MCPS Art News

Recent creations!

2008-11-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

These are too lovely not to share!
Animals by Second Grade students....

Thanks for your support!

2008-11-14T09:34:00.001-08:00

The art show was a huge success! Thank you for coming out and supporting the art program at Morgan County Primary School. Here are some photos of our proud artists!

Art Show Thursday!

2008-11-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

The art show is this Thursday, November 13th in our school lunchroom! You may drop in anytime between 5:00-7:00 pm. Please come by and see the beautiful art from the students of Morgan County Primary School. I hope to see you there!

Dusty Landscapes

2008-10-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Several Second Grade classes created dusty chalk landscapes. They studied many different types of landscapes and we discussed what we saw in the reproductions we viewed. We talked about how things look when they are far away. I asked questions like, "how do trees look in the distance"? "Can you see each individual leaf, and why"? "How do fields and pastures look when they are far away"? This were created with messy chalk pastels which was a new material for most of them. The kids liked how their art turned out and it makes me happy to see them proud of their work. These are truly beautiful works of art.

Wild About Animals!

2008-10-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Several First Grade classes were learning about animals in art and they created these Wild Animal drawings. I only have two to share but I love all of them! The students worked on black paper with oil pastels and it really created a lovely affect. These will also be a part of our First Art Works show November 13th!

Lovely Landscapes

2008-10-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some lovely tissue paper landscapes created by several First Grade classes. They were made with tissue, glue, and construction paper and we put a coat of Mod Podge over them last to seal everything down and give it a great shine. I love how these turned out.

First Grade Families

2008-10-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

These First grade Family Portraits have really turned out lovely! I am very proud of the students and how they really made each person large and in proportion as well as their neat work. These families will be in the art show next month and are sure to make Mom and Dad proud!

Art Show Preperations!

2008-10-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. I really like to post pictures of students working on their art but when I am busy helping them, I never remember to take photos! I decided to not let that keep me from keeping up with this blog and to post pictures of finished work with the occasional "action" shot thrown in.

The students have been working hard to create their art for the First Art Works show for the evening of November 13th! I loved working with this company last year and the show was so successful, we decided to do it again. The Spring is such a busy time for everyone with sports, dance, and the end of the year rush. We thought that a Fall event would be fresh and fun. If you decide to purchase the frame that your child's art is displayed in or reproductions, they will make great holiday gifts for family! Here are some photos of last years First Art Works Show.

Lines! Lines! Lines!

2008-08-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Lines are everywhere and our first projects in Kindergarten and First grade have centered around this essential element of art. First graders traced their hands and filled them with different kinds of lines, wavy, zig zag, straight, lumpy, curvy, etc.... When finished they resembled the hands of a tattooed ROCK STAR! On day two, they colored their hands with crayons and painted over them with a tempera wash. They are lovely!

Kindergarten students practiced drawing lines on their "invisible air paper" while on the rug. Then they drew invisible lines on their white paper with white crayons. This helps them become aware of the motion of their arms in creating lines. We covered our invisible lines with bleeding art tissue and sprayed them with water. The tissue bled and their lines magically appeared. We also spent some time discussing that words can have different meanings and that "bleeding" in art didn't mean we needed to call the ambulance :) I had my hands full and forgot to photo them with the tissue but here they are drawing lines on their "invisible air paper".

Starting Fresh!

2008-08-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome back boys and girls! I am thrilled to be beginning another fun filled year here at Morgan County Primary. The first day seems to be going great and I look forward to seeing you all this week. Please remember to wear your art shirts to my class each week. An adult size t-shirt seems to work the best. We wouldn't want to ruin any of those new "Back To School" outfits. Please check back often for updates on everything that is going on in the art room!

Art Show April 10th!

2008-04-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

I am excited to share with everyone the information about our upcoming art show! I decided to do things a little differently this year and rather than doing an "art festival" type event I am going with a more sophisticated "museum" style exhibit. The art show this year is a group effort with a company called First Art Works. The students made some really lovely art in my class and I have sent the work to First Art Works for framing. On the night of the show, every student will have their matted and framed art on display. If parents would like to buy the frame that it is in, they can take the work off the wall and buy it that night. All art that is not bought in the frame that night will be returned to the students in several weeks. I have tried to explain to the students that they are not buying their art, but they are buying the frame that it is in. The art show is Thursday, April 10th and will follow the PTO meeting that starts at 5:00. It is a "drop in" event, so feel free to stay as long as you like. In addition to the framed work, there will also be hundreds of other student art diplayed all along the Library wing here at MCPS. Please make sure to come down and see additional work by your children. I am so excited about the show and I hope that everyone can make it out to the school on April 10th to celebrate the young artists of Morgan County Primary School!

