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!☺

January Art Update!

Hello and thanks for stopping by!

January was a busy month in the art room! Many classes completed art projects and moved on to creating artwork that will be on display at this year's carnival! With this year's theme being "The Great State Fair" so many neat ideas came to mind for art project possibilities. You may be hearing your child talk about their "fair" themed project, but hopefully you will have a chance to see their artwork in person at the carnival on February 24th! If you are interested in helping hang artwork during the week leading up to the carnival, please email me! I am always looking for willing and helpful volunteers! 😄

In the meantime, take a look at what Westlawn students have been up to during the month of January!

5th grade took a break from their Elements and Principle Accordion projects to create beautiful snowflake projects! The students painted paper with two analogous watercolors using the "exploding color" technique. They then sprinkled salt on the wet watercolors to give the effect of ice crystals in winter. The students loved seen the change on their backgrounds with the interaction between the salt and the painted paper. So cool! (pardon the pun 😉). The students were then given the challenge of creating a minimum of four paper snowflakes, two of which needed to be their own design. Although there were some challenges and mistakes with the snowflake making, the students persevered and were pleased with the results! The 5th grade students are now beginning Fair Food Paintings in the style of artist Wayne Thiebaud.

4th grade spent the month of January working hard on their Realistic Self-Portraits! They have GROWN SO MUCH with their portrait drawing abilities and I am looking forward to showing off their final self portraits once they are completed. As we entered the month of February we paused our portrait unit to begin creating artwork for the "Great State Fair" themed carnival! The 4th graders are learning to paint fair animals in an Impressionistic style! Impressionism is my FAVORITE style of painting, so not only are the students in for a treat, but so am I! Currently, the students are completing their animal sketches that will be made into paintings.

3rd grade is in the midst of their mixed media art projects that will be displayed at the Westlawn carnival! I am so excited about these projects because they include a range of media, which means students received a range of art experiences! The Color Ferris Wheels, include, color mixing, splatter painting, and string art! Currently, the students are creating the string art designs using two complementary colors of yarn (complementary colors are colors that are opposite on the color wheel). The students and I, are looking forward to putting all of the parts together to see the finished product!

2nd grade spent the month of January completing their Paper Mache Sea Creatures! They thoroughly enjoyed the painting process, in which they made their sea creatures appear to come to life! The students were encouraged to mix colors, add textures and other details to enhance the look of their creature. The students are now starting their "fair themed" projects which will be in the form of relief prints! I was impressed with the sketches the students made last art class in preparation for the prints. They did an excellent job drawing images that filled up the space and resembled the pictures they were looking at. Some students drew their images 3 or 4 times until they got it right!

1st grade completed their adorable Clay Snowmen during the month of January, and are now in the midst of their "fair" themed project! I read the book "When Pigasso Met Mootisse" to both the first grade and kindergarten classes. To give you an idea of what it's about... "Pigasso" (as you may have guessed) is a pig inspired by artist Pablo Picasso, and "Mootisse" is a bull inspired by artist "Henri Matisse." Although the pig and bull characters are fictional, the story is semi realistic with themes like an "art brawl" between the two artists. They became competitive and at first fought to top the other but eventually began to appreciate the other artist's style and point of view (a good lesson for our young artists, and people in general). So... first grade is now creating "Mootisse's" in the style of Henri Matisse!

Kindergarten completed their beautiful Catching Snowflake projects that are now on display in the front hallway! The students are becoming familiar with the art style of Pablo Picasso as they attempt to create Pig Paintings in Picasso's style! The students did a great job with our "draw along" in which I drew an example "Pigasso" and had them follow. I love how every pig is unique and that each artist added their own twist!

Also this month... Westlawn artwork is on display at the Cedarburg District Boardroom! No parents were notified about their child's artwork on display since I decided to make it a display rather than an "art show." I felt it was too difficult for families to view the artwork with having to arrange a time that did not conflict with the board room schedule. There will be, however, three upcoming art shows in 2018...The Cedarburg Art Museum (March), Cedarburg Cultural Center (March), and Ozaukee County Fair (August). If your child is chosen for one of these art shows they will be coming home with a special art letter!

December Art Update!

Hello and happy new year! I hope you had an enjoyable winter break!

As I mentioned in the email sent out to Westlawn families, I am continuing to have issues with Blogger, so unfortunately I was not able to post an update under each of the grade levels this month. I am currently looking into transitioning to a new blog (hopefully one that is more suited for the many pictures I add each month). So... in the meantime, I will be posting a brief summary of each grade level on the MAIN PAGE of my blog until I get a new one up and running! Thank you for your patience as I make the switch!


