September Art Blog 2024

Introduction to the Bacich Visual Arts Program: In Art For Bears TK-4th grade students are exposed to a highly engaging curriculum, which is aligned with the National Visual Art Standards. Ms. Libby’s expertise lies in building, refining, and implementing both discrete curricula in the visual arts and arts-integrated STEAM instruction across curricula. Mis. Libby cultivates student engagement and assessment strategies that make learning visible and lay the groundwork for future exercises in inquiry. Students are taught the language of the visual arts, connecting to history, science, math, social-justice, as well as personal views, and the world. 

Thank you to KSPTA  and KIK for funding the art supplies and tools for the Bacich art program!

Community Building and Mindfulness:

In the Bacich Art Room we started the school year with establishing art room routines and building an inclusive community classroom culture. We begin and end every class with a greeting, art classroom affirmation, and a thank you, signed in American Sign Language. Students love learning and practicing ASL to support inclusivity in our classroom. In each art class we spend 90 seconds mindfulness and sensory activity to calm our nervous system and get our bodies and minds ready to create.

Kindergarten Sunflowers

Kindergarten students created a mixed media Sunflower composition inspired by the large sunflowers growing in our garden in front of the art room. Students were introduced to elements of art such as shapes, texture and color. Students practiced scissor and glue sticks skills in arranging their Sunflower compositions 

1st Paper Molas

The Mola or Molas is a hand-made textile that forms part of the traditional women's clothing of the indigenous Guna people from Panamá. Their clothing includes a patterned wrapped skirt, a red and yellow headscarf, arm and leg beads, a gold nose ring and earrings in addition to the mola blouse.

First grade students created colorful paper molas by tracing an animal shape onto construction paper. Repeating the same shape numerous times increasing its size  slightly each time. With this technique students achieved the layered effect of a traditional mola. Students enjoyed practicing their scissor cutting skills and adding additional designs around and on top of their animal shapes. 

2nd grade Arpilleras

Arpilleras or "cuadros" are exquisitely colorful, detailed, hand-sewn, three dimensional textile pictures. Arpilleras illustrate the stories of the lives of the women of the"pueblo jovenes" of Lima, Peru and provide essential income for their families. The arpilleras tell stories of planting and harvesting potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, grapes, corn; stories of spinning and weaving wool; stories of country life, of tending llamas, alpacas, sheep and goats; stories of weddings and fiestas.

Students picked a primary or secondary color as the main color for their arpilleras. Using white in addition to the main color, students mixed tints, from dark to light to create a sense of space to depict the Andes Mountains. Students were introduced to the concept of complementary colors to achieve effective color contrast and vibrancy between the hills and the Peruvian houses and other details. Students folded the houses for their arpilleras in an origami style. Some students experimented folding smaller and smaller houses to convey perspective. Students created their own narratives adding llamas, alpacas, flowers, etc. to their arpilleras.

3rd Calaveras

A calavera, in the context of Day of the Dead, is a representation of a human skull or skeleton. The term is often applied to edible or decorative skulls made from either sugar or clay, used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and the Roman Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. Students learned how to sketch a human skull and transfer their drawing onto a scratch board. After some practice of using scratchboard tools students refined their skills and scratched their skull images and designs on the scratchboard. Jewels and sequins were glued on to add a sparkling finish touch. 

4th: Oaxac Alebrijes Animals 

Traditionally, Alebrijes are carved and painted animal figurines that have become a form of symbolic art from Mexico. The word Alebrije means “imaginary” or “fantasy,” describing a style of animal carvings with exceptional paint schema.

Fourth grade students watched a video by Latin America Editor Lucia Newman as she reported from an artisan workshop in Oaxaca. Inspired by the skillful wood carvings students drew fantastical animal creatures. Students learned how to create a stencil out of their drawings to be used on a two color printmaking project using gelli plates. Students enjoyed decorating their finished prints with detailed patterns and designs. 

'We All Belong At Bacich’ Flag Art Installation is an inclusive school-wide art project designed and directed by Bacich art teacher Mrs. Libby. TK- 4th grade students had the opportunity to study the art of flag design, implementing basic design principles, to create personal flags. Students were introduced to age appropriate printmaking methods such as collagraph and foam carving to print multiples of their designs onto paper and nylon flags. 

The culminating outdoor installation of 540 flags in rainbow colors representing grade levels gives students an opportunity to be part of a large art display. The flags will be affixed to the fence next to the Bacich art room. The grand reveal of this stunning installation will be April4, 2024 Bacich Open House and will be up for viewing through June 2024. 

