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and ovals. We also practiced coloring inside of the geometric shapes and not leaving any peek-a-boo spots. Here are some kinder students hard at work on their geometric shapes.

Second Grade Pattern Animals

2011-08-30T13:35:00.005-05:00

Second Grade artists are reviewing lines, shapes, and patterns! Each student chose to draw a cat, a dog, or a bird. After adding details like eyes, ears, or beaks, students filled in their animals with imaginary patterns. All students put on their creative thinking caps and really tried to create some outstanding line and shape patterns. Stay tuned to see how we will add color to our animals.

First Grade Stamp Prints

2011-08-30T13:33:00.002-05:00

First Grade artists are hard at work reviewing their lines and shapes. This day in art class, instead of drawing, we tried printing lines, and then created shapes with those lines. After practicing our lines and shapes, we printed a picture.

Welcome Back Panthers!

2011-08-26T11:40:00.006-05:00

We are WILD about School!

Thanks to last year's second grade artists, we have a nice big bulletin board full of Wild Things to welcome us back to school this year! This 2011-2012 school year is full of fun things for our Zilker panthers to explore and discover. Check out all the different textures students created on their wild things, and stay tuned for some amazing art from all grades this year!

Fourth Grade Value Shading Techniques

2011-02-26T10:19:00.007-06:00

Fourth Grade students are studying Value and Texture. We created four value scales using different shading techniques: blending, hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling. We then drew an ordinary pencil using contour line. Students had to choose a shading technique to help create the illusion of depth in their pencil drawings. Students also studied the direction of light, and added a shadow to further show three-dimensional depth in their two-dimensional drawing.

Third Grade Picasso Paintings

2011-02-26T10:15:00.003-06:00

Third grade students are studying the artist Pablo Picasso and his style of art called Cubism. We looked at many of Picasso's Cubist portraits of people, and also saw how he influenced the Pop artist Andy Warhol. We then drew faces and make them have both frontal views and side views at the same time. We used lines to further "break" our drawings down into simple shapes, and here students are painting the shapes with bright colors.

Second Grade Native American Shields

2011-02-26T10:09:00.002-06:00

Second Grade students are hard at work on their Native American Shields. Each student choose a symbol to represent his or her personality. We looked at many different kinds of symbols found in petroglyphs and pictographs created by many different tribes of Native Americans all over the Southwest United States. Then each student used four symbols to tell a story about an adventure she or he had in nature. Last, we added four smaller symbols to share our interests, and drew a pattern around the edge of the shield. Here, students are painting their symbols and patterns. Our last step will be to add beads and feathers.

Kinder Jasper Johns Paintings

2011-02-19T09:48:00.000-06:00

Jasper Johns is the artist Kinder students are studying. We looked at his number and alphabet paintings closely, and talked about all the places that we see numbers and letters everyday: street signs, books, billboards, computers, classrooms, inside and outside cars, and in our homes. Students then choose numbers or letters to put in their own drawings. We practiced painting four different colors inside each letter or number box, then we used oil pastels and tempera paint for our final designs. The paintings are amazing and will be displayed in this year's School-wide Art Show in April!

Fifth Grade Bark Paintings

2011-02-18T10:00:00.005-06:00

Fifth grade students are studying Mexican Bark Paintings. Students had to choose an animal and depict that animal in motion. After looking at original Bark Paintings by Mexican artists, we noticed that the space around the animals were filled with plants and flowers, and that the colors used were arbitrary, or imaginary colors. Some students chose actual animals, and others chose fantastical animals. Last, students had to create a pattern border around their animal scene. Here are students adding the bright, imaginary colors to their drawings.

First Grade Joan Miro Paintings

2011-02-18T09:58:00.004-06:00

First Graders are studying the Spanish Surrealist artist Joan Miro. We looked at many of his paintings and drawings and discussed his use of symbols. We practiced drawing some of his symbols, then we each created our own unique symbols. Students drew a plan for their final painting, making sure their symbols were different sizes: large, medium, and small. Here students are painting using their drawings as a guide.

Kinder Torn Paper Snowmen

2010-12-09T11:45:00.004-06:00

Kinder students are making snowmen! We are using our fingers to tear paper instead of scissors. This gives the paper texture, somewhat like the texture ice crystals have.

