Greetings Everyone! Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! Art class started just over 3 weeks ago and we are up to all sorts of things!
All the classes have reviewed what the Agreement System looks like in art class. We discussed things like what participation means in the studio and how we can create a safe space.
K-3 is coming to the end of the Original Works project. They create a drawing that families can order on things like mugs, aprons, etc. Students are encouraged to use bright colors and create something that will be fun for them to draw. The procedure we used this year is to sketch with pencil first, trace the pencil lines with Sharpie marker, color the rest of the piece with colored pencil, and brush with watercolor paints (optional). The order forms will be going home in the first couple weeks of October. Keep an eye on the Wednesday Word for updates.
4/5 has been revisiting procedures for taking out and putting away art supplies. They have been decorating their sketchbooks, drawing in their sketchbooks, creating artist trading cards (to trade with each other), and painting.
6thgrade is starting a project using the “Big Idea” concept of Time. They are brainstorming ideas, creating thumbnail sketches and starting final pieces. These works will be black and white (charcoal, sharpie, graphite pencil).
7thgrade is about to start their first project “Artists Observe” which is one of the Studio Habits of Mind that we discuss in the art room. I don’t want to say too much yet, because they won’t start until after farm school.
8thgrade is starting a project called “Artists Express Big Ideas”. We talked about what big ideas are, subjects that can be explored and expressed in a great many ways. After several brainstorming activities the students will choose a big idea to express in dry drawing media and collage.
Art Club has started! 4-8thgrade students are invited to come to the art studio to eat lunch and make art every Tuesday. The month of September is open for the children to come and check it out. In October they will decide if they want to join.
The Original Works project is optional for 4-8th grade. It should mostly be completed on their own time because we have other projects happening in their classes right now. If an upstairs student wants to participate, their art needs to be back to me my September 30th.
In other news, I have been creating YouTube tutorials for a flipped classroom approach. The goal is to have a place for art instruction that can be accessed outside of school and not take up too much class time with demos of things they may have learned in previous years. I’m not looking to be the next internet sensation (LOL) but provide resources that the students can come back to as needed. I will share the videos in PowerSchool as they apply to middle school projects. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUeFcSuiGxMpm8yg0LCtozQ/videos?view_as=subscriber
Happy Creating!
Pam
Synergeyes (Synergy School's Visual Arts Blog) 