A warm thank you to KSPTA and KiK for supporting enrichment programs at our schools.

What is printmaking?

Printmaking is an artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. Traditional printmaking techniques include collagraph, woodcut, etching, engraving, and lithography, while modern artists have expanded available techniques to include screen printing. 

January 2024

 

TK/K: The Skin You Live In: Self Portrait 

How Many Colors Are There in the Human Rainbow?

Visual arts are a wonderful, organic way to engage our students in conversation about skin colors, self love, respect for others, race and diversity. Students engaged in a self-study about their skin color and the skin of their peers, family and community. The culminating end product was a self-portrait featuring student’s personal skin colors. 

 

The book "The Skin You Live In" written by Michael Tyler, illustrated by David Lee Csicsko was a great introduction for students to share observations about their skin. After the read- aloud, students painted with watercolors creating color recipe charts to mix their own skin tones and used creative words to name and describe their skin colors. Students painted one entire page with their skin tone and wrote their creative names of their skin color on the page.

 

Students continued the study of their skin by contemplating the question: “How many colors are there in the human rainbow?”  By artist  Angélica Dass’ count, at least 4,000. Since 2012, the Brazilian artist has been photographing people of every color and matching each subject’s skin tone to hues from the Pantone printing color chart to codify a unique chromatic inventory.

Dass’s project, titled “Humanæ,” has traveled the world and is featured in National Geographic. The project focuses on the idea of race as a social construct, rather than a biological one. 

 

Inspired by Dass’ work students drew and layered their self-portraits on top of their skin color paper. Students studied basic facial proportions and facial features leaving room for personal expression and details. Students used art media of their choice such as watercolor, marker, color pencil and crayons to paint hair, eye and lip colors.

1st GRADE: Nōtan Black and White Compositions

Nōtan (pronounced no-tan) is a Japanese term that means 'light and dark harmony/balance.' It's a design concept that looks at how light and dark elements of a composition interact only using black and white.

First grade students were introduced to the achromatic shades and tints; black and white. Practicing scissor cutting skills students enjoyed the process of placing light and dark elements next to the other creating stunning imagery and compositions. 

2nd GRADE: Family Portrait inspired by Todd Parr 

Students were introduced to the local author and illustrator Todd Parr. He is the author and illustrator of more than 60 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling The I Love You Book, The Earth Book, and The Thankful Book. He has inspired, empowered, and entertained millions of children around the world with his bold images, unique sense of humor, and inclusive storytelling.

Second grade students read The Family Book and shared their connections with the book. Some families look alike, some families like to eat different things, some families like to hug each other, some families have two moms or two dads, some families are noisy, some are quiet. 

Students portrait their family in a simple cartoon style like Todd Parr. Students added clues and selected colors to personalize each of their family members. 

3rd GRADE: Constellation Illustrations

The constellation of the Little Bear also known by its Latin name Ursa Minor contains an easily recognizable group of seven stars in the USA called the Little Dipper. 

Students were introduced to the basic artistic background of how astronomers  and artists have illustrated constellations in the past and in the present and how artists from different countries and cultures have associated the grouping of stars with a variety of images and creatures. 

Using white sketch pencils on a black paper students carefully mapped out the stars of the Ursa Minor constellation and sketched the mythological figure and/or creature around them. To color students practice the cross-hatching technique with colored pencils For finishing touches students placed gold star stickers in place of the constellation. 

4th GRADE: Realistic Marble Painting

This introduction to realistic rendering in watercolor and soft pastels absorbed 4th grade students in wonder and excitement. Students were introduced to Glennray Tutor, an American Photorealist painter. Tutor was born in Kennett, Missouri in 1950. He has been painting Photorealist paintings since 1983. His most famous works depict marbles on comic book pages. His work is shown and collected throughout the world. 

There are a few techniques that are key to creating realistic work. Color values are the most important when it comes to creating realistic paintings. Value in painting is how light or dark a color is, and it is extensively considered to be one of the central elements of a painting. Students practiced painting values, to achieve a quality of realism while paying attention to edges, shapes, lines and other elements.

October/November 2023

 

In Art For Bears TK-4th grade students are exposed to a highly engaging curriculum, which is aligned with the National Visual Art Standards. Ms. Libby’s expertise lies in building, refining, and implementing both discrete curricula in the visual arts and arts-integrated STEAM instruction across curricula. Mis. Libby cultivates student engagement and assessment strategies that make learning visible and lay the groundwork for future exercises in inquiry. Students are taught the language of the visual arts, connecting to history, science, math, social-justice, as well as personal views, and the world.