2nd Grade Georgia O'Keeffe Flower Paintings

2010-12-09T11:36:00.003-06:00

Second Graders are hard at work on their O'Keeffe flower paintings. After learning about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe, students created their own color wheels and mixed the intermediate colors: yellow-green, blue-green,blue-violet, red-violet, red-orange, and yellow-orange. Then students chose their favorite intermediate color to mix on their large flower petals.

Fifth Grade Horse Sculptures

2010-12-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

After learning about the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and his never-finished horse sculpture, students created their own horse sculptures out of clay. After firing the clay to the high temperature of 1,945 degrees Fahrenheit, students are painting glaze on their horses to add some color.

4th Grade Clay Milagros

2010-12-06T22:06:00.001-06:00

Fourth Grade students are studying Folk Art from Mexico. Milagros are small metal pendants that represent a wish or a prayer. Milagros are found in many countries all around the world, including Peru, Greece, Italy, Morocco, and India, as well as many Latin American countries including Mexico. Students chose a wish they would like answered, and had to draw how they wanted to represent the wish as a milagro. Some students chose to symbolize their wish literally, while others used symbols to represent their wishes. In these photos students have already attached their second piece of clay to the larger piece using scoring and slip, and are drawing in texture, pattern and details using a clay needle tool. Check out their intricate details!

Third Grade Gyotaku Prints

2010-12-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

Third Graders are learning about Gyotaku prints. Japanese fishers first started printing their fish to make a record of the type of species and the size over 100 years ago. Gyotaku printing is now considered a fine art, with many artist embellishing their prints with watercolor paint and other details. Here are third graders printing their fish prints. Next, we are going to add color with watercolor paint. Find out more about Gyotaku Printmaking at http://gyotaku.com/.

1st Grade Self Portrait Gadget Prints

2010-12-03T22:12:00.004-06:00

First Graders are creating self portraits using cardboard, spools, marker tops, and bottle caps. They first carefully dip each gadget into paint, then stamp it onto their papers in the shapes for their face, eyes, hair and more. Lots of fun!

1st Grade Cool & Warm Color Paintings

2010-11-04T11:29:00.000-05:00

First Graders are working hard on their color theory books. One day we discussed the Cool Colors: Blue, Green, and Violet. Students created cool color paintings using those three colors.

On this day we discussed the Warm Colors: Red, Yellow, and Orange. Students had fun painting a picture full of the warm colors.

4th Grade Aboriginal Dot Paintings

2010-10-26T11:26:00.003-05:00

Fourth grade students are studying Aboriginal Dot Paintings from Australia. We looked at several different examples of dot paintings, both contemporary and prehistoric, and noted a running theme across centuries: native animals. We discussed how important animals were to the Aborigine survival and in their day to day lives. Then we turned to our daily lives in Austin, Texas, and how fourth graders are studying all aspects of the state of Texas this year. Students had to pick one native Texan animal to depict in their own dot painting. They first drew a silhouette of the animal, and cut it out of black paper. Then each student came up with his or her own dot design inside the animal, as well as depicting two "x-ray drawings":which show a bone or organ inside the animal. They finished off their designs with concentric circles, which is a common theme in many Aborigine artworks. Students used swabbed sticks instead of paintbrushes to paint the dots.

Kinder Five Senses

2010-10-26T11:20:00.005-05:00

Kinder students are working on their Five Senses in art class. We are creating a page for each sense, and will put it all together as a book when we are finished. On the days pictured here, students were using their sense of sight. We looked at several different small objects very closely with a magnifying glass, and then tried to draw what we saw.

On the touch day, we played a game. Inside a long tube sock was a plastic cup, and inside each cup was an object. Students had to touch the objects with their hands, and then try to draw the object without ever looking at it. What fun!

1st Grade Color Wheels

2010-10-18T13:55:00.004-05:00

First Graders are starting to create a book about Color Theory. On their first day, they painted their own color wheels using only the primary colors red, blue, and yellow. They mixed the primary colors to create the secondary colors green, orange, and violet. They also discovered what happens when all three primary colors are mixed together. The next few art classes will encompass exploring complementary colors, cool colors, warm colors, neutral colors, shades and tints of colors, and learning the order of the rainbow as well as the science behind it.

