Weeks of 9/30/24 and 10/7/24 - 2nd and 3rd grades

 2nd and 3rd graders returned to create Hojolata art! 

Hojalata is a Mexican folk art form that involves shaping, cutting and painting tin into decorative and functional objects. The word "Hojalata" translates to "tin art".

We looked at the below example and had a class discussion about what we saw - bumps on the work, bright colors and students guessed what material was used to create this. Some guessed plastic, metal, and some guessed clay. Once done, we looked at several other examples of Hojalata art. 

2nd graders cut slits into an 8" X 10" piece of cardboard. They used yarn to go inside the slits and taped the ends. They then pressed a piece of tin foil on top of the yarn to create an embossed effect, folded the sides and taped them to the back. They then used paint sticks to color between the embossed areas and created line patterns to complete their work. This took us 2 1 hour classes.

3rd graders each got a piece of white copy paper with a 5" square already drawn. On the blank side of their paper, they drew 2 squares and created a symmetrical design inside each using lines and shapes as a warm up. They then created their actual design inside the 5" square. They then taped their 5" foil with the silver side facing the back of their 5" square. They put their work on a piece of cardboard and pressed their pencil into their design to create an embossed effect. 

During the next class students peeled off the tape and used their pencil to again press into their foil to create a more embossed effect. They used Sharpie markers to fill in spaces. They centered their foil on a 12" cardboard, drew the outline with a pencil. They used paint sticks to create more lines and shapes incorporating symmetry. They used double sided tape to fix their foil inside the outline in the center of the cardboard and finish their work. This also took us 2 1 hour classes.

Week of 9/23/2024 - UTK, K and 1st Grade

 This week UTK, K and 1st grade students returned to works on creating patterns with lines.

UTK and kinder students looked at the book Fall leaves fall by Zoe Hall and we discussed how some trees have leaves change colors in the fall!

I gave UTK students a piece on poster board that already had a fall leaf traced on it. Students created patterns by combining lines to fill their leaf. They then traced all pencil lines with black Sharpie, erased pencil lines and used fall water colors to fill their leaves. I reminded students to wash their paint brushes and dry them before dipping it in another color.

I gave kinder students  the templates of leaves and acorns. They picked one of their choice and traced it using a pencil. They too added line patterns with pencil and traced them using a black Sharpie marker. After erasing pencil lines, I had them color on a piece of tin foil with washable markers in fall colors. I sprayed the foil with water after which students pressed it on to their leaf/ acorn and saw the beautiful colors get transferred!!! It was a big "wow" moment for all and I love this lesson every year!

1st graders looked at the works of artist Ben Eine and we noticed how he uses letters and changes them using patterns, bright colors and organic shapes. I had traced the first letter of every student's name on a large piece of poster board using a pencil. Each student  erased the base of their letter and added an organic shape in the style of the artist. Once done, they each added line patterns using Sharpie markers in various colors and used twistable color pencils to  color the background.

Week of 9/16/2024 - UTK, K and 1st Grade

 This week UTK, kinder and 1st grade students had their 1ts art rotation with me!

We talked about class expectations and created works with lines.

UTK students looked at the book "The Dot" by Peter H Reynolds we discussed how everybody is an artist and that the mark that you make on paper is unique and special because "you" made it!!

After helping them write their name and room # on their paper, we used a pencil to draw a vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zig-zag, wavy and broken line and traced them using a black Sharpie marker. We erased pencil lines and used circular sponge brushes to create dots in different colors by dipping them in tempera paint. I reminded students to press and lift the brushes and not drag them.

Kinder students also looked at the the book "The Dot". I had traced a large dot on a piece of 9" X 12" poster board for each student.  We used a pencil to draw a vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zig-zag, curved, wavy, dotted and broken line inside and outside the dot and traced the dot and lines with a black Sharpie marker. Once done students erased the pencil lines and used glitter water colors to paint inside their dot.

1st graders looked at the book "Lines that wiggle" by Candice Whitman and and drew lines similar to kinder students. We noticed how the different lines created spaces between them. We used different glitter water colors to paint these spaces to complete our work.

Weeks 9/2/2024 and 9/9/2024 - 4th and 5th grades

 4th and 5th grades had their 1st art rotation this week!

4th graders looked at the works of artist Jaume Plensa and engaged in a turn and talk and class discussion. We noticed how he uses text and symbols in his works and combines them interesting ways to create his sculptures.