TK/K: Mexican Amate Bark Painting 

TK and Kindergarten artists were engrossed in the Amate Bark painting tradition which originates from San Pablito, a small mountain village in Mexico where this beautiful craft is still taught today. Students sketched Mexican and Mayan inspired designs, such as sun, birds, and floral motifs. To simulate the process of this beautiful hand made amate paper and to create a bark-like texture, students crumpled their upcycled brown paper bags and burnished the paper with flat, smooth rocks. Students used stabilo paint pens to achieve the gorgeous vibrant, saturated colors on their bark paintings. The finished art pieces turned out stunning!

1st: Paper Molas

The Mola or Molas is a hand-made textile that forms part of the traditional women's clothing of the indigenous Guna people from Panamá. Their clothing includes a patterned wrapped skirt, a red and yellow headscarf, arm and leg beads, a gold nose ring and earrings in addition to the mola blouse.

First grade students created colorful paper molas by tracing an animal shape onto construction paper. Repeating the same shape numerous times increasing its size  slightly each time. With this technique students achieved the layered effect of a traditional mola. Students enjoyed practicing their scissor cutting skills and adding additional designs around and on top of their animal shapes. 

Inktober:

Inktober is a drawing challenge open to artists of all ages around the world. Illustrator Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year. When Jake Parker started Inktober he had a few goals in mind, and these have not changed in the 10+ years the Inktober challenge has been running. These goals are: 

• Help artists get better at drawing

• Help artists find other cool artists 

• Help artists develop positive drawing habits of practicing daily/weekly

Second and third grade students took on the challenge of starting each art class with a 5 min quite sketching practice. Creating a drawing inspired by the daily Inktober prompt or just sketching away with an ink pen or pencil of their own choosing. 

2nd: Navajo Rug Weaving

Navajo weaving (Navajo: diyogí) are textiles produced by Navajo people, who are based near the Four Corners area of the United States. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items and for purchase for more than 150 years.

“Because the Navajo reservation is so big, our stories are similar but each is a little different. For what people know in New Mexico, people in Arizona have a different version. So, it's really hard to pinpoint the true meaning behind any particular rug. Rugs are like a verse in the Bible—there are 365 ways of interpreting one verse; Navajo weaving is like that, too. Every rug here is completely different and made by an individual, but they all fall under one category—Navajo weaving. This is just like people—we are all Navajo, but we are each different. Our weaving reflects individual differences, too.” —Barbara Ornelas, Master Weaver

Second grade students constructed simple looms out of stiff felt. Using twine students practiced weaving turning their looms into a small blanket. Students were instructed on the personal and cultural symbolic meaning of Navajo tapestry designs and patterns.  Inspired by common Navajo symbols like crosses, triangles, diamonds and zigzags, students decorated their weaving with felt scraps. 

3rd: Dreamcatchers 

In many Native American tribes, a dream catcher is a handmade willow hoop woven to a web or literally, a net. They can include feathers and beads, and they're traditionally suspended on cradles as a form of armor and protection.

Dream catchers are widely viewed as a symbol of oneness among numerous indigenous cultures and tribes. They're also generally looked at as an indication of Native American identity. However, some Native Americans believe dream catchers have been appropriated and offensively exploited by non-Native Americans.

Third grade students enjoyed listening to Hazel, Native American storyteller sharing the magical story: “Kôhkom meets Spider”. Grateful for Kôhkom’s kindness, Spider shares with her a valuable gift, a dreamcatcher. After the story students learned how to draw the geometric structure of a dreamcatcher. The radial symmetry was soothing to draw and students implemented their own creative license in drawing feathers, beads, personal decorations, colorful details and backgrounds with prismacolor pencils. 

4th: Oaxac Alebrijes Animals 

Traditionally, Alebrijes are carved and painted animal figurines that have become a form of symbolic art from Mexico. The word Alebrije means “imaginary” or “fantasy,” describing a style of animal carvings with exceptional paint schema.

Fourth grade students watched a video by Latin America Editor Lucia Newman as she reported from an artisan workshop in Oaxaca. Inspired by the skillful wood carvings students used Model Magic clay to shape and sculpt their personal Alebrijes. Using tempera paint and paint markers students painted their creatures with delicate designs and patterns.