Second Grade Native American Shields

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!