January Art Update!

Welcome back to the Westlawn Art Blog! So glad you stopped by!

Check out what Westlawn students have been up to during this COLD month of January...

4K art students enjoyed part two of the Kandinsky inspired art project! The students revisited Wassily Kandinsky's painting, entitled "Squares with Concentric Circles" in order to figure out what our next steps of the project might be. They guessed right... add more CIRCLES and COLORS! This time, instead of using blocks to print, the students used paintbrushes and tempera cakes to add circles. Not only does the action of painting circles allow students to practice their fine motor skills and control of the paintbrush, but it also gives students a chance to explore a variety of colors, including what colors work well with others (or don't work well). For example, red paint on a red background, does not show up well, but green paint on red paint does. A lot of exploring went on in their young minds and the students had lots of fun adding circles to their paintings.

Kindergarten students spent the month of January creating a self-portrait project, that I hope will be treasured for a long time. The students made a portrait that was quite different from the background of their artwork. The background is super colorful, made up of tissue paper squares that the students laid down with mod podge. The portraits, on the other hand, are very simple line drawings traced with black permanent marker. The students thought about what makes up a portrait drawing and were thoughtful in adding all of the necessary features (everything from facial features to what clothing they might wear). I just LOVE the contrast between the portraits and the backgrounds, and I especially LOVE how genuine and youthful the portrait drawings are. The students and I are now taking on the challenge of adding a sewn border with colored yarn. I say challenge, because teaching an entire class of kindergarten students how to sew, is more difficult than I anticipated!

First grade students are in the process of making Kimono portraits! The students have already completed the background of their artwork which is a branch of a cherry blossom tree against a blue sky. The students looked at pictures of cherry blossom trees and attempted to imitate what they saw. They especially had fun making the branches, since the painting technique they used was blow painting! The students laid down little puddles of paint/ink and used air pressure from the straw to spread out the paint/ink into smaller branches.
After making the background, the students enjoyed "dying fabric" (painting coffee filters with liquid watercolors) that will be used for their Kimonos. They turned out so cool and unique! We are now in the process of putting together all of the features of the Kimono portrait. The students wrapped their person in the Kimono "fabric" like a burrito, and are beginning to add other features that represent what a Japanese person would wear for a special occasion.

Second grade students spent a handful of art classes completing their sketchbook cover designs! Each grade level has a theme for their sketchbook cover, and second grade's theme is cursive! The students practiced writing their name (and the word "sketchbook") until they got a hang of it. Of course the foreign style of writing came naturally to some more than others, but all persevered and showed lots of improvement! In addition to adding their name and "sketchbook" to the cover in cursive, the second graders designed a picture frame and drew a self portrait.
The students are now beginning a NEW project that focuses on African culture. After reading the book, "The Spider Weaver: A Legend of Kente Cloth" by Margaret Musgrove, the students chose a color scheme for their paper weavings they will make to imitate real Kente cloth! The introduction to weaving will teach the students some terminology such as "warp" and "weft" and it will also involve patterns and some problem solving when they face challenges. The students are loving the process so far and will be even more excited to see the final products soon!

Third grade students designed their own alphabets during the month of January, and then used their letter designs to add their name and the word "sketchbook" to the cover of the sketchbooks! For their alphabets, students were asked to do a combination of observational drawing (looking at letters they liked and copying them), as well as imaginative drawing (coming up with their own creative letter designs). Between the two, the students were able to come up with some awesome and unique Alphabets! In addition to adding letter designs to the cover of their sketchbooks, the students also designed their own picture frames and drew a self portrait. Soon, the students will be starting a new project! Check back at the end of February to see what it is!

