CAEA conference 2022 - 11/11/22-11/12/22

 I had the opportunity to attend the California Art Education Association conference at CSU Long Beach from November 11th-12th. It was so wonderful attending workshops hosted by other art teachers and bring back fresh ideas to my classroom!

I also hosted 2 workshops - Kolam Art and Contemporary artists in the Elementary classroom. I loved demonstrating, engaging with other art teachers and having them create and take their works.

I was also honored to receive the Outstanding Elementary Visual Art Educator 2022 and the Exemplary Program Award 2022!

Earlier this week, I was invited to be part of a panel to talk about Prop 28 overwhelmingly being passed by CA voters. What an honor to share the stage with Russ Sperling (SDUSD VAPA Director), Morgan Appell (Assistant Dean UCSD Extension), Tim Benson (Project Manager, Arts Education Project, VAPA, SDUSD), Pauline Crooks (Arts Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Education) Andrew Rodriguez (Music Teacher, Bell Middle School) and Adrienne Valencia (Executive Director, Arts Reach, San Diego).

Week of 11/14/22 - UTK, K and 1st grade

 UTK, kinders and 1st graders started another rotation this week. We focused on shapes across all grades.

UTK created overlapping shapes and filled them with patterns.

Kinders had a class discussion about the painting Basic Shapes by Steve Heriot. They noticed the different shapes, their sizes and colors. Students drew shapes incorporating overlapping using pencil first and then used daubers filled with black watercolors to create a variety of shapes. They then added tempera paint of different colors inside. My emphasis was on having them use the space on the paper effectively and draw the shapes big. Students that finished painting had the option to create dots around their shapes as an extension.

 

1st graders created 3 houses using geometric and organic shapes inspired by the story The Big Orange Splot. They also added "snow" using white paint because when it is less than 65 degrees in San Diego, it is officially winter!! I had students use handmade paper for this lesson and each house had to be at least 3 stories high. I enjoyed seeing the variety of shapes in each student's works! 

 

Week of 11/7/2022- 4th and 5th grade sculpture Part 2

4th graders returned to paint their Alebrijes - we used black Sharpie markers first to add patterns depending upon what animal the students chose to combine. Once done, they used tempera paint to paint the different parts. I had students think about contrasting colors as they painted their works. Once done, students used their Chromebooks to take photos of their works from front, rear and side and post it on my art Google classroom. They also have the opportunity to talk about their work on Flipgrid.

 

5th graders came back to finish work on their donuts. I also had them take at least 3 photos of their donuts using their Chromebooks and create a flyer for their donut shop. They each came up with a name, address and slogan for their shop and incorporate the photo(s) they took. Teaching them real world skills and the opportunity to experiment with digital design is valuable -  here are examples of their works. Once done, students posted their works on my art Google Classroom and had the opportunity to talk about their work on Flipgrid.

 

Week of 10/31/22 - 4th and 5th grade sculpture Part 1

 4th and 5th grade students started on their sculpture this week!

4th grade students created wooden sculptures inspired by Mexican Alebrijes - I gave each student a planning sheet where they could plan the different parts of their creature. Once done, they each started with a base, added legs, body, neck, head and ears. We used regular school glue to attach the wooden pieces together although I will use wood glue the next time to make sure the pieces are attached more securely.

We will paint our works next class.

5th grade students started work on their sculptures too - giant donuts! We looked at the works of Korean artist Jae Yong Kim who creates the most stunning assortment of ceramic donuts with beautiful patterns. He even has square shaped donuts and mouse shaped ones!!

Students traced circles on 2 paper plates, cut it out and attached them with tape and glued cotton balls to give it volume. They then used sheets of tissue paper to wind around the opening. Some students were able to start adding "frosting" and "sprinkles" to their works.

Week of 10/24/2022- Postage stamps and Mary Blair inspired castles

The 2nd and 3rd graders returned for another rotation this week!

2nd grade students created castles inspired by artist Mary Blair. We looked at her design for "It's a small world" ride and had a class discussion about what students noticed and wondered. I love that students look at my word wall and visual supports to incorporate academic vocabulary. I also read the book "Mary Blair's unique flair that talks about her brilliance and her journey in becoming the artist.

Students combined geometric and organic shapes and glued them to create castles. They also added patterns to the shapes and added. They added doors and windows and also had the option to add stars/ snowflakes and flags. I love how the metallic colors look against the black paper!

3rd graders returned to finish their postage stamps. They added their country, currency and value of their stamp with black Sharpie. I had them bring their Chromebooks so I could teach them how to take a photo of their works and upload them on to my art Google Classroom. They also had the option to record a video on Flipgrid to tell me about their work!