December 2016 Art Blog

TK: Winter Landscape with Bluebird

With this winter landscape art project Transitional Kindergarten students explored texture painting for the bark and branches of birch trees. Students practiced scissor cutting, as well as gluing skills. Students created the blue bird out of one circle, cut in half, four and eight parts.  Using colored pencils, students added details to their personalized birds. 

The Bluebirds are sometimes confused with other blue birds, but they can be distinguished without difficulty. The western bluebird has a blue (male) or gray (female) throat, the eastern bluebird has an orange throat, and the mountain bluebird lacks orange color anywhere on its body. It has a stocky build, and a thin straight beak with a fairly short tail.

Its posture consists of perching upright on wire fences and high branches. The western bluebird pounces on the ground when looking for food, such as worms and berries. It also flies to catch aerial prey, like insects, when available. The western bluebird consumes water from nearby streams and commonly used bird baths. 

Kindergarten: Winter Scene inspired by Grandma Moses

It has been feeling like winter all around our campus, and our Kindergarten students have been working on their Winter Landscape paintings. 

Students were introduced to the life and works of the American Folk artist Grandma Moses. Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961), known by her nickname Grandma Moses. Having begun painting in earnest at age of 78, she is often cited as an example of an individual successfully beginning a career in the arts at an advanced age. Her works have been shown and sold in the United States and abroad and have been marketed on greeting cards and other merchandise. 

Students used different kinds of art tools, such as brayers sponges and paint brushes to paint their winter landscapes. Following Grandma Moses’ style combined with basic sketching, drawing and coloring skills, students created their own interpretations of familiar and cherished family traditions that are celebrated during the winter months.

1^ST GRADE: Henri Matisse Paper Cut-Outs

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) gave up a law career to take up art. While Matisse’s early avant-garde style was quite conventional, his later work became more abstract, characterized by flat shapes and controlled lines, with expression dominant over detail and a fondness for bright colors. Later in life, a serious illness confined Matisse to just his bed and wheelchair. Amazingly, from there he created some of his finest works-- the enormous and breathtaking paper cut-outs. 

Students were introduced to the book Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter. After reading the book, students experimented "drawing/painting with scissors".  Students cut free-form shapes, lines and movements of an imaginary garden out of bright colored collage paper. Students composed and overlapped their cut-out shapes and clued them onto a white background. To complete the paper cut-out collage students designed black silhouette 
shapes depicting animals, or plants for their imaginary gardens. 

2^ND GRADE: Owl Moon/ Light and Shadow Study

Second grade students read the picture book Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr.  Inspired by the book, students created a mixed media winter landscape using a dry medium (soft pastels), and a wet medium (tempera paint). Students used their fingers to blend cool shades of soft pastel for the night sky. With a sponge texture technique students applied the tempera paint onto moon, and snow areas.The trees were crated with a printing technique on a separate paper, later cut out and pasted onto the background  

Students were introduced to the basic art concept of light and shadow. Students carefully looked at the illustrations in the book and pointed out shadows. Students noticed that the moon (light source) illuminates the trees (subject) and the trees (subject) cast shadows on the surface of snow. The location of the moon (light source) determines the location and the directions of the shadows. 



 To complete these eye catching, beautiful piece students added a silhouette of an owl. 

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 called the Big Dipper. In their science class, third grade students were introduced to the most common constellations seen in the northern sky.  During art class students were introduced to the basic artistic background of how artists have illustrated constellations in the past and in the present. Using the ipad app “star walk” students were able to view constellations in the sky in an interactive way.  

Students were asked to chose a constellation they felt drawn to and excited about. Using white sketch pencils students carefully mapped out the exact number of stars in their constellations and sketch the mythological figures and creatures around them. For finishing touches gold start stickers were put in place. 

4th GRADE: Robotic Bugs Final

Fourth grade students continued their collaboration work with guest artist/scientist Modesto Tamez from “Sausalito Arts Festival Foundation, Artists Teaching Art”. Students finished the construction of their robotic bugs and creatively beautified their critters showing great, innovative, artistic ideas. Students reflected upon their process in verbal and written form. Students described challenging parts, enjoyable parts, and highlighted some changes they made to their structures/designs. 

Some students made their critters do some artwork for them! Students fastened q-tips to the legs of their critters. They dipped the q-tip legs in paint and let their bugs run on a large paper canvas to create an interesting, abstract painting. 

