The Makings of May

As we wrap up the month of May, students put the finishing touches on a variety of projects in the art room.  Take a look at the students hard at work!

*Thank you to Mrs. Moran for visiting in the art room! Your volunteering makes a big difference.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students learned that murals can also be made from tile mosaics or mosaics of other materials, in addition to paint.  They looked at different examples of murals made with tiles.  Then, students practiced creating their own mini-mosaic "murals" at their seats while they alternated turns painting our larger class mural.  Students really seemed to enjoy working with clay, beads and paint this week!

First Grade

First grade students constructed their Rainbow Fish this week!  After tracing and cutting fish "tracers," students cut them out and recycled scraps.  Then, they carefully applied glue to the tissue paper "scales" and pasted them onto the fish.  Finally, they colored in fins.  Great work, first grade!  Next week we will put all parts together and add a few details to conclude this lengthy but fun and engaging project.

Second Grade

Second grade students who met this week caught up with the other class in the creation of their miniature sculpture gardens.

Third Grade

Third grade students looked at examples of Doodle for Google before using their imagination to create their own, based on the story of their third grade year.  Students recalled events in sports, vacations, and other special memories.  The official contest will begin in September for students who are interested in participating.  We also raffled off some Spring Show props to one student in each class!  Congrats to Caitlin, who took home the Cloudgate ("Bean") painting, and to Liam, who took home the Sears Tower painting!

Fourth Grade

Fourth Grade did not meet because of the Memorial Day holiday.

Fifth Grade

Fifth graders participated in an arts and science integration activity, coordinated by Mr. Race, featuring an activity exploring Earth's layers. Students used salt dyed in different colors to represent the layers, discussing what types of fossils could be found in the different layers.  Ask your student to describe the process to you!  Then, students prepared backgrounds for their final project of the year, which they will conclude next week in addition to helping clean the art room and preserve our materials.

Sixth Grade

Sixth graders continued to work on library genre signs or on their superhero drawings from last week.  Next week we will conclude our library genre signs and have a special art activity featuring our Art Teacher for the Day student!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade concluded their film study, analyzing which types of shots were most effective and why in the film African Cats.  One class watched a selection from Star Wars, as well.

Eighth Grade

Eighth graders had their final art class of the year, and they wrapped up their independent study projects just in time.  Here is a look at some of the students at work (below).  Thanks, eighth grade, for your hard work in art class over the years!  You will certainly be missed at ICSJ.  Good luck in your future endeavors!

Spring Show Celebrations and the Festival of the Arts at ICSJ

This is a very special time of the year to celebrate the hard work of students in the Spring Show, as well as students who participate in band, choir and the visual arts.  We had our first "ICSJ Festival of the Arts" kickoff event on Tuesday, celebrating with the band concert, choir concert, and ICSJ Art Show on display in the lower hallway of the Hill Street campus.  This special week-long celebration included the Spring Show at North Park during the week and culminated Thursday with our Spring Show at Hill Street.  Congrats to all students who participated!  See related photographs below. (Note: Visual art display will remain up into the following week.)

*Also, special thank you to Mrs. Marino and Mrs. Moran for volunteering in the art room this week!*

Also, congratulations to all the students who exhibited in the Vicky Tesmer Gallery Show this weekend!  Great work, students!

Kindergarten

Only one kindergarten met this week for the shortened week; these students continued to work on their mural in tempera paint on butcher paper.  We also had a literature-related activity for students waiting their turns to paint: students shared in a readaloud of The Poky Little Puppy (a Golden book that has stood the test of time) before a guided drawing lesson of the Poky Little Puppy.  Students colored their puppy however they liked at their seats. We will continue the mural next week across all three classes.

First Grade

First grade continued the backgrounds of their Rainbow Fish paintings, adding construction paper crabs and other creatures of choice (many students elected to create fish, sea turtles, or more!).  Students also used a thumb stamping technique with tempera paint to create colorful seaweed underwater.

Second Grade

Second grade students in the Tuesday class concluded their totem poles; the Wednesday class began their unit in appreciating art of all sizes.  Students observed large scale sculptures by Claes Oldenburg (the "FREE" stamp in Cleveland and the giant spoon with cherry in Minneapolis, in particular) and Jaume Plensa here in Chicago (the new giant heads in Millennium Park).  Students created their own sculptures in Model Magic or clay and a corresponding context, such a sculpture garden, in crayon and paper.  This activity allowed students a fun and tactile way to exercise their imaginations!

Third Grade

Third grade students concluded their Mola artwork in the style of the Kuna people.  We added a special neon touch with neon cardstock for further design elements and a border.  Great work, 3rd grade!

Fourth Grade

With the arrival of spring comes the arrival of ... bugs! Students used their imaginations and their skills in line drawing to imagine a vast underworld of bugs with all sorts of conveniences of modern living, such as electricity, television, and more underground.  Great work, students!

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade students imagined themselves as superheroes this week and created portraits with unique choices in superhero masks and capes!

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students began our special Library genre signage project in collaboration with Ms. Lawrence and the library.  Students created collages with prints and words from texts of different genres.  Going forward, we will create stencils in various objects to represent these genres to paint or cut out a bright color that is the same as the book labels.  Some students elected to continue their pop art portraits or create their own superhero portraits, like the 5th grade.  Good work, students!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade students began their film study with the Disney film, African Cats.  This film used a variety of types of shots that students recognized and recorded, from pan action to birds' eye to close up, and more.  Students may earn the opportunity to watch selections of a choice film with their appropriate behavior for a film and their successful film analysis.

