September Art Update!

Hello Westlawn and Thorson families!

Welcome to the art blog "Mrs. Miller's Makers" (previously titled "Westlawn Art Blog"). After taking a year off from my art blog in order to focus on the essentials as we all navigated our way through life with Covid and craziness, I am happy to be back! 

This year I have the privilege and unique opportunity of teaching at Westlawn and Thorson Elementary, so for any families who have a child in my art class, this blog is intended for you to stay in the know with all of the happenings in art class!

Amidst the long list of to-do's as an art teacher, I consider parent communication to be among top priorities. I desire that you not only know how your child is learning and growing as an artist, but also that you can come along side them in your shared excitement of the arts! 

At the start of each month, I will plan to post pictures and descriptions of what took place the month prior. That way you won't have to wonder when I will post, and I will even send you an email as a reminder! :)

This first month of school, we have of course packed a lot in, including necessary things like seating charts and reviewing classroom procedures, but the big topics this month included: making sketchbooks and learning the eight "Studio Habits of Mind."

This summer the other two elementary art teachers and I did a book study on "Studio Thinking from the Start" by: Jillian Hogan, Lois Hetland, Diane Jaquith & Ellen Winner, Illustrations by Nicole Gsell. Link HERE 

Here's a little summary...

STUDIO  THINKING: "We believe the arts are vitally important for educating students to be good thinkers. More than 10 years ago, the authors of Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Art Education (2007) set out to systematically investigate what it is that visual arts teachers in arts-based high schools teach in their classes, and how these classes are organized. From there, the Studio Thinking framework was born and is now used in classrooms at all grade levels, all over the globe."

STUDIO  HABITS: "The framework shines a light on those broad thinking dispositions, or habits of mind, that visual arts teachers teach in their classes. These eight Studio Habits of Mind, which emerged from the original research study, include the following."

Develop Craft (Technique & Studio Practice)

Engage & Persist (Finding Passion & Sticking with It)

Envision (Imagining & Planning)

Express (Finding & Showing Meaning)

Observe (Looking Closely)

Reflect (Question & Explain and Evaluate)

Stretch & Explore (Play, Use Mistakes & Discover)

Understand Art Worlds (Domain & Communities)

My students (as well as their community) are beginning to realize that art is SO much more than making a nice looking artwork to put on display. There is a great deal of thinking and learning that takes place in art class, along with the opportunity for students to create a piece of artwork that they can connect to and feel proud of. I am excited to see how our young artists grow (even more) as we focus on these habits of mind and apply them to all areas of our life. These traits will help them to become more independent, confident, and curious learners, which is ultimately what we want to see from future members of our society. One of the GREATEST benefits of focusing on these habits of mind is that students are encouraged to find JOY in the making, and learn that mistakes are part of the PROCESS, which is just as important as the product! 

Let's take a look at the students during their first month in art class!

As a fun and engaging way to review important features of art class, we played Art Bingo! If the students made a "W" for Westlawn or a "T" for Thorson, they got to either make me wear a prop or they got to wear it themselves. That added a fun flair and some laughs to our first day back!

All students (kindergarten-5th grade) were given sketchbook pages with each Studio Habit printed at the top inside of a KEY. We tied in this years school theme, and in art class the students learned "The KEYS to Unlocking My Success as an Artist" (as printed on their cover page). For each studio habit we did an art activity that demonstrated how that skill is important for us as artists.

Observe: Students chose an object in the art room and drew it from observation.

Reflect: Students reflected on 3 questions (My favorite thing about art is... This year I am hoping to grow as an artist by being able to... Something others should know (or find interesting) about me is...).

Understand Art Worlds: Students looked at artwork by the artist and art style that would be their inspiration for their sketchbook cover designs. Each grade learned about a different artist and style.

Stretch and Explore: Students played around with art making processes that imitated the style of the artist they were studying.

Envision: Students brainstormed a list of ideas that would make their artist inspired self portrait unique and representative of their personality.

Express: Students created a sketch of their ideas so that their artwork would express their individual personality and have personal meaning to them.

Develop Craft: Student began to create their final artist inspired artwork after having time to explore the tools and artist techniques.

Engage and Persist: Students identify areas of making that give them trouble and frustration and reflect on ways to problem solve and push forward, while being inspired by other artists and individuals that have persevered through hardships. 

Check out some pictures from each grade level!

Kindergarten...

Kindergarten artists engaging in art activities on their "Studio Habits of Mind" sketchbook pages.

Students practice printing in the style of Piet Mondrian on their "Stretch and Explore" page.

Kindergarten artists making their sketchbooks from paper grocery bags! They also created a pocket and glued on a "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist" (the "Golden checklist)"!

Students "developing craft" with their grid printing in the style of artist Piet Mondrian. The students first partnered up to draw horizontal and vertical lines using a ruler!

First Grade...

First grade artists learning to draw like Pop Artist James Rizzi on their "Stretch and Explore" pages!

Students learning about "Developing Craft" as they create their final James Rizzi inspired self portrait for their sketchbook covers.

After adding in the "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist" (or "Golden" checklist) into our sketchbooks, we drew one together! We decided on #2: Design Your Own Birthday Cake!

Second Grade...

Second grade students learning to create a self portrait like Surrealist artist, Leah Saulnier! In the self portraits the students are wearing fantasy hats that represent their personalities. 

Second grade artists enjoying making a sketchbook entry from their "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist." Here they are turning their drawings (Something that Starts with "G") into a game where another student has to guess what they drew!

Third Grade...

Third grade artists practicing the studio habit "Stretch and Explore" as they learn about contour line drawing and attempt to create a self portrait using that drawing technique.

Third grade artists creating their sketchbooks from a paper grocery bag, as well as additional features including: a pocket, a criteria cheat sheet, and the "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist" which they all had a part in making!

Third grade students "Developing Craft" as they draw their final contour line self portraits (either blind or modified). The style of art was unusual for many students, Some loved the unique look and expressive style, but others were bothered that it didn't end up looking just like them. 

Fourth Grade...

Fourth graders taking part in the "Observe" and "Reflect" art activities in order to understand the two Studio Habits of Mind. Students could also decorate and design their pages and keys however they wished.

Fourth grade artists practiced the studio habit "Stretch and Explore" by learning figure drawing in order to draw their own action self portrait inspired by artist Keith Haring.

Once the students put their sketchbooks together and glued on their "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist" (also referred to as the "Golden Checklist"), we enjoyed drawing a sketchbook entry together. The two drawing prompts represented above included "Draw an abstract piece of art" and "Draw a still life."

Fourth grade students demonstrate the studio habit "Develop Craft" as they refine their action figure self portraits inspired by artist Keith Haring. Students chose an action that represented their personality and learned drawing techniques to properly portray a figure.

Fifth Grade...

Fifth grade artists taking part in the "Observe" and "Reflect" art activities as they learn the first two Studio Habits of Mind.

The fifth graders were introduced to the world of caricature art, and played around with the art style on their "Stretch and Explore" page of their sketchbooks.

The students brainstormed ideas of topics they would want to see on the "Sketchbook Inspiration Checklist" in order to maximize excitement for drawing in their sketchbooks.

Fifth grade artists continuing to practice the art of caricature drawing, while trying to capture their likeness in their self portrait.

Students at work on their caricature self portraits. A variety of resources were used in the learning process including: a demonstration video recorded by a friend of mine who is a professional caricature artist, caricature help sheets from a caricature drawing book, and mirrors so the students could study their features. 

Well that's it for now! See you for our next art update at the start of November!