This week in the art room....

This week, first grade students learned about the colors in the color wheel. Then we used that knowledge to create a classic still life of flowers in a vase. The students first spent a class period making painted paper with tempera paints. During the following class period, those painted papers (along with construction paper) were used to make our still life works of art.

Kindergarten students learned a little bit about Claude Monet and his famous water lily paintings. We read the book, "The Magical Garden of Claude Monet" and then created our own versions. The first class period was spent painting the pond water with various tint of blue, lavender and white tempera paints. A bit of glitter was added for that Impressionistic glimmer of light. During the second class period, students looked at photos of water lilies and then cut out their own flowers and lily pads. Chalk pastels and crumpled tissue paper were added to give the flowers both real and implied texture.

Fourth grade students began working on their annual self-portrait project by learning about the painters known as the Fauves, which means "Wild Beasts" in French. These painters were famous for creating paintings using wild colors and heavy brushstrokes. The children's interpretation will involve creating a cut-paper collage with various bright construction paper colors.

2nd grade artists finished their zebra collages this week. They are just adorable and full of unique personality. 

Some of the 2nd grade classes had finished their zebra collages last week, so those students began an apple still-life painting. This week, we used oil pastels to draw our apples and our fruit bowls, then painted them with tempera paints. Next week, we will cut them out and assemble them into a classic still-life composition.