Fourth grade students have been enjoying working with CLAY during the month of January! The students are in the process of creating clay coil pottery that could be in the form of a mug, vase, or another container. In order to get their creative juices flowing, they sketched a design in their sketchbooks showing what they would like their clay pottery to look like. The students also practiced making coils with play-dough before using the clay. This helped the students to become familiar with with the motions and techniques used to make quality coils (to their surprise... it's harder than it looks, especially when using the clay)! The fourth graders are now a few classes in and their projects are growing! Not only do they need to be conscious of the height (between 4 and 7 inches tall is the goal), the students also need to be thinking about the strength (which is determined by the "4 S's"... ask your child what they are), the craftsmanship, and the creativity of their design. There's a lot to balance, but also a LOT of fun to be had for this project. Soon, the students will be able to glaze their projects after they have been fired in the kiln.

Fifth grade students have been hard at work on their Elements and Principles Accordions! For this in depth project, the students chose a symbol or theme that would be represented 14 different ways. On one side of the accordion the elements of art will be seen (line, shape, color, value, texture, space, and form). On the opposite side, the principles of art will be seen (balance, contrast, emphasis, pattern, unity, movement, and rhythm). The project is enjoyable for students for the fact that is allows them (and encourages them) to be CREATIVE. It also allows students to explore a variety of art mediums (I am essentially opening up my whole art room to students for this project... they can be as creative as they want with art mediums and techniques). One of the CHALLENGES that the project brings is time management. Since there are 14 panels on the accordion, students need to be productive during class and think about not only quantity (getting multiple panels done each class) but QUALITY (putting forth their best effort on each one and showing quality work). I look forward to putting the finished projects on display when they are done, but first we have a lot more work to do!

November AND December art update!

Thanks for stopping by the Westlawn Art Blog! I hope you enjoy this update from November and December (two shortened, yet BUSY months)!

I hope you also enjoy time as a family over winter break. Merry Christmas and happy new year! 😀

4K art students finished their collagraph printing project in November! The students had a blast printing their collagraph plates that they had made the class before. They learned how to roll a brayer in printing ink (listening for the "snap crackle pop" sound... like Rice Krispies). They then rolled the ink onto their collagraph plate and then printed that onto their background paper. The backgrounds were made by gluing down a variety of shapes (made of both positive and negative space). It's amazing how much we can pack into a 30 minute art lesson. Both the process and products of the printmaking lesson were a great success!
The 4K students are now beginning a new art project inspired by famous Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky! The students once again enjoyed printmaking, in a slightly different way. This time they pressed foam blocks into paint and printed them using a variety of colors! They learned that Wassily Kandinsky LOVES shapes and colors... so they know next art class will involve even MORE colors and shapes (when they begin to paint circle after circle onto their amazing abstract paintings)!

Kindergarten students just finished their Catching Snowflakes artwork! The students seem to really enjoy the many art making techniques that the project included. The project began with the students designing mittens using different types of line. We talked about symmetry when attempting to make each mitten look the same with the colors and lines. After drawing the line designs with oil pastel, the students had fun painting in the empty spaces with tempera paint. The students also painted sleeves, a hat, and a background to resemble a night sky. After gluing on all of the items (including a face, tongue, and puff ball for the hat), the students enjoyed the BEST (and messiest) part of the project... snowflake printing! They learned a bit about snowflakes and attempted to imitate their design with six points (however many of the snowflakes went in a different direction 😉). Like real snowflakes, each one turned out unique and beautiful in its own way!
We had just enough time to design some gift tags for holiday gift giving on our last class before break! Look for these when they come home and feel free to attach them to one of the gifts under the tree 😄

First grade students thoroughly enjoyed finishing their clay project this month... Clay Snowmen! The kids not only loved working with the clay, but they also learned a lot in the process, such as how to shape clay into a pinch pot (disguised as a snowball), and how to get two pieces of clay to stick together. These clay making techniques were first introduced in kindergarten, but were reviewed and elaborated on this school year. The best part of the project was when the students got to add a personality to their snow person with the features they made out of clay. They were required to add a headpiece, neck piece, and face. After the projects were fired in the kiln the students thoughtfully painted their snow people. I then finished off their projects by sticking little twigs into the snow people for arms 😄
Like the kindergarten students, the first graders had just enough time before winter break to make a little holiday themed art project. They colored cute thank you cards that they intend to give to someone that will give them a special gift this Christmas. We talked about how when we receive a gift it goes along way to show gratitude by saying "thank you."

