Warm and Cool Colors

This week we continued our discussion about color by focusing on warm and cool colors. Since we all have the Lion King on the brain (school play coming up!) I thought it might be fun to look at pictures from the African plains during the day and evening for inspiration. After a great discussion about warm and cool colors students began by creating a silhouette of a tree in the foreground for a focal point. Next, they used warm colors to create a beautiful sunset. The cool color painting was created after a silhouette and stars were added. When these two paintings are mounted together they look amazing!

Chinese New Year Dragons

This week we took a short break from color mixing to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the dragon. Since we were just looking at lizards last week for inspiration, dragons were a perfect subject for this week because of their similarities!
The final work was finished with a stamp of the Chinese symbol for happiness.

Color Mixed Lizards!

This week we reflected on the color wheel made last week and tried color mixing in a little different way....
We began by looking at photographs of lizards on the ipad for our subject. Next, students drew a lizard using oil pastels. Each table pulled two primary color cards from a stack.
After a demonstration of wet-on-wet watercolor technique students used the two colors that their table pulled to color their lizards. For example, if the two colors were blue and yellow they would first brush plain water onto their lizard to wet it. Next, load their brush with yellow and brush it onto some areas of the lizard then, add blue to other areas. Where the two colors pool together it will make green.
These fine lizards will be on display soon in the hallway!

Magical Color Mixing!

We had a great week of discussing secondary color by color mixing! It is just like magic when two colors mix together to make a new one! This week I read White Rabbits Color Book By Alan Baker. Afterward, students made color wheels beginning with primary colors, of course, to mix their secondary colors. Once the color wheels were complete there was strong desire to learn how to make brown! (The rabbit at the end of the story turns himself brown) On a separate piece of paper students experimented with all three primary colors by mixing them to create brown. Some even painted the shape of a rabbit!
There is such a wonderful enthusiasm with this age about color mixing it's inspiring!

The lower level classes looked at the work of Mondrian. We discussed primary colors, vertical and horizontal lines. Students did an AMAZING job using their straight edge rulers to create these lines! Next, they used their primary colors to fill in three of the shapes they created. After they were all complete students held their work up as a class to look around and see the differences and similarities in their classmates work. It was a great day in art today and wonderful to be back from the winter break!
See the beginnings of the upper level work below....





The upper level became architects today and created buildings of their own using a straight edge. For inspiration we took a look at the work of Mondrian as well as that of Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry before they began step one of a two part project.

Shape Challenges

The Sun with a Bird

Rocket Ship

Tug Boat


Car

We are beginning our unit on shape taking a close look at how artists use shape to construct, paint and create their work. This week we started with the book Not A Box by Antionette Portis. It is a clever little book that illustrates how one shape can be many things with a little imagination. Next, we took a look at some of Sonia Delaunay's paintings that are full of many shapes. After much creative discussion students got started on their project by beginning with one simple square and constructing an image. The variations were awesome. This is a school full imagination!

Hanging Nature Bubbles

These papier-mache bubbles have been an addictive art project in our house lately. We start with a balloon. Next, paint watered down glue on the balloon and place a white coffee filter on top of the glue, then paint more watered down glue on top of that. Continue layering coffee filters with glue and leaves, colorful scrap paper, wrapping paper, sprinkles of glitter or whatever else you can think of. I have been drying them by attaching a string to the balloon and hanging it over the shower curtain rod in the bathroom. When you are certain they are dry carefully pop the balloon. It will release from the coffee filters and leave you an awesome little bubble! They make fun luminaries. However, they won't really work outside because the glue is water soluble. Of course you would not put a real flame in these but they are fun to hang in the house with the battery operated tea lights that look like real candles!