December Art Update

Hello Westlawn families! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each of you! Your child may have come home mentioning a Winter Break Drawing Challenge I put together for them. I thought this would be something fun for them to do once the business and excitement of winter break calms down a bit. If you hear the words, "I'm bored," pull up this list of drawing prompts and get sketching! I encouraged the kids to involve family members and get creative with how they interpret the drawing prompts. If they don't want to draw a gingerbread house... could they make one? If you don't celebrate Christmas... could they draw something meaningful to them during this time of year? So many options! They can either draw in their sketchbook (if it was brought home) OR anything else you approve. If they want to make a painting instead... awesome! 

Please make sure to remind your child to bring in anything they create and we will do a "show and tell" next art class! If they brought home their sketchbook, they MUST bring those back, as we will be using them throughout the rest of the school year. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Take a look at what each grade level has been up to during this shortened, yet BUSY month of December!

Kindergarten artists completed their string art which was used as a background for their Self-portraits! It is always a challenge to teach the young artists how to thread the yarn through the holes in order to make a pattern, BUT after completing the first half, the second half goes much quicker and is more enjoyable for the students. Mrs. Haas has been a HUGE help to me in the art room this year, and her extra set of skilled hands came in very handy as we worked on this project in small groups. Thank you Mrs. Haas!

Following winter break, the kinders will be starting their Catching Snowflakes art project! The adorable winter themed project is a mixed media artwork and teaches the artists a wide range of skills and art making techniques!

First grade artists are ALMOST finished with their adorable Clay Snowmen! The artwork is a nice transition from their clay cupcakes they made during kindergarten, since many of the clay making techniques are re-introduced and expanded upon. Instead of making two pinch pots (from the cupcakes), the first grade artists are asked to make three for their clay snowman, and disguise them as "snowballs." The students also have an opportunity to make a head piece, neckpiece, and face, which involves other clay making methods such as: rolling coils and spheres, pinching and forming the clay, and of course using the "4 S's" to get the clay to attach. The students are having a blast giving their snowperson its own personality! When we return from break we will complete the face, add other details and touch ups, and add holes so twigs can be added for arms!

Second grade artists are nearing the end of their Kente Cloth Inspired Paper Weavings! We are now past the most complicated part, which is the weaving itself. It is not only tricky for the students to repeat a certain pattern of colors, but it is also tricky to make sure they follow the pattern of "over, under, over under" with their weaving. One little mistake in the pattern can effect the rest of the weaving and cause the student to go back and re-do everything after the error. Despite there being so much for the students to remember for the weaving process, they are LOVING this style of art and are realizing how fun and addicting it can be! Following winter break we will be completing the last step of the project, which is adding Kente cloth inspired designs using colored permanent markers. This step once again reinforces pattern and turns the weaving into somewhat of an optical illusion, making the weaving look real!

Third grade artists are doing a FABULOUS job making their Holiday Lights Watercolor Paintings! The paintings are so eye catching and appear real, with the addition of the white oil pastel for the "glare." The artwork requires that the students understand color mixing, by making secondary colors and tertiary colors in places that the lightbulbs overlap. Not only are the students being asked to demonstrate their knowledge of color mixing, but they also are becoming familiar with how to successfully paint with watercolors. The students are now moving on to making the background by painting wet blue with wet black ("wet in wet" or "exploding colors") and sprinkling some salt on top. The salt soaks up areas of paint giving the paper a frosted/ice crystal look.

Fourth grade artists added finishing touches to their O'Keefe Inspired Fall Paintings, and they look stunning! After sponge painting on the fall colors with a small round sponge, the students learned to paint varied lines for the branches. This step was challenging for many of students and since we were nearing the end of the project, it took an extra measure of patience to complete the trees. Our final class before break was spent adding colored pencil to the ends of the branches to create finer points. With the extra time left in class, some students enjoyed some Free Choice Art and others chose to try out one of the Winter Break Drawing Challenges!

Fifth grade artists are amazing me (and hopefully themselves) with how they are adding value to their self-portraits! They learned how to use different drawing techniques in order to show a range of values within an artwork. Since the students are adding value with permanent marker, they cannot blend or press lighter or harder in areas. Instead, they learned techniques such as "hatching," "cross-hatching," "stippling," and more. Our TWO goals during our last class together before break was to... demonstrate value using the techniques they learned AND not give up! Since the students cannot erase mistakes, this style of art requires perseverance, a positive mindset, and being okay with some mistakes. The goal is GROWTH, not perfection. I cannot wait to see the completed artworks soon!