from Mrs. Allan - The North School ART ROOM
Welcome Back! The first week of school. all the North School art students participated in a collaborative project which can been seen on a bulletin board inside the school. We talked about how we can all work together to make something bigger and greater - in the classroom, in our school, in our community and beyond. It is important to raise our childern to think beyond themselves and seek ways to contribute to make the world a better place. Each student made small pieces, that when put together created a stunning, colorful display.
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/art.asp?id=25742872&exhibit=681069&gallery=y
Since then the students of North School have been busy reviewing the Art Room rules and expectations, and creating new works of art. As students have finished their projects, I have been posting their artworks on Artsonia, and typing in the artist statements they write at school. All students should have at least one artwork published soon, if they don't already. The younger students tend to do projects that go faster while the older students' projects are more involved and take longer.
I want to thank you for your support of Artsonia. Because of your support, North School was ranked in the top 10 participating schools in Illinois last year. It is awesome to get that recognition. I wanted to encourage you to continue to support and encourage the North School artists. Things you can do include:
- Join your child's fan club (this is different than registering them)
- encourage family and friends to join fan clubs
- write encouraging comments
- approve comments written for your artist
- buy cool stuff with your artist's artwork on it
- help your child input an artist statement on artworks that don't have one. (younger students need more help with this)
I will continue to:
- upload your student's artwork
- type the artist statements they write for their artworks at school
- teach them and help them create their artwork
- upload artwork they do at home (if they bring it to me)
- encourage them to develop their own personal artistic style within the guidelines of curriculum content.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. The best way to contact me is by email at: LAllan@d45.org.
The students have been focused and working hard, and I look forward to continue working with your children this year. It is a joy to be at North School.
Thanks again for supporting your budding artists on Artsoina.
:) Mrs. Laura Allan
Art Teacher
North Elementary School
District 45
Just for Grade 1
We started the year with a tree project. We practiced drawing a tree with crayons, and then painted a tree with watercolor paints.The 1st graders are delightfully enthusiastic, and everything is new and exciting. We have a lot to learn about procedures, and classroom organization along with the art concepts, and they have risen to the challenges I have given them. We are now in the process of finishing our second project which was a sunflower drawing/painting. They are wonderfully colorful, happy artworks. Next we will be doing a chalk pastel pumpkin.
Make sure students do not wear their good clothes to art class - sometimes we get stuff on our clothes even when we are being careful. (Smocks don't really work because the kids think they don't have to be careful, and they don't cover everything, so I don't bother).
tree exhibit: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=675274
sunflower exhibit: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=684261
Just for Grade 2
2nd graders started the year by writing their name with bubble letters. Some students find this easy, and others are very challenged. We outlined, designed and colored the letters with lots of colors, and painted the background with watercolor paints. We are now working on a pumpkin patch landscape. We will be exploring a variety of landscapes this year. We observed many different landscape paintings, and then began to draw our own. Concepts included: foreground, background, horizon line & overlapping. We talked about how things far away look smaller, and things that are close look bigger. I also incorporated a lesson on intermediate colors, and students are taught how to mix different types of orange to paint their pumpkins. These artworks should be finished up soon.
bubble letter name projects: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=678643Just for Grade 3
3rd graders have been exploring different uses of lines, with some other concepts thrown in. We started with a name project, where no matter how long their name is, it needs to fill the space of the paper. The then had to fill the negative spaces with line patterns choosing either a cool or warm color scheme. They had to work to sort the colors and stick with their choice. The next project explored using lines to draw. They are each drawing an original drawing and have been encouraged to use as many different lines in their picture as they can. These will be outlined and colored.
name project: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=679855Just for Grade 4
4th graders have just been exploring Visual Texture in their first project. They drew a fish, and filled the inside with their name, in bubble letters. They then filled the negative space with visual textures and patterns. This is all in black & white and we discuss that we don't need color to make things interesting. The students then make a collage background to mount their fish on. While the fish part of the project has a lot of specific expectations, the collage background had much more freedom and flexibility. It has been fun watching them come up with their own ideas. Next we will be using visual textures in a metal repose project.
fish name projects: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=684505Just for Grade 5
5th graders have been exploring the element of Form. We discussed the difference between 2D & 3D and the challenge of making something look 3D on a flat surface. We used value, overlapping and shadows to create simple forms. Then we wrote our names and used a vanishing point to create a 3D effect. Next we will be using oil pastels and close up perspective to create a tree. This project is part of our District Art Assessment that we have begun to develop.
3-D names: http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=684273
