Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

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. Russell's Class


Ms. Russell's Class

Ms. Brosko's Class

Ms. Brosko's Class

Zilker School-wide Student Art Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!