Happy Catholic Schools Week!

Happy Catholic Schools Week!  We are so grateful to have this opportunity to share in our faith as well as our learning!  Thanks to everyone who made this week extra special. Here are some of our activities for this week:


Kindergarten

Kindergarten students have been working on Kandinsky-style tree collages after learning about this colorful Russian artist, who loved music, as well!  Students in K2 celebrated Parent-Grandparent Day by making Kandinsky-style Valentine's Day cards in washable paint.  Thanks to all the visitors for sharing in these activities!  We love using color to express our feelings.

Can you read her message?

First and Second Grade

First and second grades, unfortunately, were canceled as a result of the snow days this week.  I am looking forward to seeing students again this coming week for the Odyssey Through the Arts presentations!  Here are completed radial design Eric Carle-style Lions from the previous week in second grade.  Early finishers worked to create our door decoration, which read "Nosotros amamos estudiar en nuestra escuela Catolica!" thanks to the collaboration with Mrs. Garces.

Here is our door decoration:

Third Grade

Students in the Friday Art class were able to complete their Winter Birch Tree paintings!  We had so much fun applying coarse salt to soak up the paint where we hadn't applied tape to resist the paint for our birch trees.  Then, we peeled our tape and removed the salt.  Next, we applied shadow to our trees in watercolor and drew the peeling birch tree texture in Sharpie.  Finally, we applied a pearly white paint snow!  The results were stunning.  See if you can tell where students chose analogous or monochromatic color schemes!

Fourth Grade

Students in fourth grade completed their Pop Art Meals with the application of a clear acrylic gloss to protect and finish the 3-D compositions.  Then, early finishers worked to create a poster to show our appreciation for our Catholic School!

Here are our posters!

Then, students explored geometric shapes in creating symmetrical and in some cases, radial, design Valentine sketches!  This will coincide with students' next unit in Math!

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade was also canceled because of the snow days.  I am looking forward to completing our bright Klimt Tree of Life trees after our exciting presentations and activities with Odyssey Through the Arts.

Sixth Grade

Sixth graders in both classes completed their mixed media Foil Drawings!  It is infrequent that you can use shoe polish in your art, but it certainly created a vintage, "burnished" finish on these creations that reflected our Catholic Faith while using our understanding of texture and mixed media.

Students in 6A met for an additional class period, and so these students used chalk pastel to recreate scenes from The Hobbit, our current Language Arts fiction text!  Check back for photo updates.

Seventh Grade

Seventh graders put the finishing touches on their Variety Seascapes this week!  Variety in waves, variety in color, variety in lines, and variety in materials.  Look for the analogous colors used in the waves.

Eighth Grade

At long last, 8th graders finished their 3-dimensional group project that applies concepts of emphasis and unity.  But before this project is revealed, take a look at some older "Zentangle" portraits students completed while waiting to use the camera for their earlier portrait project.

 

And a hint of what's to come for our 8th grade surprise!:

Thanks to all grades for your hard work and enthusiasm!  You are truly appreciated!

A great start to the New Year!

Welcome back students and families!  It is great to be back having had an extended winter break this year.

Kindergarten

Kindergarteners learned about the Pop Art of Brazilian artist Romero Britto as we continue to study pattern.  Students most enjoyed Britto's work creating bright and lively hot air balloons for the Super Bowl XLI (the Bears vs. the Colts in Miami).  With a work of Britto's for inspiration, students created their own Valentine's Day themed artwork in a different color scheme for each class!

Here are the Texture Puppies on display!

First Grade

First graders tore brown paper to create a jagged Southwestern foreground before stamping Indian Paintbrush flowers onto their sunset backgrounds!  They used a unique method with cardboard for the stamps.  A very lovely finish to the lesson inspired by both our American Indian Pow Wow field trip and our reading of Tomie de Paolo's The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.  Great job, first grade!

Second Grade

Second graders finished their Eric Carle turkeys and lions, both of which incorporated radial patterns in their design.  Next up, students will participate in the creation of a Catholic Schools' Week artwork to integrate Art with Spanish!


Third Grade

Third graders began their Winter Birch tree paintings as they continue to bring in found objects for their upcoming found object sculpture.  The Winter Birch trees incorporate many fun and unique watercolor techniques, from the application of masking tape for a tape resist (pictured below), to wet-on-wet application of paint and the application of coarse salt to absorb paint and create a stunning texture.  Students had fun tearing the masking tape to make the jagged trees, which we will shade with watercolor paint.  After that, students will draw the bark texture with Sharpies. This is a fun project with gorgeous results!

 

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade learned about the lighthearted work of Pop Artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, who created large scale paintings of food with thick application of paint.  On Thiebaud's paintings of cake, the paint actually looks like frosting!  Students were also encouraged to know that many people dismissed Thiebaud's artwork, but he continued to make what he in his heart felt was right for him.  He eventually became extremely successful!  This coincided nicely with the exhibit at the Art Institute, "Art and Appetite," in which a Thiebaud is actually on display (along with work by Andy Warhol and many more of different periods).  With the direction to create "diner-style food," students in fourth grade used air-dry clay to create these mouth-watering works of art!  What a talented group!  Next, students painted these artworks with acrylic paints, some colors of which students mixed themselves.  Next week, students will apply clear acrylic gloss as a final touch before working on a Catholic Schools' Week-themed artwork.  Great job, 4th grade!

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade is studying rhythm and variety, so what better expression to emulate than the Tree of Life by Gustav Klimt!  Students examined this radiant and detailed artwork before painting their own winding branches in gold metallic acrylic paint.  Next, students will accentuate details with metallic Sharpie and paint pens, as well as adorn their artworks with small adhesive "jewels."  Good work, 5th grade!

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade began their study of mixed media this week. We approached this unit through the creation of Foil Drawings!  Students began the process by drawing a religious-themed drawing or design, inspired by the Illuminations we read about in our Scott Foresman textbookss.  Next, students overlaid tacky glue on these designs to create a textured surface, over which we will apply our foil with Q-tips and add, of all materials, shoe polish for a lovely burnished effect!  6th graders are encouraged to bring black or brown shoe polish for their next class.  These panels may or may not be fixed to one another to create tryptchs.

Also, take a look at the 6th grade's Op Art Trees from earlier this trimester!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade explored shades and tints, as well as analogous colors, through the painting of their Variety Seascapes!  To create variety, students will add pattern and various lines with both thin-point Sharpie and gold metallic Sharpie for contrast.  Great work, 7th grade!

Eighth Grade

At last we have finished our construction of our forms in 8th grade!  Students began painting this week and enjoyed this process greatly.  Can you tell what they are creating?

As always, thank you to the students of ICSJ for sharing their creativity and trying new and challenging projects with an open mind!  Thank you parents for your support.  Have a great week!