5th Grade Media Lesson

2010-10-18T13:42:00.005-05:00

Our first field trip to the Blanton was on Friday, October 15th. The main idea of the lessons was artistic media - the specific materials and processes used by artists to create works of art. Before our field trip, students explored two different types of media in art class: pencil and watercolor. We discussed two artworks that had landscapes as subject matter, but were different in terms of media: one was an oil painting, and the other a print. After discussing the similarities and differences of the two landscapes, students looked at a photo of a small tree on our Zilker campus. They first drew the tree using only pencil, then painted the tree again using watercolor paints and brush. We then had a lively discussion about which medium each student liked best and why. This lesson set the stage for our first field trip that included a artwork media scavenger hunt as well as looking at different types of media in the museum's permanent collection.

3rd Grade Day of the Dead Drawings & Papel Picado

2010-10-18T13:26:00.004-05:00

Third Grade students are learning about the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos. On November 1st and 2nd Mexican families honor the memories of family members and friends who have passed away. Families will go to the cemetery and decorate the graves with marigold flowers, and sometimes will have an altar in their home with the person's photo that they are remembering. Skeleton toys and candies are also a big part of the celebration, and are often silly and fun to show that death is not something to be afraid of but is part of the life cycle. The Day of the Dead celebrations show that people all around the world share many common rituals: a reference for life, respect for death, and the acceptance of the cycles of life. Third graders drew skeleton characters performing an everyday activity, such as skateboarding, cooking, or going to school. We also each cut out our own piece of papel picado to hang in the hallway for our Zilker celebration Zamboree.

2nd Grade Stencil Prints and Finger Prints

2010-10-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

Second Graders printed their stencils using a sponge brush and tempera paint. Then, we used our fingerprints to create crab bodies and small fish. The focus was on the warm colors of orange, yellow, and red, since we had used cool colors in the background. Next, students will add details to all of the animals and plants using color pencils. A true mixed-media project!

Second Grade Stencils

2010-10-04T14:12:00.004-05:00

Second Graders are creating stencils. Each student had to pick one ocean plant and one animal that lives in the ocean. Students carefully drew the outlines of their plants and animals, then cut them out to create the stencils. In the next week we will be printing the stencils onto a prepared background. Stencils are just one type of printmaking we will be using on this project. The final project will be a seascape using lots of different materials.

Fifth Grade Space & Perspective Project

2010-09-24T11:42:00.003-05:00

Fifth Graders are creating their own art galleries. They are using perspective techniques to create the illusion of depth and space on a two-dimensional surface. Students are using all of the following techniques: scale, overlapping, converging lines, details, and color.

Kinder Free Form Shapes

2010-09-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

Free form shapes are shapes from nature, and sometimes are also called organic shapes. Kinder students used crayons to rub leaf designs onto their papers. The next class we added paint, talking about how to care for our brushes as we worked.

3rd grade Radial Design

2010-09-23T08:48:00.003-05:00

Third Graders are working on Radial Balance. Balance is one of the Principles of Design, and radial balance is usually a circular design that has two or more lines of symmetry. The stained glass image above is from Notre Dame church, and actually has many lines of symmetry, not just the two lines my students are showing with the yarn. Students are working hard drawing different shapes and lines to create their radial designs. They are now adding color with markers, which can be tricky since the color must be balanced as well! Here are some students working on their beautiful designs.

Fourth Grade House Sculptures

2010-09-23T07:16:00.005-05:00

Fourth Graders are hard at work on their house sculptures. Constructing them out of cardboard, we are trying to build a stable structure that will stand on its own, but have a little "character" as well. Students are adding fun details such as windows, doors, chimneys, and will start using small wood pieces (toothpicks, Popsicle sticks) to add texture and variety. We're using a lot of glue for this project; "Dot, dot, not a lot" will not work to keep our house sticking together!