We created a mind map of words based on prompts I gave students - 3 adjectives to describe yourself, favorite hobby, place etc.

Once done, students were given a piece on 9" X 12" cardboard. They drew vertical and horizontal lines using a ruler and wrote words from their mind map inside the spaces using a variety of fonts with a pencil. Some students even made up their own fonts!

They traced their words with a black chisel tip Sharpie and erased pencil lines.

Students then wrote their name on a piece of construction paper using block letters, cut them out, arranged them in an interesting way like the artist and glued them to complete their work.

5th graders created "All about me" explosion books!!

Students were given multiple prompts and answered them by creating an illustration or text using a variety of fonts in 12 boxes/ triangles on white paper. For example - 4 adjectives to describe yourself, favorite food, favorite sport, hobby etc.

Once done, they outlined their work and added color using color pencils.

We then used 4 pieces of 6” squares in complementary colors to fold and connect them to make explosion books. 

Students then cut out their squares and triangles and glued them inside their books to complete their work!

Weeks of 9/19/24 and 9/16/24 - 2nd and 3rd grades

 2nd graders looked at the front cover of the book “That’s Not My Name” by Anoosha Syed and engaged in a class discussion during our 1st class of what the book was about by looking for clues. 

The main character in the book is Mirha. Her teacher and friends mispronounce her name at school which leads to Mirha wanting to change her name. A conversation with her mom leads Mirha to learn the meaning of her name which is "happiness" in Arabic. She goes back to school the next day with excitement to teach her friends about her name and how to deal with situations where students pronounce her name differently!

After reading the story, students shared an interesting fact about their name - some shared they were named after their grandpa, after a movie or a friend. Some shared the meaning of their name - “the gifted one”, “the loved one” among many others.

Each student practiced writing their name in several ways using pencil, picked the one they liked the best and wrote their name on a white poster board. They used a chisel tip black Sharpie to trace the letters and then used warm and cool color markers to create repetitive lines around their name.

They completed their work during the 2nd class and wrote something special about their name.

3rd graders looked at the comic book inspired works of artist Roy Lichtenstein - we had a class discussion of how the artist used dots similar to how comic books were printed back in the 1950s/ 60s. 

We noticed how the words used were sound words and had an exclamation point at the end, the letters used overlapping and that the colors were bright! We also talked about the Pop art movement, the word "pop" stood for "popular" and looked at several examples by other Pop artists. I introduced the word onomatopoeia to students and let them know we will create an artwork using their name as an onomatopoeia. 

We spent 2 classes cutting and layering paper in different shapes, added dots, name and also mounted our works on black paper. Students also wrote something new they learned in this lesson by filling out an exit slip.

Week of 8/12/2024 - First week back

Welcome back!!

We are off to a great start with 2nd-5th graders creating their collaborative artwork the first week of school!

Students looked at the works of artist Charles McGee and we had a class discussion about how he used patterns, overlapping, organic shapes, and lines using just black-and-white to create contrast in his works.

Each class worked with a different color paper square, added black and white paper strips and patterns with black and silver markers. They arranged and organized their pieces, glued them to complete their work and added it to a large piece of paper.

Approximately 510 squares were put together and displayed in the auditorium to provide a beautiful backdrop for upcoming events.

There are several positives to starting the school year off with collaboration - it teaches students how to contribute ideas for a group and how to compromise. It builds a sense of community as students work towards a common goal. It also improves critical thinking skills by analyzing and synthesizing information from various sources.

Here are photos of the day to day progress and the final install! 

Weeks of 5/27/24 and 6/1/24

 I am San Diego project

4th and 5th graders returned for their last rotation - our VAPA resource teacher for visual art Cat Phillips came to  my class to introduce the I am San Diego lesson which will be installed in 30 bus stops around the city from various schools in our district.

Students first wrote 5 things that makes San Diego feel like home to them. They then added lines to using Google drawing, created patterns, movement using a variety of lines varying in thickness and added drawings of things they wrote in their list. Here is a video and photos of student works!

 UTK-3rd graders created their works on paper using black Sharpies of different thicknesses.

 I am excited to see their works at bus stops around the city in August! 

5th graders also received their back pack name tags they had designed - I have been printing these for 150+ hours and was happy to give it to my students! 

          It’s been really nice to see them walk in school with these hanging off their backpacks!

 

 

This is my last blog of the school year - have a great summer everyone!