1st grade Clay Snowmen on display featuring all Westlawn 1st graders

Second grade students also completed their clay project this month... Clay Picture Frames! The students had a great time working with the clay and designing their frames. To begin the project, the students rolled out a clay slab (defined as a flat piece of clay) and then cut it to fit the frame template. The next step of the project required the students to add texture (defined as the surface quality of an object). The students pressed in found objects and even the bottom of their SHOES to create interesting textures. The students were also asked to add more clay to their designs by either cutting out clay from a slab OR shaping moist clay into a design. One of the most important steps of the project was demonstrating the "4 S's"(score, slip, stick, and smooth) to get two pieces of clay to stick together. It became especially important to show the 4 S's when adding the base to the frame since that would determine how strong and sturdy the frame would be. Lastly, the students enjoyed glazing their picture frames after they had been bisque fired in the kiln. The projects then went into the kiln a second time for a glaze firing and wala... they were complete! Soon, the students pictures will be added to the frames which will really make them look wonderful and complete!
The second grade students are now moving on to designing the cover of their sketchbooks by learning to write their names in cursive! They may be coming home with some new found knowledge and ambition to use the new style of writing! 😉

3rd grade students just completed a Holiday Light Bulb Watercolor Painting! This project hasn't been done in a few years, but after admiring one of the framed paintings in the hall of Westlawn, I decided it should make an appearance this year! Not only do the paintings turn out beautiful and eye catching, but the students also put their knowledge of color theory and color mixing to the test! The students traced a bunch of light bulb templates to start the project, focusing on making a nice composition that makes good use of the space. After tracing with pencil, the students used permanent marker and also added details to the bases of the light bulbs to resemble real ones. Th BEST part of the project (at least in my opinion) was painting in the light bulbs and seeing the colors mix where they overlap. It may not appear difficult when looking at the paintings, but it was a big challenge to paint neatly and avoid having the colors merge and spread into one another. For the background, the students used a technique that 5th graders also used for their projects... sprinkling salt over wet watercolor to soak up the paint and make a frozen/crystallized effect. This techniques was a huge hit with the students.
The 3rd grade students are now starting to design their own alphabets! Once the alphabets are complete, they will use the letter designs for the cover of their sketchbooks! Can't wait to continue with these when we're back from break 😊

Creative Color Wheels on display during November (featuring Mrs. Kotnik's class)

4th grade students enjoyed finishing their sketchbooks designs, with "doodling" as the theme! The sketchbook design cover involved creating a picture frame with cutting complex designs, drawing a self portrait, cutting out letters from magazines to spell out their name and the word "sketchbook," and lastly adding doodle designs all over the sketchbook! It was so nice to give the students an art activity that was rather easy and freeing. After spending time on a challenging tree painting, it was great to see the students loosen up and add a variety of designs to their sketchbook cover without feeling like it had to look like anything or be perfect. They turned out SUPER cool!
The 4th grade students also had a chance to do some holiday themed drawings (the Grinch and Buddy the Elf 😄) by viewing how to draw videos from the YouTube channel "Art for Kids Hub." The YouTube channel is great, because the artist often draws alongside his kids and breaks down drawings into fairly simple steps. I was absolutely amazed at the quality of the drawings and was so grateful that the kids had the ability to use Chromebooks to help them in the drawing process. Unlike drawing in a large group setting, the students could pause the videos, speed them up, rewind them, and had a close up view (not to mention the ability to tune out noise with the use of headphones). So awesome!