First Grade: Geometric Shapes

2010-09-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

First Graders are reviewing the differences between geometric and free form shapes. We looked at several different artworks, including Lois Ehlert's "Circus" collage, so students could identify different geometric shapes in them. Then, we each created a geometric shape collage. Last, we talked about creating prints out of our collage by rubbing crayons across them to pick up the texture of the paper shapes underneath. Here are some first graders working on the rubbing prints of their geometric shape collages.

Kinder Collage

2010-09-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

Kinder students are working hard on learning shapes and lines. On this day, students were adding details to their collages. We practiced cutting out shapes and lines and glued them to create a collage. We are also learning how to use our supplies correctly.

Welcome Back Zilker Panthers!

2010-08-30T11:28:00.000-05:00

We have lots of fun art projects planned for the 2010 - 2011 school year!

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:57:00.001-05:00

Ms. Wolden's Class

Ms. Ornes' Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:52:00.002-05:00

Mr. Garland's Class

Ms. Caswell's Class

Mr. Aziz's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:48:00.001-05:00

Ms. Avant's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:40:00.003-05:00

Ms. Lugo's Class

Ms. McLendon's Class

Ms. Shapiro's Class

Ms. Thompson's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:35:00.001-05:00

Ms. Wynn's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:26:00.003-05:00

Ms. Flores' Class

Ms. Dailey's Class

Ms. Sides' Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:12:00.003-05:00

Ms. Wrigley's Class

Mr. Suehs' Class

Ms. Pizzochero's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T19:04:00.002-05:00

Ms. Hardwick's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T18:37:00.004-05:00

Ms. Brosko's Class

Ms. Saucedo's Class

Ms. Russell's Class

School-wide Student Art Show

2010-04-14T18:21:00.005-05:00

Ms. Thompson's Class

Ms. Ogren's Class

Ms. Pena's Class

2nd Grade Georgia O'Keeffe Flower Paintings

2009-12-27T12:00:00.005-06:00

Students are learning about the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. We read a book about her life, and looked at many of her paintings, especially her flower paintings.
We also talked about the intermediate colors, which are created when a primary color and a secondary color are mixed together. We practiced drawing flowers by looking at photos of flowers as well as reproductions of O'Keeffe's flower paintings. Then students practiced mixing intermediate colors with crayons first, then created their own color wheels with paint.

Students drew technical drawings of flowers as well, labeling the different parts of the flower: stem, leaf, sepal, pistil, stamen, stigma, and petal.

Last, we began painting our own flower paintings, after choosing our best drawings and our favorite intermediate color for the large petals.

Fourth Grade Clay Masks

2009-12-27T11:53:00.005-06:00

Students are adding texture, pattern, shapes, and lines to their clay masks. The needle tool is the main tool used, but students are also using plastic modeling tools to stamp textures. Look closely at some of their intricate designs!

Third Grade Laurel Burch Cats

2009-11-12T18:11:00.004-06:00

Third Graders are working on their Laurel Burch cat drawings. After waiting for glue lines to dry, students worked on picking complementary colors and planning out where to place the colors on their cats. Here students are adding the colors using oil pastels.

Fourth Grade Rain Forest Drawings

2009-11-09T18:29:00.001-06:00

Fourth Graders looked at Henri Rousseau's Jungle paintings for inspiration, as well as photos and books about rain forests all over the world. We discussed how plants in the rain forests are fighting for sunlight, and how there is very little open space in the jungle. Students could choose one or two animals to place in their drawings as well. In these photos, students are adding color to their drawings.

Second Grade Matisse Collage

2009-11-07T18:17:00.000-06:00

Second Graders have worked hard on their Henri Matisse Collages. Students learned to "draw with scissors" - a technique that Matisse described as cutting out shapes
without drawing the shapes first. Students cut out all sizes of free form shapes, starting with larger shapes first, and then overlapping with smaller shapes. Students also had to think about color as they planned their collages.

Here are students placing their shapes onto their collages, then rearranging them in different places until they were pleased with the composition. They glued down pieces after trying different ideas.

Fourth Grade Haunted Houses: Spooky indeed!!

2009-10-13T20:27:00.004-05:00

We are finally finished with our Haunted Houses! I added the spray paint, and as a final touch students glued a few spider webs for an authentic "creepy" look. Students then wrote a short description or story about their house. Students agreed that having built their houses helped them get their creative writing ideas flowing.

