February Art Update!

Hello! Thanks for visiting the Westlawn Art Blog to see what Westlawn students have been up to in art class!

*A note about the art blog for those of you visiting for the first time: There have been technical difficulties with the art blog that have prevented me from adding monthly updates under the separate grade levels. While I work to explore solutions to the problems I've been having, I will continue to post monthly updates to the MAIN PAGE of my blog. Thank you! -Mrs. Miller

During the month of February...

5th grade completed their Fair Food Paintings inspired by artist Wayne Thiebaud! The students spent the beginning of most classes studying Thiebaud's paintings so they could make it their goal to imitate his style of painting. The students did all of the drawing, color mixing, and painting on their own, with only guidance from me. I enjoyed observing the students as they worked. There was a lot of problem solving and experimenting during the art making process, which made it both challenging and rewarding for the students!
The fifth graders are now returning to their Elements and Principles Accordions, by completing the planning phase using their Elements and Principles Planning sheets. The sheets consist of thumbnail sketches that will be used to guide the students in the making of their accordions. It is likely that this will be a project that the students work on for the reminder of the school year, while completing other projects in between.

4th grade once again, created one of my FAVORITE projects at the carnival! Last year, I loved the Artist Inspired Self-Portraits (which the students will once again make this year), and this year they painted Impressionist Fair Animals. For those that don't understand the Impressionist style of art, at first glance it can appear messy and unfinished. That especially bothered artists during the time of the first Impressionist painters, because the style of art was so different than other art of their time. The fourth grade students worked from a picture of an animal that was painted in an Impressionist style and learned to mimic the quick loose brushstrokes that would make up the whole image. The students AMAZED me (and themselves for the matter) with their ability to mix colors and capture the Impressionistic style of painting. Bravo 4th graders, BRAVO!☺

3rd grade finished up their big and beautiful Colored Ferris Wheels during the month of February! The kids had a lot of fun with the mixed-media project that involved many art making processes. The favorite art making process was likely the string art for the center of the Ferris Wheels! The students chose two complementary colors (opposite colors on the color wheel) and used those colored strings to complete the two string art designs. Some students picked up the pattern quickly, and others had do a lot of trial and error until they got it right. The important thing was not that they got it right away, but rather, they didn't give up and sought out help if they needed it.
The third grade students are moving along in their Color Unit which spans over the school year, and are currently being introduced to their next project, Warm and Cool Collagraph Prints!

2nd grade students had lots of fun making their Fair Themed Relief Prints during the month of February! I was not at all surprised that the students enjoyed the printmaking process. I don't know what it is... but there is something SO COOL about seeing a copy of an image you made appear before your very eyes. Every time I demonstrate how to roll the ink onto the printing plate and then transfer the printing plate to the paper, I hear "WHOA" as I pull the printing plate away from the paper to reveal the print.
The second grade students are now moving into CLAY! See more about that in March's Art Blog Update!☺

1st grade completed their Mootisse Inspired Artwork in time for the Westlawn Carnival! The students not only enjoyed reading the book "When Pigasso Met Mootisse" as inspiration for the project, but even more so enjoyed learning about Henri Matisse and making artwork in his style. The students glued on colored papers for their background to show block of color like Matisse uses. They then studied the shapes Matisse used in many of his paintings, and drew similar shapes on painted paper made by the students. A favorite shape to cut and glue on was the swirl. There were some cleaver ideas of how to make the swirl if cutting it out was too much of a challenge.
The first grade students are now beginning their Kimono Portraits!

Kindergarten spent the month of February making their Pigasso Paintings! The students learned how to mix many different shades of pink for their paintings. They discovered that after making pink with red and white, you can change the pink using other colors. The students did this to imitate some of Pablo Picasso's artwork which showed an object from many angles. After painting in all of the shapes, the students traced over their pencils lines with oil pastels, so their Pigassos would POP!
The kindergarten students are now beginning a clay project... stay tuned to see what it is!

4-K art students have now completed their first project since my return from maternity leave! With teaching eight sections of 4-K at 3 different schools, I am only able to see each class once a month. Although that 45 minute class is short and sweet, it is super special to be able to create art with our youngest Cedarburg students. I feel so privileged!
The 4-K students created artwork inspired by famous artists, Wassily Kandinsky! During the first class, the students learned a bit about the artist and then completed phase one of the project, which involved blocks, paint, and paper with a grid. The students used the blocks with openings in the middle to print multiple colors! In the second and third classes, the students practiced painting circles onto each square of the grid. The goal was LOTS of COLORS and LOTS of CIRCLES! During the third class, I challenged the students to add circles, until there was no more room. I also invited them to overlap colors on their painting to create new colors.
Though the art making process with the Kandinsky Circle Paintings was basic and introductory, the results are breathtaking! Kandinsky obviously knew what he was doing when he put a bunch of circles and colors together 😉

Hope to see you at the beginning of April for March's Art Blog Update!☺