Matisse Interiors

2008-03-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Several classes in Second grade have been hard at work learning about Henri Matisse and creating art inspired by him. They looked at many of his paintings of room interiors as well as some of his still lifes. Their paintings incorporated a little of both. They were given the directions to paint a goldfish bowl in a room but they could have complete creative freedom to design their space. Some chose to paint bedrooms while others made family rooms and included aspects of their own homes. These turned out so beautifully! Here is sampling of some of the created work.

Picasso Portraits

2008-03-26T11:22:00.001-07:00

Some of my classes in First and Second grade have been learning about the art of Pablo Picasso. They were especially interested in his portraits and the students found his work very entertaining. We spent some time talking about how Picasso was very brave. He was not afraid to make art that was different and didn't care that people were critical of him. These classes are creating Picasso inspired portraits. They started with a brush and black paint that they used to "draw" their portrait. I demonstrated how they could hold their brush straight up and down with their elbow up to get a nice clean line. I love the appearance that this technique of painting creates. In the following weeks, the kids will add line designs with oil pastels and paint over them with a watercolor wash. I will post more pictures later! Enjoy the works in progress!

Do you remember Shrinky Dinks?

2008-01-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

Some of my fondest memories as a child were making Shrinky Dinks at my grandmothers house. They were kind of pricey for our family budget, so we only got to make them at Grandmas. For those of you that aren't familiar with them, they were sheets of pliable plastic that you could color and put in the toaster oven. They would shrink to half their size and become hard, thick plastic. The "Smurfs" were my favorite Shrinky Dink characters to buy. Well, today in 2008, I can buy 9X12 sheets of the "Shrink Film" as they call it now. The students are amazed at what this stuff does. Several 2nd grade classes are learning about the artist, Pablo Picasso and his abstract art. We have been focusing mostly on his portraits and the unusual way that he painted them. The classes are making Picasso style portraits on the shrink film and we have been cooking them in my classroom toaster. I punched holes in them prior to shrinking them because these will soon be pendants for a Picasso style necklace. Bead making has also begun and I will post about those later. Here are some before and after pictures of their art and even one shrinking in the oven. This is so fun!

Presenting.....MCPS Kings and Queens!

2008-01-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

The crowns are finished! These First grade classes had great fun learning about Kings and Queens. Their crowns turned out cute and are filled with a large amount of paint, oil pastels, jewels, glitter and some feathers. Enjoy!

Where has the time gone?

2008-01-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! I definitely got swamped with the annual Holiday rush. Beautiful art continued to be created here in the art room....I was just too busy to share it! Well, I am back and refreshed and ready to share our progress. Here are some photos of some gorgeous ornaments that Second grade students made to decorate the large windows in the office. We used transparency film and the first day, they drew their designs with Sharpies and thickened their lines up with black acrylic paint. On day two, they painted their ornaments with red, green and white acrylics. We cut them out and displayed them all over the windows in the office. Everyone loved them and they reminded me of Dr. Seuss. I think this will be an annual project for the Christmas holidays each year. We may have to make some funky Valentine hearts for February too!

Spotlight on Caitie Sue!

2007-10-24T05:06:00.001-07:00

Caitie Sue is a hard working First Grade artist here at MCPS. She is always on task and always follows directions. In this project, the students were thinking about themselves 25 years from now and what they want to be when they grow up. Caitie Sue wants to be a veterinarian and her picture expresses that very clearly. Like all of Caitie's work, it is full of fine details and excellent craftsmanship. I am proud of the artist that Caitie Sue has become and I know she will be successful in whatever she does. Congratulations Caitie Sue!

Eric Carle Collages

2007-10-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

These are so gorgeous! Eric Carle is a fabulous author and illustrator of children's literature. The students are all familiar with his books so he is a great way to connect art and reading. We learned about the art technique called collage and how Carle uses this method to make the illustrations for his picture books. The students spent a day painting papers to later be cut up. The next class time, they painted the ground and sky. On the third class visit they began using their painted papers to collage their background and animal. They could choose any land animal that they wanted and they then had to put it in it's natural habitat. These are really coming along and are almost ready for display. Way to go!