5th grade students recently completed their Snowflake artwork (currently on display at Westlawn). The students began the project by painting analogous watercolors using the "exploding color technique." While the paint was still wet, they sprinkled salt on the watercolor to soak up some of the paint, giving the paintings a frozen and "wintery" look. The students then spent the next couple of classes making snowflakes which is more difficult than it looks! Two of the snowflakes were created with the help of a template that the students followed when cutting. They were then given the challenge to show their own creativity in coming up with their own unique designs (which was even more fun)! No matter how many times I create a paper snowflake, it is always so fun and exciting to see what it ends up looking like when it is opened up and the designs are multiplied to create beautiful radial symmetry. The students had the same reaction, but also discovered the disappointment that came with a failed design. The students completed the project by laying out the snowflakes in an interesting and eye appealing composition (thoughtfully considering how they used the space). They carefully glued them down by painting on the glue and laying them flat.

Like the fourth grade students, the fifth graders also had a couple class periods to do some fun holiday themed observational drawing with the YouTube channel "Art for Kids Hub." They totally impressed me and each other with their "Grinch" and "Buddy the Elf" drawings! They seemed to have a lot of fun drawing one on one with the use of their Chromebooks (such a handy tool in art class)! 

The fifth graders are now beginning an Elements and Principles Accordion project that I will share more about next month!

Making snowflakes

Drawing "The Grinch" and "Buddy the Elf"

Silhouette Self Portraits (on display in November) featuring Mrs. Gehrke's 5th grade class

Snowflakes (on display in December) featuring Ms. Emmer's 5th grade class

Take care and thanks again for stopping by! See you 2019!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Miller

October Art Update!

Hello! Thanks for checking out the latest Art Blog update!

As the month of October drew to a close, so did many of the art projects students have been working on. Take a look below to see what each grade has been up to!

First, check out this group picture of 5th grade at the Milwaukee Art Museum! Mrs. Wilson and I enjoyed taking our students and their classroom teachers on a field trip to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Art Museum on October 31st! It is always such a highly anticipated field trip that offers our students such a neat opportunity. We are truly fortunate to have access to wonderful art enriching venues right here in Milwaukee!

4K art students began part one of a two part printing project! The students learned how to make a "Collagraph plate" which will be used to make a "Collagraph print." The students were taught that the fancy term "Collagraph plate" is very much like a stamp, which most students are familiar with. The difference is that a "Collagraph plate" is a method of gluing a collage of materials onto a surface to make a print, where as a stamp is a relief with an area that has been removed or carved out. 

The 4K students glued a variety of materials onto a cardboard surface. The objects they glued on varied from leaves and twigs, to bubble wrap and textured cardboard. The students learned the word "environment" as a way to describe their surroundings. They identified which objects on their plate came from their indoor vs. outdoor environment.

Next art class we will print our Collagraph plates onto a shape filled background! Can't wait!☺

5K art students completed their Picasso Style Pumpkins last month and then began a new art project, Patriotic Pinwheels!  The Patriotic Pinwheel art project involves a crayon resist method. The students learned first hand the relationship between the crayon and the paint. They discovered that the crayon is BOSSY and says to the paint, "Don't go here paint, I was here first!"  

The kids loved the humor in that and enjoyed seeing the paint being pushed away from the white crayon in their American flag designs. 

Make sure to check out the Patriotic Pinwheels if you come for the Veteran's day celebration on November 9th! The pinwheels will greet our Veterans and guests when they first enter our school!

1st grade students are nearly finished with their Matisse Inspired Mobiles! After practice sketching designs like Henri Matisse, they painted a color grid by hand mixing 12 different colors! They then drew their designs on the different sections of the color grid and cut them out (the cutting was by far the most challenging part of the project... seemed to take a really long time). The students are now having fun hole-punching and assembling their mobile with paper clips. We talked about characteristics of a mobile... that it should be interesting from all angles, should be sturdy and well put together, and should effectively move with the pieces having their own space.

2nd grade students completed their VanGogh Inspired Sunflowers (finally, I know😜)! They looks Ah-mazing! I told the students I would totally frame them (and I'm not kidding). I hope you see and admire all of the hard work they put in to them. I have received many compliments from onlookers as they see them on display in the front hall of school. The two features that we worked on recently (the petals and the shadows/highlights) are what elevated the artworks and made them truly breathtaking. 

