Ceramic pendants finished into necklaces this past week!

This past week, the children were very excited to finally be able to finish off their ceramic pendants by making them into necklaces using colorful shoelaces and an assortment of beads.

Before we began, we reviewed the process and vocabulary involved in making the ceramics, and then we talked about some of the choices they could make as artists. For instance, if they wanted to incorporate pattern and/or symmetry in their necklace design. We also brainstormed about color choice and reviewed the color wheel. Then the children got started. The process of sorting through and choosing beads, and the actual stringing of beads (fantastic fine motor practice) was very engaging and kept the children happily busy for the entire class time.

This photo is of some of the finished necklaces. The girls noticed that when they put their hearts together, it formed a four-leaf clover!

At the end of class, we took a group photo, and then the students were able to take home their necklaces, along with the ceramic leaf bowls that were made in the fall with the substitute art teacher.

This coming week, we will finish our Andy Warhol-inspired print/collage and review collage techniques.

Fun with Ceramics, and Andy Warhol!

For the past few weeks, the children have been working on a ceramics project that will eventually become wearable art: a necklace! During the first week, the children learned how to roll a ball of clay, flatten it with their hands, then use a rolling pin to smooth it into a nice pancake shape. They were able to choose from several templates and cut out the shape of their pendent. The next step was to use a variety of recycled objects to give their pendants texture. Then the clay was headed to the kiln for the first firing.

In week two, the children learned about glazes and they carefully painted their ceramics with color. I worked with the children in small groups because of the need for guidance during this stage, and while I was working with one group, students rotated through three other stations of art activities. One of the stations featured a rubber stamping and colored pencil activity. Another station was stocked with a variety of word search puzzles, mazes, and connect-the-dot handouts (all great for fine motor development and hand-eye coordination). The last station featured a game called "Make a Monster." Students took turns rolling a die and then drawing a monster - adding a new detail with each turn in a random and kooky way. I think the kids really enjoyed the variety of activities offered that day as I heard several say, "this is fun!" and the room buzzed with focused activity.

This past week, the ceramics were still cooling off in the kiln and not ready to turn into the necklaces, so we began our next project inspired by the work of pop artist, Andy Warhol. We read a short book about his art and looked at several examples of his prints. We discussed printmaking and then the children set to work making their own version of pop art using bright neon tempera paint and the repeated motif of their hand print. Next week, we will finish the ceramics project, and those will be sent home that afternoon, along with the leaf dish ceramics that the children created (with the substitute art teacher) early last fall.

The Finished Clowns, and Heart Mosaics.

This was our last week to work on our Color Wheel Clowns, and all the children have now completed them. They have a lot of personality! Children who finished their clowns last week, enjoyed using Fun Foam squares and plastic jewels to make Valentine art. The clowns pictured below belong to these children (in order): Kaylen, Charlie, Annie, Ruth, Peter, Aiden and Rashad. Also included are some "in process" photos - very creative!

This coming week, we will be starting a clay project! Stay tuned ....

(lesson credit for Color Wheel Clown:http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/) 

Learning about the color wheel, and a clown collage!

The last few weeks of art class have been spent learning about the color wheel. We talked about how artists use the color wheel and which colors are primary and secondary. The project began by teaching students to create their own color wheel using only the primary colors and mixing the secondary ones. We also talked about technique in rinsing the brush well between colors and how to mix just the right color. That was week one of this project. During week two, the children cut out their color wheels and used them as part of the body of a circus clown. Pompoms, construction paper and crayons were also used to create the collage. Some children are finished with their clowns (shown below) and will start work on another project this coming week. Other children are still working on theirs and those collages will be posted next week.

 Ela

Ella

 Graham

 Martin

Myima 

 Violet

Jaylen

Art on Display at Brooks Middle School

Happy New Year, everyone! This week, we were invited to hang student art work at Brooks Middle School for the Feeder Music Festival. Each child from Mrs. Bernstein's class has one work of art on display on a bulletin board just outside the auditorium at Brooks. The art will be on display until January 18th. I have posted a photo below. I hope you and your family will get a chance to visit the art, and hear a wonderful concert at Brooks.

The children completed their turtle drawings this past week and the results are adorable, and full of personality. Students used their creativity in adding patterned designs to their turtle's shell, and became familiar with a new art medium: watercolor pencils.

Aiden

Annie

Cade

Charlie

Ela N.

Ella U.

Graham

Jaylynn

Kaylen

Martin

Myima

Peter

Ruth

Violet

(Please note that if you do not see your child's turtle, it is because he or she was absent when we started this project).