Kinder Free Form Shapes: Leaf Paintings

2009-10-09T20:22:00.001-05:00

Kinder students are learning a lot this month! We talked about free form shapes and looked around the art room for examples. Then we created texture rubbings with leaf texture plates and crayons, since leaves are excellent examples of free form shapes. The next class we talked about painting and how to use our brushes gently. Here are students using their brushes to add colors to their leaves with tempera paints.

Fifth Grade Perspective Drawings

2009-10-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

Fifth Grade Art students are busy creating three dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's painting "Bedroom in Arles", students are creating an interior gallery space on their papers using several perspective techniques, including converging lines, overlapping, size, and shadows. Each student gets to decide what kind of art is hanging in his or her gallery. We are finishing this great project by adding color with color pencils.

First Grade Free Form Shapes

2009-09-30T20:09:00.000-05:00

First Graders cut out their very own free form shapes, then traced it many times on a black piece of paper. Here they are tracing those lines with glue, which can be tricky! Next, we will add color inside the free form shapes, after the glue had had time to dry.

Kinder Line & Shape Collage

2009-09-28T20:06:00.000-05:00

Kinder Art students are working hard on their line and shape collages. Today we added color and detail with markers.

Fourth Graders: Haunted Houses and Ghostly Stories

2009-09-26T14:36:00.002-05:00

Fourth Graders are working on their new project - Haunted Houses! We are using cardboard and glue for the basic structure of the house...lots of glue! Check out how much we've built so far. We will be writing ghost stories in Language Arts, so hopefully these haunted houses will help spark our imaginations and inspire some descriptive adjectives.

Third Graders and Radial Balance

2009-09-18T14:32:00.000-05:00

Third Graders are creating designs that have radial balance, or two or more lines of symmetry. After reviewing lines and shapes, students started drawing their designs in the center of their papers, slowly radiating outward with a variety of lines and different shapes. We are now adding color, and the designs are starting to resemble kaleidoscopes!

First and Second Graders review Geometric Shapes.

2009-09-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

We are working hard on our Geometric Shape review. Students first drew six different geometric shapes: circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, ovals, and diamonds. We then added texture by rubbing different texture plates. Next, we cut out and arranged the shapes to build a house, after studying a few artworks depicting sturdy architecture. We are now adding color and details to the front and back yard as well as the sky.

Welcome Back!

2009-09-01T14:18:00.003-05:00

The 2009-2010 School Year is off to a great start! All Zilker Elementary art students are studying shapes and lines, which are part of the Elements of Design, this first nine weeks.

2009 Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-21T17:33:00.002-05:00

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-15T19:19:00.004-05:00

5th Grade Mexican Bark Paintings

What did we do? We looked at different Mexican bark paintings. Then we chose an animal that showed movement to draw, and surrounded the animal with different plants. We created a pattern border, and used bright, imaginative colors to paint our drawings. Our last step was to outline all of our shapes with a black marker.

What did we learn? We learned how to draw an animal that showed action or movement. We learned how to fill our page and use imaginary colors. We also learned how to use pattern and texture to add interest to our paintings.

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-15T19:18:00.006-05:00

4th Grade African Clay Masks

What did we do?
We looked at several different examples of African masks and talked about why people had made them. We practiced drawing four different masks of our own, and picked our best one. Then we created a base out of clay that was the shape of our mask. We added pieces of clay to the base to represent facial features. Last, we painted glaze onto our masks using the African colors.

What did we learn?
We learned how to attach clay pieces using the score and slip method. We learned how to correctly apply glaze so that the colors would appear bright. We also learned how to carve texture into the clay and transform a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional mask.

Ms. Saucedo's Class

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-15T19:11:00.003-05:00

4th Grade African Clay Masks

Ms. Russell's Class

Ms. Russell's Class

Ms. Brosko's Class

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T20:44:00.008-05:00

3rd Grade Picasso Double Faces

What did we do? We looked at several of Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso artworks, and concentrated on Warhol’s artwork named “Picasso Double Face.” We created our own double face, using random lines and shapes to divide up the face and figure. We added bright colors inside the shapes, and then added black lines between the shapes as Picasso did in many of his paintings.
What did we learn? We learned about the art movement of Cubism and saw how Picasso influenced Andy Warhol’s own artwork. We learned how to draw a face within a face, creating a “double face.” We worked on our painting skills and color choices.