As a grand finale students enjoyed play time in letting their bugs/critters move across the classroom floor all at once! What an amazing experience! Thank you Modesto Tamez for teaching us how to create our very own robots, 

November 2016 Art Blog

Kindergarten: Tree of Life inspired by Gustav Klimt

Our Kindergarten students were introduced to the Austrian “Art Nouveau” painter Gustav Klimt (born in 1862). Klimt had created many world famous paintings such as “The Kiss” and the painting the Kindergarten students were introduced to called “Tree of Life”. Gustav Klimt painted the Tree of Life, during his Golden Era of as seen by the extensive use of the golden color on this piece. 

Gustav Klimt’s decorative art nouveau stile, with his use of colors and abstract shapes, is full of symbolism and can be interpreted in so many ways.  

^1st GRADE: Polar Bear Portraits

To start this lesson we did a read aloud of the book: White Bear, Ice Bear by Janne Ryder. We also researched some polar bear facts, and found out that polar bears have black skin, and a group of polar bears is called a celebration! 

Using white chalk on black construction paper students sketched a polar bear portrait. Students used the sides of white chalk to rub a round shape for the head and a body.  Two smaller circles made the ears. Students used their fingers to gently blend the chalk to remove any harsh lines that may have been created.  Black oil pastels were used to create the facial features and the inner ears.  Students rubbed a little bit with the black pastel under the head to create a bit of a shadow. Then they cut our the whole polar bear shape. With a tear and paste technique students created a background with icebergs. The final display turned out to be adorable. A celebration of polar bears!

1st & 2nd GRADE: Collaborative Pilot Program: Arts Integration

In August of 2016, Mrs Libby and five classroom teachers at Bacich Elementary school formed a group to pilot Arts Integration. This is a team teaching approach, which this group of teachers applied as a pilot program in addition to regular visual arts classes. 

Arts integration is an approach to teaching that integrates the fine and performing arts as primary pathways to learning. Arts integration differs from traditional education by its inclusion of both the arts discipline and a traditional subject as part of learning (e.g. using improvisational drama skills to learn about conflict in writing.) The goal of arts integration is to increase knowledge of a general subject area while concurrently fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the fine and performing arts. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts defines arts integration as "an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject and meets evolving objectives."

First and second grade students were introduced to the following arts integration concepts: Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and Tableau. 

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a method initiated by teacher-facilitated discussions of art images and documented to have a cascading positive effect on both teachers and students. It is perhaps the simplest way in which teachers and schools can provide students with key behaviors sought by Common Core Standards: thinking skills that become habitual and transfer from lesson to lesson, oral and written language literacy, visual literacy, and collaborative interactions among peers.

Teachers coached first and second graders students to add on to somebody else's observation, noticing new objects and things and ideas in the painting. This strategy validates everyone's idea, observation and opinion. Nobody is right nobody is wrong as long as opinions are based on evidence in the painting. 

Tableau s a representation of a picture, statue, scene, etc.by one or more persons suitably posed. In groups of three students viewed a painting. Students were directed to act out the three most important parts of the painting. Student groups took turns in presenting their tableaux. The rest of the class was guessing who was acting out which part in the painting. Students loved this activity, everyone had a chance to participate, move their bodies, take guesses connect to an art piece, make close observations, use creativity, and work collaboratively. 

3rd GRADE: Chinese Brush Paintings

Third grade students have been studying the amazing art of Chinese Brush Painting. Students were introduced to the Chinese prodigy artist Yani, who became famous with her whimsical depictions of monkeys, as well as other traditional Chinese plants and animals when she was only 4 years old.  

After a lot of practice, how to use a Chinese brush and ink correctly, students worked with their subject of choice. The final paintings were painted on rice paper and each student created a “seal/chop” to print onto their finished piece. 

4th GRADE: 

The 4th grade student art show at Artworks Downtown Gallery in San Rafael was a great success. We had a great turn out of students and families admiring the impressive show of bright colored, collaborative, posters inspired by the Pop artist Keith Haring. Thank all for your support. A special thank you to Anna Rochester, and Cathleen Vickers for installing the show. It looked impressive! A huge thank you to Ellen at Artworks Downtown for hosting the show. 

4th GRADE: Robotic Bugs

During the months of November and December, the Bacich Art Teacher Mrs. Libby will be collaborating with a local program called “Sausalito Arts Festival Foundation, Artists Teaching Art”. Modesto Tamez will be our guest artist and together with Mrs. Libby he will be leading 4th grade students in a unique opportunity to design and create three-dimensional robotic bugs.

In collaboration with Mrs. Libby, Modesto will instruct 4^th grade students in building a working model of a simple robotic bug. Student will be able to take this simple plain looking design and make a working plan and experiment to design and build a more artistic and interesting bug. During the last part of this lesson students will have the opportunity to reflect upon their design and process, as well as play with their bugs and observer their movements. Who knows, some bugs might even paint a picture!