Here Ye! Here Ye!

2007-10-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Several First Grade classes are creating their royal crowns! We have been talking about Kings and Queens and what we would do if we could be royalty for a day. Just a few of the great answers I got were, eat pizza all day, boss everyone around, and live in a castle. The students drew out their designs after we talked about giving our crown a high center and we also discussed symmetry. They were to cover their crown with patterns and shapes that they would be able to paint inside of. The classes just began painting this week and have been doing a very neat and careful job. These are just the beginning! You won't recognize them after we have made them super gaudy! I love how these have turned out thus far. Check back soon for another update on the Kings and Queens of MCPS.

Kindergarten Self Portraits!

2007-10-08T08:11:00.001-07:00

This is one of the few lessons that I repeat every year. Kindergarten Self Portraits always turn out so well and I am sure become a treasured piece of art for their parents. This semester, we chose to paint them with watercolors instead of tempera and they look great. The little artists did a fantastic job using the paint correctly and taking their time with their portraits. Most of the classes should finish up after intersession and we will be beginning a new project after that.

Second Grade Cityscapes

2007-10-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Several Second Grade classes have been learning about architecture. We focused mostly on large cities and skyscrapers. After reading books and discussing the art of designing buildings, the kids created their own cities. We also discussed overlapping and how they can show the illusion of one building being in front of another. Once the drawings were complete, we began to talk about how we would paint these. We learned about warm and cool colors and they had to choose which color scheme to use. Warm colors are colors that give us a feeling of warmth such as, reds, oranges, and yellows. Cool colors are colors that give us a feeling of cool temperatures such as blues, greens, and purples. The cities are turning out nice and the students are really taking their time to ensure a neatly painted city. I am very proud of their hard work!

What is a Landscape?

2007-10-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

Students in several First Grade classes have been learning about landscapes. After discussing how artists make art of outside scenes, we made our own! The kids were creating these gorgeous works of art with tissue paper and adhesives. This method is called Tissue Paper Painting and can have a beautiful affect. They first made the ground and sky with a clear horizon line. Next, they used browns, oranges, reds and yellows to create Fall trees. Some students also chose to put suns in their lovely blue skies. These paintings have a beautiful abstract quality that I just love! These will be going in the hall very soon for the rest of the school to enjoy.

Second Grade Families!

2007-10-04T05:19:00.000-07:00

Second grade students have been hard at work on their family portraits. We discussed overlapping and how to show that one person was in front of another to create depth in their artwork. They are turning out great! Last week our question of the day was "Why are families important"? The kids gave lots of great answers to this essential question and I encouraged them to do something to "return the favor" for all the things their family does for them. That was their art homework for the week and I look forward to hearing about the kind things they did to express their thanks. The students are using watercolors to paint their portraits. Hopefully they will be able to complete these in the next several weeks. Here are some snapshots of their works in progress.

Fabulous First Grade!

2007-10-03T05:41:00.001-07:00

Students in First grade have been hard at work! Half of the grade level finished up their chalk pastel Self Portraits that turned out gorgeous! We spent some time talking and looking at Self Portraits before they began. Working on black paper, they outlined their pictures using Elmers Glue. When the glue dried it had a raised, shiney, black texture. The children colored their pictures with colored chalk pastels and were instructed to give their background a patterned design. I am currently working on getting all of these displayed in the hall outside of my room. Come take a look! There are several other first grade projects under way and I hope to post about them soon.

We are off to a great start!

2007-10-02T05:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! We have had a very busy September here in the art room at MCPS. I returned from my maternity leave the last week in August and the students have been so very sweet. They always ask how "baby Charlie" is doing and always want frequent updates on his development. It is so cute! I am so thankful for the few extra weeks I had with Charlie but I missed the students here and we are back in the "swing of things" now. I hope that this BLOG will be a great way to keep you up to date with all the activities going on in the art room. I will post photos of student work and make note of the projects that different classes are involved in. I love this photograph of our classroom watercolor packs. I will often sit them in the sun outside of my room to dry out. They looked so pretty laying out there together that I had to take a picture! Enjoy this window into our little art world.