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T20:42:00.005-05:00

2nd Grade Henri Matisse Collages

What did we do? First we looked at Henri Matisse’s paper collages. We talked about overlapping shapes, free form shapes, and color. We practiced “drawing with scissors” and cut out all sizes of free form shapes. We also arranged the shapes different ways on our papers before gluing them down.

What did we learn? We learned how to create free form shapes. We learned how to “draw” with our scissors as Henri Matisse did, cutting the paper without drawing a shape first. We learned that overlapping different lines and shapes can create an interesting composition. We also learned to use an “arabesque” black line, just like Matisse did in his artworks.

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T20:37:00.004-05:00

1st Grade Joan Miro Paintings

What did we do? First we looked at several of Joan Miro’s artworks and talked about how he used symbols in his paintings. Then we practiced drawing some of Miro’s symbols, and created some of our own symbols. We chose up to eight symbols to use in our own paintings.

What did we learn? We learned about surrealist art and how Miro got ideas for his art from his dreams. We learned how symbols can represent different ideas. We also learned about the primary and secondary colors, as well as how to show texture with paint.

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T20:33:00.009-05:00

Kinder Jasper Johns Paintings

What did we do?
We looked at several different examples of American artist Jasper Johns’ paintings. We talked about how he used ordinary things such as numbers, letters, maps and flags as subjects in his artwork. We then practiced drawing letters or numbers with oil pastels. Last, we added paint in the boxes around each letter or number.

What did we learn?
We learned to think about numbers and letters in a new and exciting way. We learned how paint does not stick to the oil pastels. We also learned that writing the alphabet and numbers involves drawing lines to form each letter or number.

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T19:25:00.002-05:00

Ms. Vogt's Art Classes at Zilker

Ms. Vogt teaches Mr. Reyes' class and Ms. Cretin's class here at Zilker. She is an amazing art teacher and her students love her. Please stop by to see her students' artworks - they are amazing!

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

2009-04-13T19:22:00.004-05:00

Ms. Jepson's Art Classes at Zilker

Ms. Jepson teaches Ms. Montanez's 3rd grade class, Ms. Hardwick's 4th grade class, and Mr. Chambers' 6th grade class. We are fortunate to have her here at Zilker! Ms. Jepson also teaches at Joslin Elementary. Check out what her classes have up for the Zilker School-wide Art Show!

Ms. Montanez's 3rd grade Class Masks

Mr. Chambers' 6th Grade Class Expressionist Self-Portraits

Ms. Hardwick's 4th Grade Class Mosaics

2nd Grade Akuaba Dolls: Glazing

2009-03-22T08:49:00.000-05:00

Second Graders carefully add glaze to their Akuaba Dolls. We had to paint three layers of each color, waiting for each layer to dry before adding the next. Now the dolls can be loaded into the kiln, and fired to about 1900 degrees Fahrenheit. At that high temperature, the clay will undergo a chemical change, becoming ceramic.

4th Grade Aboriginal Dot Paintings

2009-03-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

Fourth Graders are working on their Dot Paintings. We first learned about Australian Aboriginal artists, looking at prints of their artworks and watching a video about both their ancient and contemporary art. We talked about how the Aboriginal artists used native Australian animals in their artworks. We connected with the fourth grade Social Studies and Science TEKS and focused on native Texan animals. Each student chose a Texas animal, and we learned how to draw a recognizable silhouette of that animal. Then students carefully cut out the silhouette and glued it to brown paper. Students added one or two X-ray drawings on their animals, showing either bones or interior organs. The fun part began when students painted dots with sticks, much like the Aboriginal artists did and currently do. We discussed their use of concentric circle designs in their dot paintings, then added a few into our own. The results are stunning!