The 2nd grade students are now collaborating to make a Patriotic Themed Agamograph for the Veterans day celebration next week! The students were given a small strip of paper as a portion of a whole patriotic picture. The goal of the project is for the students to create an enlarged version of their picture that will then be put together with their classmates to make a two sided piece of art (referred to as an "Agamograph..." named after artist Yacov Agam who was famous for inventing this movable style of art). The project is challenging and a bit risky, but I believe it will turn out great, and in the end the students will be so excited to see their artwork come together!

3rd grade is nearly finished with their Creative Color Wheels! After hand mixing and painting their color grid of 12 colors, the students chose a theme for their color wheel. With help from Mrs. Miller finding silhouettes of the students' chosen themes, the students then used their silhouette to make a master template that they would use to trace and cut their 12 objects. Following the cutting, come students added details with the use of carbon paper and permanent marker.

The students just recently made a background for their artwork by splatter painting with all 12 colors from the color wheel! What student doesn't like splatter painting? Even with wearing khaki paints the day we splatter painted (duh Mrs. Miller, what were you thinking), I miraculously left school without any paint on my pants! Soon, the students will be arranging and gluing their 12 objects onto their backgrounds!

4th grade is continuing to work on their Fall Tree Paintings. Although the project is taking a while, it is amazing to see how much the students have grown in their drawing and painting abilities with this challenging and rewarding art project! The students have added paint in stages, beginning with the sky, then the trunk and branches, then the leaves from back to front. The project is teaching the students patience, diligence, and many painting techniques (texture, shading, color mixing... just to name a few).  I cannot wait to see the completed pieces and see pride and satisfaction on the students' faces when they are finished. Stay tuned!

5th grade students are wrapping up their Silhouette Self-Portraits! One of the best parts of the art project is the chance to see each students' personality come through in their artwork! I have really enjoyed getting to know the students better through their collage of drawings. Throughout the project the students were challenged to grow in their drawing abilities AND show a variety of artistic techniques including: overlapping, shading, gradation, texture, blending, etc. All in all, it appears the students were pleased with both the process and product. I hope their families enjoy seeing their child's unique personality come through in their beautiful works of art! 

September Art Update!

Hello and Welcome back to the Westlawn Art Blog!

If you are visiting for the first time, I am so glad you stopped by! On the blog you will see monthly updates, including pictures and descriptions of what is happening in art class!

During the month of September ALL Westlawn students (in grade 5K-5th grade) took part in 3 special art activities including:
*A Where's Waldo themed collaborative art project that we titled "Where's Mrs. Ramos?"
*Sketchbook making!
*An entire class dedicated to exploring Free Choice Art!

Take a look at the picture collages below!

Where's Mrs. Ramos?

Once the display was complete, the students were challenged to find Mrs. Ramos in the sea of Waldo look-a-likes. Each of the staff members were also added to the display! Some students are still looking for Mrs. Ramos in addition to their own self portrait! If you are visiting Westlawn come and take a look in person!

Sketchbook Making!

Some Kindergarten and 1st graders with their sketchbook covers! Students designed the covers by drawing a self-portrait and writing their name. They also spent time adding color and designs to the picture frame and letters on the bottom.  

2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students created sketchbooks from Piggly Wiggle paper bags! THANK YOU Piggly Wiggly for donating paper grocery bags!! The students learned how to transform the grocery bag into a sketchbook (WITH handles!) and then added pages, along with a sketchbook inspiration checklist and a pocket! Throughout the school year, the students will use their sketchbooks in a variety of ways, but of course the primary purpose is to grow in their drawing abilities and ENJOY drawing! We spent time looking at sketches from famous artists as well as different types of sketches to INSPIRE and MOTIVATE ourselves to draw, draw, draw!😄

Above the pocket of the sketchbook are the 5 things students know to do when completing a sketchbook entry. I like to remind the students that it will be so neat to see their growth from the beginning of the school year to the end AND someday look back at their drawings from elementary school! Please encourage your child to draw outside of school whenever they get the chance!

Free Choice Art!

