4th Grade St. Basil's Cathedral Architecture Drawings

As the first lesson of our architectural unit, fourth grade artists are studying St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, Russia.  We looked at its unique colors and patterns, and at its signature onion domes.  Then we practiced using markers to make different values and textures, using techniques like hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling.  Finally, we got to design the outside of our own towers!

 Our last step was to carefully cut out our building and glue it to a bright colored paper. Special thanks goes out to Deep Space Sparkle for this inspiring lesson plan!

Check out more finished artworks on Artsonia, our online student museum!
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?project=998266

2nd Graders study TEXTURE

Second grade artists are studying the amazing Maurice Sendak and his wonderful story "Where the Wild Things Are."  We looked closely at his illustrations and had a texture scavenger hunt, and then practiced drawing textures using lines and shapes.  Students drew different wild things and chose the best one to turn into a watercolor.

Here are more amazing Wild Things on our online Student Art Museum:
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?project=996439

1st Grade Paul Klee Geometric Cities

First Grade artists are studying artist Paul Klee and creating their own architecture with geometric shapes. Students experimented with triangles, creating different shapes like rhombi, squares, trapezoids, and rectangles.  Students then arranged their shapes to create buildings, and added architectural details like windows, bridges, doors, columns, as well as different types of textures with construction paper crayons.

 Check out the finished works of art on Artsonia, our online student art museum:
https://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?project=994524

4th Grade Recycled Art Group Project

It has been over a month since I have posted, and for very good reasons: We have been so busy in the art room, not to mention our TWO unexpected ice days in January!  Family Night at Zilker is on Thursday, February 6th, and Zilker art students have been busy working on group projects to be displayed for our parents and students' viewing. 

Fourth Grade Students studied the artist Louise Nevelson and her relief sculptures.  Here is one that we looked closely at, and discussed her use of shape, form, and shadow.

 We used cardboard that I have been saving from delivery boxes.  Each fourth grade students created a relief sculpture that had variety of shapes and sizes, as well as different textures.  Students also had to arrange the cardboard pieces so that they produced a shadow.  Here they are all together:

 Below is a side view so you can check out how the students created the "relief" part...lots of parts sticking outward to create shadows!

 I love these so much...please come by the Zilker Cafeteria during Family Night to see these in person!

Third Grade Cave Art

Third Grade Zilker artists just finished studying Prehistoric Cave Art.  We watched video of the famous Lascaux  cave in France, and were mesmerized by the huge paintings of animals made by people thousands of years ago. We practiced drawing some of the animals that these ancient artists first recorded: bison, deer, horses, bears, and cows.   Students choose their best drawing and carefully cut it out, adding it to a background that they first added implied texture to with texture rubbing plates and actual texture from crumpling the paper.  As a final touch, students added some prehistoric symbols and pictographs that were also discovered on the walls of the Lascaux cave.  Look for these to be displayed in the hallway in January!

Second Grade: Where the Wild Things Are

 Second Grade artists are busy creating their own Wild Things!  We read the outstanding author and illustrator Maurice Sendak's book "Where the Wild Things Are," and looked very closely at the illustrations.  Mr. Sendak draws some incredible textures throughout the story, and we talked about  how he used lines and shapes to create all of the different textures.  We then practiced some different textures together, and then drew our own wild thing and used at least four different textures on different parts of the wild thing. After practicing two or three, we chose our best idea and drew it bigger on a piece of white construction paper.  Students outlined with a black Sharpie, and here they are adding color with watercolors. Look for these on display at Zilker soon!