The following took place in art class during the month of December...

5th grade is in the process of studying the elements and principles of art! There are 7 elements and 7 principles the students are learning and beginning to memorize. The elements include: line, shape, color, value, texture, space, and form. The principles include: balance, contrast, emphasis, pattern, unity, movement, and rhythm. We began the unit by taking a pre-test to see what the students currently know about the elements and principles. We then studied the definitions and discussed each word individually. The 5th graders are now working on preparations for their art project, entitled "Elements and Principles Accordion" in which they will illustrate all 14 words using a symbol of their choice. After completing their thumbnail sketches on the E&P planning sheet, the students will begin each "mini" project on the accordion. The most exciting part of the project is that students will be able to make their own choice of which art mediums to use for their accordions. The art room is being opened up to them so they can explore and use any art media that they wish!

Taking the E&P pre-test

E&P planning sheet with thumbnail sketches. Chosen theme: music notes.

E&P planning sheet with thumbnail sketches. Chosen theme: Google logo.

4th grade is in the midst of their self-portrait unit! The students have spent multiple classes learning how to draw a realistic self-portrait. We began the art unit by drawing a practice self-portrait with ZERO help from me! That activity served as a pre-test to see what the students knew about portrait drawing. Following the "pre-test" the 4th graders practiced drawing each individual facial feature in their sketchbooks by using "how to draw sheets" as well as a mirror. During this time, they showed a great deal of growth, which was both exciting and encouraging! The students are now in the process of learning the proportions of the face by utilizing grid lines and other techniques to help learn proper placement of the features. Soon, the students will put all of their new knowledge together by creating a final self-portrait drawing, using chalk pastels!

Facial feature sketches

Practice self-portrait ("pre-test")

Self-Portrait #1 (practicing facial proportions with gridlines)

3rd grade is learning all about COLOR! The students completed a color theory art sheet that taught the students what primary, secondary and tertiary colors are. They also learned about complementary colors, analogous colors, neutral colors, and warm vs. cool colors. The students then painted a BIG color grid made up of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors that they are soon going to use for a color wheel art project. The students had a blast mixing the tertiary colors, which are made up of primary and secondary colors mixed together. Like cooking, mixing colors requires finding the right balance until you get it just right. The students did a great job with accuracy and craftsmanship (which were the two criteria for the color grid painting). 

 

2nd grade is continuing a paper mache project that was started with Ms. Schread! The students are creating 3-D sea creatures! During the month of December, the students finished their sculpture (made up of newspaper and masking tape) before beginning the paper mache. Eventually, we got to the messy and exciting task of paper macheing our sea creatures using strips of phone book paper (I explained what a phone book was... the kids got a kick out of it) along with watered down glue. We are now nearly ready to paint our creatures, after we put a final finishing coat of paper mache on the sculptures. I look forward to seeing the finish projects as the students have been working so hard to create their 3-D sea creatures!

1st grade spent the month of December making clay snowmen! We read the book "Snowmen at Night", by Caralyn Buehner, and pictures by Mark Buehner. The silly and fun book was a great way to start the art project by stirring up the students' imaginations. After reading the book, the students were asked to think about what they wanted their snowman to look like. Once the students created the three pinch pots, they used the four S's (score, slip, stick, and smooth) to get the pieces of clay to stick together. They then began adding features such as the face, head gear, and neck gear. They were also encouraged to add textures and designs to part of their clay snowman. The students did a great job of following directions and using originality in their designs! I love how each snowman is unique and has a personality of its own! Soon, the students will be painting their clay after it has been fired in the kiln!

  

 

Kindergarten started the month of December by reading the book, Snowflakes Fall, by Patricia MacLachlan. We talked about what we enjoy about winter. There were comments such as, "sledding, building snowmen and snow forts, celebrating Christmas, ice skating," and so much more! The book we read talked about how each snowflake is unique, just like us. I had the students reach out their hands and look up, pretending they were catching snowflakes with their tongues. The art projects the students are creating will show just that, each student catching snowflakes with their tongues!

The students first designed mittens with oil pastels and tempera paints. They were asked to make their mittens symmetrical by making the designs the same on both sides. They also created a hat to match their mittens. The background of the artwork was painted with black and blue paint to resemble a dark night sky. Soon, the students will be printing snowflakes using found objects! They are doing a fantastic job with this project and seem to be enjoying each new step!