Homes

My Home

1st Grade

We began this project by talking about how artists get ideas for drawing.  Sometimes, they imagine ideas, sometimes they draw from memory, and sometimes from observation.  Students used observation to draw something very near and dear to their hearts- their homes!  Helpful parents sent me photos of their homes and students looked closely at the printed photos to create their own drawing.

After students had a start on their drawing, we watched a great video about the benefit of feedback and revising: Austin's butterfly.  In the video, Austin creates many drafts of a scientific butterfly drawing.  In each draft, he is able to make the butterfly more scientific, thanks to help from his peers.  I encourage you to check it out below!

When students finished their work, they asked a peer for at least one piece of feedback to make their drawing even more detailed.

Students then made the pencil drawings stand out by using sharpie, oil pastels and tempera cakes.  We remembered that oil pastels resist paint and will show through our painting!

Finally, after discussing work by artist Aminah Robinson, Ms. Koontz cut flaps in our art and we drew what was inside!   We brainstormed many ideas for what we could draw, including memories, family, toys, and furniture.  We completed our work by reflecting on what makes our homes special to us.  We hope you enjoy our interactive art!

Gallery walk of our first two projects.

Miró Inspired Paintings

Miró Inspired Paintings

2nd Grade 

Click here to read last year's post and learn more about the process for this project.

Here's a quick recap:

Students began this unit by observing and interpreting works of art by spanish artist, Joan Miró.  Miró created often used automatic drawing as a technique for creating his abstract paintings.  Students tried out automatic drawing themselves, including letting their pencil go for a walk and drawing without thinking.

The resulting lines and shapes were great springboards for student's imaginations.  Now, the thinking! Students "looked into" their marks and discovered all sorts of images from an octopus, to a black hole, to dueling dragons.




After finding their images, students used sharpie, oil pastel and crayon to make them stand out.  They completed these paintings with watercolors and experimented with a variety of techniques.

They made some cool discoveries along the way.

Discovering the saran wrap technique is the perfect volcano texture!

Teamwork!

Stuents celebrated their completed work by sharing with a friend!

Kindergarten Update

It's been a bust start to the year in Kindergarten art!  Kindergarteners have finished their letter lines paintings, Knuffle Bunny art, and are now working on art with primary and secondary colors.

See some completed letter line paintings below and read last year's post for more info on our process.

For their Knuffle Bunny art, students read the first two books in Mo Willems' acclaimed series.  Students thought about what toys are special to them and drew self-portraits with the toys.  Some students chose to add their drawings to real photographs, just like Mo Willems.  Check out the display in the kindergarten hallway!

Seeing Like an Artist

The First Step of Drawing is Seeing!

4th graders practiced seeing like an artist!  To see like an artist, you need to look closely, notice new things, and make observations.  If you want to draw something, this is the first step!    After making observations of objects, 4th graders practiced many different drawing styles, all while seeing like an artist.

Can you find the gesture drawings?

(gesture drawings are done quickly, often are shapes, and show movement)

Can you find the contour drawings?

(contour drawings are slow and detailed, they show the lines of a subject or object)

Can you find the blind contour drawings?

(blind contour drawings are drawings completed without looking at the paper)

We completed our "seeing like an artist" study with practicing drawing emotions!