The students spent an entire art class exploring art activities at the Free Choice Art Station! To help guide the students in their art making, I created a menu of options (pictured above). We talked about how it is unhealthy to only ever eat the same foods day after day, and how our minds are just like that. Instead of only using the same art materials time and time again, I encouraged the students to try NEW things at the FCAS and experiment with different materials and methods!
The students spent the art class exploring ONE feature of the FCAS and then reflected on what they enjoyed about the art activity with their classmates. It was SO COOL to see what the students created and how they used their creative minds in the art making process!

Here are some of the art creations from Free Choice Art...

Magnets!

Art Memory!

Colored Shape Blocks!

Straws and Connectors!

Foam Building Blocks!

Mixed Media!

Origami!

Check out what is happening in each grade...

4K students started their very FIRST art class reading the book "Beautiful Oops" by Barney Saltzberg! In the book, Barney shows how you can take a mistake and turn it into something BEAUTIFUL or AWESOME or even FUNNY! After reading the book I showed the students a variety of "oops's" I found in the art room recycling bin (either mistakes students had made, I had made, or some I made up 😉). Together we brainstormed what we could make out of the mistakes! They had some FANTASTIC ideas, very ORIGINAL! You can see in the pictures above, the two artworks we made (pieces of crumbled tissue paper turned into flowers and s smear of yellow paint turned into a parrot... we named him "Rainbow Parrot")!

Afterwards, the students chose their own oops from a big pile of oops's and used their own creativity to make it into something! Although some of the final products weren't the most polished looking artworks I had ever seen, the thought process that went into making each of them was PRICELESS! From the youngest students to the oldest, the ability to problem solve and view mistakes as an opportunity to GROW is SO VALUABLE!!

5K students read the book "When Picasso Met Mootisse"as an introduction to their next art project! The fictional characters are based on famous artists, Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse! The students played a fun art game called "Roll a Picasso" as a way to learn how to draw a portrait in Picasso's Cubist style. The students made their portraits into PUMPKINS! The next class, the students painted paper with green and yellow, and orange and yellow. Soon, the students will be turning their painted papers into Picasso style PUMPKINS like their drawings!

1st grade is learning about Henri Matisse in art class! Like the kindergarten students, they read the book "When Pigasso met Mootisse" as an introduction to their project! They then looked at the artwork of Henri Matisse and studied the colors and shapes that he used in his artwork. The students are now in the process of mixing LOTS of different colors that they will be using to make into their Matisse Inspired Mobiles!

2nd grade is continuing a project they started last school year, VanGogh Inspired Sunflowers! The students are continuing to study VanGogh's style of painting and are gradually adding the features to make their artwork complete! Once all of the petals and cut and glued (and oh my does that take patience and perseverance), the students will add final details with oil pastels. They look forward to showing off their final artworks SOON! :)

3rd grade is starting one of my FAVORITE art projects, Creative Color Wheels! The students are in the midst of painting their color grids that will then be transformed into a unique color wheel! It is not as easy as simply painting paper, the students need to hand mix the secondary and tertiary colors on the color wheel. They are learning all kinds off cool facts about color in this unit and will be putting their knowledge about color to the test!

4th grade students are creating Fall Tree Paintings! They are learning how to draw trees and branches and will then be turning their drawings into paintings! The students are well aware that the project is a challenging one, but are doing a good job showing grit and perseverance in the process. Already their has been so much growth in the students' ability to draw trees! I cannot wait to how much further they come in their drawing and painting abilities and look forward to seeing the breathtaking fall tree paintings in the end!

5th grade students are reflecting about what is important to them and what makes them unique by creating a collage of drawings in the form of a self-portrait silhouette! The NEW Chromebooks are being put to good use in helping the student look up ideas and draw images from observation. The students were asked to make a list of at least 15 things that represent their personality and then turn those 15 things into drawings. It has been fun to learn more about the students and what types of things are important to them (this year I have been hearing a lot about Fort Night 😉... not even sure if that's how it's spelled, haha)!