Eighth Grade

Eighth graders continued to make progress on their independent study.  Students who are working in clay either began sculpting or created a base from cardboard, wire, or foam board.  Students creating Chuck Close-style portraits continued to create their grids and began creating designs within.  Students who will make a hand-casting of plaster gauze created "studies" of their hand using cling wrap and packaging tape -- ask your student about this unique technique! Finally, students creating videos wrapped up their footage and began the editing process.  Great job, 8th grade!

Spring Show Preparations

This week a major focus of ours was working on props for the Spring Show!  Students in K-3 helped paint Chicago landmarks.  Students in 4-8 created props and posters for the gym for the Granny Awards.

*Special thank you to Mrs. Marino for volunteering in the 2nd grade classroom!  Students really appreciated your help constructing their totem poles!*

Also, be sure to stop by the Vicky Tesmer Gallery at 1837 W. Grand this Saturday, May 16 from 6-9 p.m. to support our student artists exhibiting work this weekend!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students learned about murals this week.  Students looked at examples of murals and recalled murals they have observed already.  Students then began painting a collaborative kindergarten mural, as well as helping paint our Spring Show props.  Great work, Kindergarten!

First Grade

First grade did not meet this week.  We will continue our Rainbow Fish next week!

Second Grade

Second grade continued to work on their Totem Pole artwork and the Spring Show props.  Take a look at our work so far!

Third Grade

Third grade students added more detail to their Mola-inspired artwork, similar to that of the Kuna people of Panama.  Great work, 3rd grade!

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders learned about Diego Rivera, "muralista Mexicana," and how he helped bring major sociopolitical issues to the forefront of people's minds through his highly visible murals.  Students observed artwork of his depicting Calla Lilies before creating their own chalk pastel Calla Lilies.  Students demonstrated great excitement for this project, and many students submitted their drawings to the ICSJ student art show!

  (Our fingers became quite "smudgey"!)

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade students had a choice to continue their storyboards, create posters for the Spring Show, or draw "A Bug's Life" scenes in Ultra fine-tipped Sharpie. Take a look at the fifth grade, hard at work!

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students who met this week (one class did not meet for Spring Show rehearsals) put the finishing touches on their Pop Art portraits using highlighter and marker.  Good work, 6th grade!

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade began their film study this week by learning about different types of shots that cinematographers use.  Next week, students will watch a film, noting different types of shots before reflecting on the cinematographer's choices and their effects upon the audience.

Eighth Grade

Eighth grade began their Independent Study project: students elected to create sculptures, Chuck Close style portraits or films based upon ideas created during our film study project.  Check back next week for updates!

Art and Community

Art on Sedgwick

Congrats to our students who participated in Art on Sedgwick!  Nineteen total students from ICSJ participated, with three students presenting formally in the program.  These students described what our community means to them and how they represented the good of the community through their self-portraits (both 2-D and 3-D) in this local effort to bring members of our diverse community together through art.  Great job, students!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten students completed their Water Lily paintings (if not already completed) before engaging in "free paint" this week to let their imaginations direct the brush.  Students also helped to create a very special prop/decoration representing our city for the Spring Show.

First Grade

First Grade students continued to work on their Rainbow Fish collage background.  Once our watercolor has dried, we will apply various other materials and layers still before adding the fish themselves!

Second Grade

Second grade continued to work on their construction paper animal creations to be made into a class totem pole!  Great work, second grade.

Like other grades, second grade also helped to paint a Spring Show prop!  Here are some students helping to make a very special Chicago landmark.

Third Grade

Third grade students learned about the Kuna people of Panama and their colorful "Mola" artwork! Students observed concentric shapes, bright colors, and lots of detail in these artworks before beginning their own version as a collage (not a tapestry or cloth).  Students are creating a range of creatures or shapes in their Mola-style artwork:  octopus, cat, snake, and much more.

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders created homemade sun prints or nature collages using fabric paint and natural items created outdoors.  Because of low sunlight this week, most artworks did not indicate sun printing; however, some that received more exposure to light did in fact print! Students also learned about other printing processes, such as collographs and photographs, and even a homemade pinhole camera.

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade students had their Odyssey through the Arts presentation this past week for scheduling reasons.  Students did a great job using the language of the arts to describe, analyze, interpret and judge the architecture of Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano and Jeanne Gang.  Thank you to our parent volunteers for sharing of their time and knowledge with us.

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students continued to work on their Pop Art self-portraits!  Many students began painting their bubble wrap in neon colors to use as an overlay with their drawings in highlighter.

Seventh Grade

Seventh grade finished their Henry Moore style sculptures this week, painting a second coat or additional colors for contrast.  Great work, seventh grade!

Eighth Grade

Lastly, eighth grade students planned for their independent study to wrap up the school year.  Students will participate in a project of choice and a short reflection indicating related artists and movements.  Some students will be creating a video as a continuation of our last unit, the film study.  Others took note of projects created in other grades or came up with new and unique ideas to wrap up their year and ICSJ art career.  We are looking forward to this final choice project!  Then, students helped to paint Spring Show props for the Hill Street campus.  Thanks for your help, eighth grade!