May/June Art Update!

Thanks for stopping by the Westlawn Art Blog one last time for the 2018-2019 school year!

Although the artwork has already been sent home (and hopefully it made it home safely) I figured it would be nice to see what the Westlawn artists were up to during the month of May and the very beginning of June.

Also... an update on the fish artwork at the St.Paul's Fish Market... It is my understanding that the fish display should be completed in the next 2-3 weeks. I will send out an email once I hear that the display is up and ready to see! I can't wait to go myself... maybe I'll see you there! So stay tuned on that. I know it was an enormous undertaking and those displays take a while to complete.

During the month of May/June...

5th grade artists completed their Clay Cake Slices just in time for the end of the year! The project is certainly a favorite and every cake turns out so unique AND appealing! The students spent many classes creating the cakes, beginning with rolling out, cutting, and designing slabs. They then attempted to give their clay a unique flare by adding a topper. After the bottom pieces were joined together using the "score, slip, stick, and smooth" techniques, the cakes were left out to dry and then were bisque fired in the kiln. The students then enjoyed painting their cakes by hand mixing colors and adding textures and details. It is so fun to see the creativity and excitement from the kids as they make their cakes "come to life."

4th grade artists completed their Self Portrait Chalk Drawings to finish off the year! I think the students would agree that the drawing unit was a long and challenging one... no doubt, yet the students GREW SO MUCH during this unit! It was so fun to look at their first self portrait drawings (when we started the unit) and then compare them to their very last ones. Now the challenge will be remembering all they learned with portrait drawing the next time they attempt a self portrait!

3rd grade artists completed their beautiful Warm and Cool Collagraph Prints! The students did a fantastic job creating the collagraph plate (which was a collage of items glued onto a cardboard base). They were given the direction that the design must be non-representational and a balance of positive and negative space. After painting two backgrounds (one warm and one cool) the students had the challenge of painting and printing their collagraph plates 4 times for each background! The results are beautiful, either together or on their own!

2nd grade artists finished their Pop Art Popsicles just in time for summer! These turned out so fun and are very timely as we head into the summer season! The students printed the backgrounds with colorful printing ink and a rectangular linoleum block. They then stuffed and paper mache'd  4 empty toilet paper rolls to resemble popsicles. Lastly, the students painted the popsicles 4 different colors that would stand out from the background colors and then glued them down (along with the popsicle sticks) once they were dry. Although the project involved many steps, the students seemed to enjoy the process!

1st grade enjoyed making Father's Day Cards after completing their stunning VanGogh Inspired Sunflowers (a personal favorite)! To complete the VanGogh Inspired Sunflowers, the students spent a lot of time cutting and gluing on petals... lots of petals! They also added some extra details, including shadows and highlights with oil pastels. Following the Sunflower project, the students were excited to make Father's Day cards (the cards are supposed to be a surprise... so shhh... act surprised)! The students designed ties and then did some basic Origami to create the front of the card. They then added some extra details, along with a message! Happy Father's Day to all of our awesome WL Dads and Dad like figures!

Kindergarten artists created two projects during the month of May and June. They finished their adorable and delicious looking Clay Cupcakes AND their Brave Year of Firsts Self Portraits! For the self-portrait project, the students enjoyed reading the book "My Brave Year of Firsts" by Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrated by Laura Cornell. The book is written in such a fun and humorous way as a little girl reflects back on all of her "firsts" that she experienced in the past year. The book helped the students to think back on all of the firsts THEY experienced this year in kindergarten. With the help of a teacher's writing to look at, the kids wrote down three "firsts" they had! They also enjoyed making a self portrait with cut paper, oil pastels, and colored pencils. Their favorite part was probably adding a hairstyle that looked like theirs!

4K artists had their last art class of the year in May! We enjoyed adding COLOR to our Clay Flower Bowls! The students first colored their clay with oil pastels and then attempted to water down tempera paint to fill in the areas around the oil pastels. The students learned that the oil pastels like to boss the paint around by saying, "Don't go here paint! I was here first!" I was so impressed with the students as they cradled the petals as they colored and handled them with care so they wouldn't break! Way to go 4K artists! I can't wait to have you again next year, and more often too!

Well, that's it folks! Thank you for all of the support and encouragement you give to your kids in ALL subject areas! Of course I am biased towards the arts, so I hope your child continues to enjoy art related activities over the summer. They ALL have sketchbooks (with the exception of 4K) and many have blank pages that can be filled over the summer. I would love to see how they fill up those pages when they come back in the fall. I will be ready... but for now, bring on summer!

Blessing to you all!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Miller 💖