March Art Update

Thanks for stopping by the Westlawn Art Blog!

During the month of March, all students (grades 5K through 5th grade) began working on a very special project, a FISH project! Jake Knox, a Westlawn parent and woodworker extraordinaire, is currently at work on a NEW location of St. Paul Fish Company that is scheduled to open in Mequon this May. Jake reached out to the Cedarburg and Mequon elementary art teachers and asked if our students would be interested in creating fish artwork to be part of the interior design! Of course we were all thrilled to be part of such a unique opportunity and got right to work on creating fun and eye catching fish projects with our students. In addition to working on other art units, each grade level is currently designing and creating their own original fish. Check out some pictures and description of the projects below. Stay tuned for more information about when the fish market opens so you and your family can visit!

5th grade artists are designing and creating watercolor fish! The students used their Chromebooks to find a fish that appealed to them and created a realistic sketch of their fish in their sketchbooks. Perhaps the greatest challenge of the project (for all grade levels) was to make the fish large enough on their 3 in. X 5 in index card. We talked about using the WHOLE space and making markings on our paper to map out the size and shapes before adding details. Next, the 5th graders will be learning how to paint the fish in stages to achieve the realistic paintings their are going to create.
The 5th grade students paused their printmaking project to work on their fish. So far they have created a background to their artwork by designing, carving, and printing a linoleum block. They had a blast with this and we are looking forward to the second phase of the printing project when the fish are complete! Also during the month of March, the 5th graders completed their paper making which will be used for the cover of their sketchbooks and the cover of their E&P Accordion Books. Busy month for these kids!

4th grade artists are learning how to do scratch art for their fish project! Like the 5th graders, they began the project by choosing and sketching a fish in their sketchbooks. Many of the students doubted themselves at first, but once they learned some tips (such as making markings on their paper and then connecting them like a game of connect the dots) they had great success! So much of art is a mind game and requires you to be mentally strong and think you CAN! Next, the students will be tracing their fish on scratch art paper and beginning to scratch away the white areas (which will turn into color since the scratch art paper is multicolored underneath the black layer). Once again, the project will test the students' focus and commitment to make the fish look like they are wanting them to.
While the 4th grade students work on their fish projects, their self portrait drawing unit is on hold. I look forward to finishing their realistic self portraits when the fish are complete!

3rd grade artists are creating fish mosaics! It has been quite some time since I have done a mosaic project with students, but after learning that Ms. Ingham's class did a mosaic art activity earlier in the school year, I thought this would be a very fitting project for 3rd grade! The students chose and sketched a fish of their choice in their sketchbooks and then traced their drawings onto the small index card. They then lightly shaded the fish using colored pencil so that they would have a guide for where to put the colored pieces of cut paper. The students are now cutting and gluing colored paper to imitate the colors seen in the fish pictures. They are starting to get a hang of how a mosaic is created and are also learning what not to do in the art making process. Thanks so much to those families that donated paint samples earlier in the year! They are coming in super handy!
While the 3rd graders create their mosaic fish, their clay canopic jars are being fired in the kiln. The students will be so excited to paint them after completing their fish!

2nd grade artists completed their Kente Cloth Inspired Paper Weavings at the beginning of March so starting the fish project came at just the right time. I enjoy connecting art units of study to some of the topics students are studying in their classrooms. With the Kente Cloth project we made a connection to the African unit, and now we are learning about Brazilian artist Romero Britto (connecting to the 2nd grade unit on Brazil). Romero Britto is a famous artist know for his "Pop Art" style of art using bold colors and designs. The students used Britto's art as inspiration and incorporated his use of bold designs and bright colors into their fish artwork! After drawing a fish from observation, the students added their designs and made them colorful using colored permanent markers! They look SO great!

1st grade artists will be starting their fish projects this week! They are currently enjoying creating a new project (and a personal favorite of mine) VanGogh Inspired Sunflowers! The students have created about half of their project and with each step they work on they always make it a goal to study VanGogh's painting and imitate his style. We have been working on color mixing and painting like an impressionist painter with the visible brush strokes and painting on thick ("impasto"). I am always amazed at the quality of work that the students bring to this project. Never underestimate what a child can do!

Kindergarten artists are making fish in the style of famous artist Piet Mondrian! The students learned about Mondrian last year in 4K when they made butterflies in his style of painting. This year, I thought it would be fun to make fish in the same style! The students chose one of six fish templates I created and painted sections of the grid with the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. They will then trace the black lines with sharpie to darken them and will finish their projects by cutting out their fish. The project is simple, fun, and eye catching!
The kindergarten students also completed their awesome Robots during the month of March! This was a first time project that aimed to help the students to grow in their knowledge and creative use of shapes! The students had a blast designing their unique robots with the help of rulers, stencils, tin foil, colored construction paper, glue, and colored sharpies!

4K artists completed their Piet Mondrian Inspired Butterflies this past month. Since the butterflies have vertical symmetry, the students were able to make a dot of paint and fold the butterfly to see the same color appear on the other side! Although the act of folding the paper to create a mirror image is a simple art technique, to a four year old, it appears like magic! After making dots of red, yellow, and blue paint in the sections of the grid, the students then practiced their quality painting by filling in the rest of the shapes. The butterflies are by no means "perfect" like Mondrian's paintings appear, but they are beautiful and colorful, and the students had fun learning and creating during the art making process!
The wonderful Kandinsky Circle Paintings are currently on display at Westlawn outside of the art room! They brighten up the hallway and cause many people to stop and admire the students' work!

Here are some pictures from the student art show that is going on right now at the Cedarburg Cultural Center. Over 40 Westlawn artists were represented at the art show! Way to go Dolphins!