Bodies in Motion

7th graders have been rocking out some incredible work this year.  I am in love with these little sculptures showing bodies in motion.  We studied the sculpture artist, Alberto Giacometti and his unusual style...he was obsessed with thin, skinny bodies that looked almost like stick figures (sounds like our current society and the media)....so we created our own version of skinny sculptures using a paper mache technique.  Students had to show motion and balance and had to think about the interesting spaces that the body positions were creating.  Then the chose a metallic or florescent color to make the final visual impact (they kind of look like Keith Haring people now too).   The results were amazing.  Every student was successful and they are so proud of these little people.  They will be displayed in our library so come on over and take a look....see if you can get your own body into some of these positions.  I think I might need a few more yoga or pilates classes to be able to do some.....or at least have my massage appointment made ahead of time for when I am done!

It's Elementary, Watson....I mean Elemental, Kandinsky!

Lines, Dots, Shapes....switch seats....lines, dots, shapes....switch seats....lines, dots, shapes....switch seats!

We had a great time today looking at artwork by Wassily  Kandinsky, learning about his journey into the art world, and his love of classical music.  After being introduced to this abstract artist the students got to listen to the classical music of Debussy while they started these over-sized masterpieces.  I was a little hesitant at first to try this type of cooperative work because some of my students are perfectionists....but try it we did and it was wonderful.   Each student started with a large white paper and had to paint small lines, shapes and dots.....but when "time" was called they had to move to the next "canvas" and repeat the process on their neighbors paper.  We rotated around the table until they were back to their original paper.  They were so excited to see how their artwork had evolved into fun, playful pieces and then they spent the remaining time adding more!  Look for an update next week as we add the element of color into our designs.

Papunya Dot Paintings

7th Graders have been studying the Papunya dot paintings of aboriginal Australia.  The students designed their own dreaming stories using traditional icons and then used a pointillism technique to create their dots.....within their designs you might find watering holes, stormy night skies, hunters with spears resting by the campfires, and various animal tracks roaming through spinifix grasses.  We hope you enjoy discovering what these "ancient" artworks have to say.

 

Metal tooling

Metal tooling (repousse or raised work) by the 8th graders.....These bas relief sculptures created from sheets of colored aluminum and brass incorporated many Elements of Art including, texture, line, shape, and space. Once they finished these metal pieces they were mounted onto a thick border of colored paper onto which the students extended their tooling designs out with colored pencils.  The finished pieces are just gorgeous...one of my favorite projects of the year thus far!

6th Grade is a Hoot!

6th graders worked hard on their chalk owl drawings and are very proud of the finished results.  The textures and blending with chalk created beautiful compositions that are on display in the hallways.  I personally love that the owls seem to take on their own personalities with the expressions that the kids created.

8th Grade is a Zoo!

Gorgeous study of line and space using animal silhouettes and zendoodle designed backgrounds.

Hibernation and Honey Hunting

Black Stallion

Howlin' at the Moon

Man's Best Friend