Kinder Jasper Johns Number and Alphabet Paintings

2009-02-16T16:25:00.004-06:00

Jasper Johns " Numbers in Color", 1958-1959

Jasper Johns "Colored Alphabet" 1959

Kinder students have been studying American artist Jasper Johns. Johns uses common objects as subjects for his paintings, including maps, flags, numbers, and letters. Students drew either numbers or letter with oil pastels, then painted around them with different colors. Look for these finished paintings at Zilker's School-wide Student Art Show in April!

2nd Grade Clay Akuaba Dolls

2009-02-16T16:16:00.004-06:00

Here are students drawing details into the surface of their clay dolls. Next week we will be adding the African colors with glaze.

Fifth Graders' Mexican Bark Paintings

2009-02-05T18:23:00.005-06:00

Fifth Graders are working hard on their Mexican Bark Paintings. Each student had to choose either a real or an imaginary animal, then draw the animal showing movement. Here are students adding bright colors with tempera paint.

Third Grade Picasso Double Faces

2009-02-05T18:11:00.004-06:00

Need some color? Check out third grade's crazy faces. We looked at Andy Warhol's print "Picasso Double Face" for inspiration, then looked at several of Pablo Picasso's cubist faces where he combined two faces as one or added multiple views to a single face. We then drew our own cubist face,and are now adding color with paint. Be on the lookout for these paintings during the school-wide art show in April.

2nd Grade Akan Akuaba Dolls

2009-02-05T17:56:00.004-06:00

Second Graders are continuing their study of African art through creating their own clay Akan Akuaba Dolls. The Akan tribe is from the country of Ghana, and artisans make these dolls as a symbol for a husband and wife's wish for a baby. The dolls are in the shape of the ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol which means life. Students are about to start sculpting their dolls out of clay, and then will add color with glaze. Here are students with their finished drawings, ready to start clay next week.

Austin's First Night Parade

2009-01-23T11:15:00.003-06:00

Here are photos from the 2008 Austin First Night Parade. Check out Zilker's Picasso Cart making its way down Congress Avenue! Many thanks to the Zilker students and parents who pushed the cart in the parade!

Finished Milagros

2008-12-14T15:56:00.003-06:00

Here's what the Fifth Graders' finished milagros look like! After bisque-firing the clay, fifth graders painted the milagros black with acrylic paint. I then added a metallic finish to each piece (the metallic finish is labeled toxic, so I put it on instead of the students). Last, I seal each piece with a clear coat of gel medium. The metallic finish really makes the clay look like metal. The black paint creates a contrast that shows off each student's texture and pattern work.

Zilker First Night Picasso Cart

2008-12-14T14:38:00.003-06:00

Zilker Second and Third Graders created this Picasso-inspired float for Austin's Third Annual First Night celebration on December 31st. HEB donated the shopping cart. Go to First Night to see our Zilker Picasso Cart in the Grand Procession down Congress Avenue from 6 - 8 pm December 31st!

Third Grade CATS

2008-12-03T18:27:00.003-06:00

Third graders are working on their oil pastel cat drawings, inspired by artist Laurel Burch. The bright colors really contrast with the black glue lines. Third graders are learning oil pastel techniques and "personification;" each student had to choose a human emotion and illustrate that feeling as an expression on her or his cat's face. They also worked hard on planning out their color schemes before starting their final drawing. This project is one of my personal favorites because every student creates a successful and inventive artwork.

5th Grade Clay Milagros

2008-11-15T14:23:00.003-06:00

Milagros are small, metal pendants that represent a wish, prayer, or request. Milagros are found all over the world, but here in Texas most people buy them imported from Mexico.
Fifth Graders are creating clay versions of milagros that will eventually be painted to resemble metal. The shape of a milagro usually represents the wish. Students first had to think of a request, wish, or prayer, then decide how they would represent that wish through the medium of clay.
We talked using symbols to represent their wishes, which neatly ties in to our second Blanton field trip on Tuesday, November 18th. As part of their museum lesson, students will be discussing how different artists use symbols in their artworks as a way to communicate their artistic ideas to their viewers.

You always see smiling faces when we are working on clay!

A student scores the back of the clay shape she is about to attach to the background of her milagro.

She then adds slip, which is clay mixed with water, to both pieces of clay. The slip helps to bond the two pieces together.

Students hard at work on their milagros. Next class we will be adding details, texture, and pattern to the clay.