Making our way through March

We had another full and busy week in the art room.  Students worked hard in all grades, and they have the work to show for it! Great job, students!

*Special thank you to Mrs. Murphy for helping out in the art room this week!  We are grateful.*

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students in the Friday classes finished their Georgia O'Keeffe style poppies, whereas students in the Wednesday class completed an early finisher project, Alphabet Fish paintings! The fish paintings followed a reading of student favorite Mrs. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, and they allowed us to practice our alphabet letters along with using our imaginations!

First Grade

First grade students reviewed concepts of illustrations and how art can be used to tell stories before discussing the use of puppets, as well!  Then, we watched a video telling of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to draw inspiration for making puppets to tell this story in a different way.  Students used everyday objects such as cups as tracers in making the mouse's head and ears, and then they followed steps in a guided drawing of different parts of the mouse.  Next week, we will cut and paste the various parts onto paper bags before adding color to finish these literature-inspired puppets.  Great work, first grade!

Second Grade

Second grade also discussed the role of illustration in telling stories, especially as they relate to the stories we create in writer's workshop!  Because students are learning about fairy tales in class, we looked at examples of fairy tales such as "Sleeping Beauty" and how illustrations help move the story along.  They also help us to visualize events and glean additional details that might not be revealed in the text. Next, we learned about storyboards that animators in particular use to plan the telling of a story through illustrations.  We divided up our papers into six "frames" and used appropriate transition words from writer's workshop for each frame.  Next week, we will select a particular frame to draw more carefully and with our best materials!

Also, take a look at many of our emphasis sunflowers now on display!

Third Grade

Third grade used corn skewers in a new context this week: the creation of scratch art!  Students created deep sea drawings and also scenes from outer space, among other ideas.  Some students were confronted with challenges, such as difficulty in scratching off paint that was applied more heavily.  These students problem solved with a positive attitude and were able to use white crayon to fill in parts that would not scratch off.  Thank you for your great attitude, third grade!

Fourth Grade

Fourth Grade students continued to work on their Folk Art cityscapes inspired by Faith Ringgold.  Many students concluded their work this week and will look forward to new adventures in art next week!

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade students looked at more examples of Early American Art (as well as some other periods) to note the strong emphasis placed on depictions of man shown insignificant in the face of awe-inspiring nature.  Students used terms from last week's art analysis lesson to describe, analyze, evaluate and judge artworks before brainstorming ideas for their own depiction of man and nature.  Students began drawing and will apply watercolor paint next week.

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade concluded their Mixed Media self portraits this week!  Early finishers participated in other activities using mixed media, such as crumpled paper with watercolor, watercolor and wax resist using crayon, and layering of analogous colors over Sharpie designs.  Great job, 6th grade!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade also concluded a unit with the wrapping up of their Chuck Close style portraits.  Early finishers participated in an activity that broke an artwork up into parts, as Chuck Close did.  However, this artwork involved a choice of slides, flips or turns of a geometric or organic line design before coloring of different quadrants in monochromatic, analogous, and finally complementary colors. Incredible work, students!

Eighth Grade

Eighth grade wrapped up most of their technology presentations on careers in the arts this week!  Then, students who had not finished their negative space nature paintings concluded that previous assignment, whereas others learned new techniques in watercolor.  Great job, 8th grade!

Spring is finally here!

Spring has arrived at last, and we have already begun to draw inspiration from this renewing season in the art room.  Here is a look at the activities of the ICSJ art room for the week!

*But first, thank you to our art room volunteers this week, including Mrs. M. and Mrs. Hakala!  We are so grateful for your presence and support.*

Kindergarten

Kindergarten learned about unique artist Georgia O'Keeffe and how she looked at the world, particularly nature, through a different perspective. After examining her paintings of poppies, students created their own poppy paintings, complete with a 3-D effect! (Note: Some kindergarten classes will finish next week due to differences in scheduling over the past couple weeks.)

First Grade

First grade students either completed their "Gerald the Giraffe" painting from last week or created symmetrical butterlies in oil pastel!

Second Grade

Second grade, also has been affected by schedule changes or days missed for PD; therefore, students either concluded their emphasis sunflower drawings or their watercolor turtle paintings.

Third Grade

Third grade created their own original scratch art paper by first putting down crayon thickly and over their whole papers before painting black on top.  This was a messy process, but it will be fun and entertaining as students create scratch art designs on Monday!

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade continued their folk art Chicago landscape, inspired by Faith Ringgold, by adding in city buildings in cool colors and warm lights shining from them.  Next week, we will conclude after drawing ourselves soaring over the night sky!


Fifth Grade

Fifth grade learned about the process of art criticism, and in particular self-reflection, in order to best learn from their experiences in creating their self portraits in profile.  Then, they applied their new knowledge on analysis to a reading and viewing about early American art by John Singleton Copley.  Further, students learned that early American art encompasses not only the colonial artists but also Native Americans.  Here is a look to their work on display. Great work, 5th grade!

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students continued to work on their mixed media self portraits with photographs.  Students opted to use a variety of materials and learned what media works best together in the process.

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade continued to work on their Chuck Close portraits, which have quite a bit of detail!  This has been a good exercise in expressing ourselves in different ways, as no two portraits are quite alike!

Eighth Grade

Eighth graders continued their careers in the arts presentations.  This week we learned about book authors, interior designers, architects and more!  Great work, 8th grade!

A Wonderful Week in Art

This week students participated in a great range of activities in the art room.  Special thanks to our volunteers, Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Russell, for helping out!  We also celebrated our Sparkle lunch in the art room.  Here are our participants with their Koi fish craft!

Take a look at some photos and descriptions of our various activities:

Kindergarten 

Kindergarten students learned about Georgia O'Keeffe, who drew much inspiration from nature around her.  We watched a Brainpop, Jr., video telling about her life and her ideas before beginning the creation of mixed media 3-D poppies! Check back soon for details of these unique radial creations!

First Grade

First Graders in Ms. Clesen and Mrs. Shiba's class had their art party this week, having Smarties and apple juice to celebrate their hard work and dedication!  In Mrs. Holmes and Ms. McCurry's class, we concluded our Giraffes Can't Dance painting in honor of Read Across America.

Here is a look back at our landscape painting with cardboard stamping!

Second Grade

Second grade learned about creating a dynamic composition by painting turtles swimming onto the page!  Students worked with oil pastels and watercolor for a sea-like effect.

Third Grade

Third grade concluded their lesson in Expressionism by adding finishing touches and mounting their paintings on black paper.  Great work, 3rd grade!

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade students learned about characteristics and types of folk art before having a reading from Faith Ringgold's Tar Beach. This story features a dreamlike scene across a city skyline -- and we began to create our own, set right here in Chicago!  Here are the students hard at work.  Be sure to check back to see these collages when they are finished!

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade concluded their silhouette portraits in profile! This was a fun process for students, who learned about concepts of positive and negative space in the process!

Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade students began their mixed media self-portraits with photographs.  Many students chose a favorite photograph, and others created a new photo to fit into the plan they created last week!  We also chose from a variety of media as needed to achieve our goals.

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade continued to work on their Chuck Close style self portraits, drawing different pictures or letters inside each grid section and coloring.  We will continue this highly detailed project next week, as well.

Eighth Grade

Eighth grade students began sharing their presentations of various careers in the arts!  Students used Prezi and PowerPoint to educate one another about careers ranging from voice actor to graphic designer to interior designer.  We will continue sharing our research and interviews with real-life artists next week.