Friday, March 29, 2019

March 2019 Art Blog

Transitional Kindergarten: Landscape with Bird Silhouettes



Transitional Kindergarten students were introduced to the visual arts concepts and theories of landscape and horizon.

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of landscapes in art – natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view – with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.

Horizon line definition: The horizon line art theory is a horizontal line that runs across the paper or canvas to represent the viewer's eye level, or delineate where the sky meets the ground. It should rarely be in the center of the composition, but ideally placed about one-third of the way up or down the piece.

Students sketched out their horizon lines and the basics of their landscape compositions and used vibrant colors of soft pastels to paint the hills and skies. Students enjoyed the blending quality of the soft pastels to achieve gorgeous mixings of hues. 

In each landscape composition please notice a flock of migrating birds  headed to their spring breading habitats. Students used their fingers to print silhouettes of bid shapes flying across the sky or gathering as a flock on telephone wires. 







Kindergarten: Oil Pastel Flower Vase Still-Life

There are crayons... and then there are pastels! In this project, students were introduced to the American photorealist Ben Schonzeit. Students practiced flower drawing techniques. While depicting the flowers and vases on a large scale, students also picked up basic oil pastel skills - learning how to blend by layering the intense, mixable pastel colors, shading to achieve light and dark, and using their fingers as a tool. A layered, three-dimensional effect was also achieved with the addition of tissue paper petals.


Oil pastels were created in 1920 in Japan as a means of introducing Western art education to children. While not a fine arts medium when it was first produced, it was an immediate commercial success and soon after, artists such as Picasso began using oil pastels as a recognized art medium.











1st GRADE: Creekside Marsh, Drawing Local Birds

Project Based Learning and Art Integrations are approaches 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 area, and meets evolving objectives in both. 

The "drawing local birds" lesson connects with the first grade PBL driving question: "Why should we care about Creekside marsh?" First grade students went on nature walks to observe animals which inhabit Creekside marsh area. Students observed, charted, and identified birds. In art class students were introduced to David Allen Sibley, American ornithologist. He is the author and illustrator of "The Sibley Guide to Birds" considered by many to be the most comprehensive guide for North American field bird identification. 

During a directed sketching lesson students were guided through a series of sketching check-points, to capture the position and gesture of a bird and its distinctive features, such as, beak, legs, tail and wing feathers. After the intro sketching lesson, students chose a photograph of a marsh bird to illustrate. Students carefully followed the sketching check-points, and closely observed the bird's gesture, features and markings. Students used watercolor pencils and aqua brushes to apply delicate color and details. 











2nd GRADE: Spring Chickens

This spring chicken art project correlates with the second grade social studies “Farm Unit,” as well as with Mrs. Libby’s upbringing on a farm in Switzerland. The dairy farm "Oberwies" has been in Mrs. Libbby-Steinmann family for over 70 years. The farm is nestled in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. Students learned what it was like growing up on a farm and the many chores that had to be done to tend to all the animals and crops. 






Students learned to use geometric shapes to sketch hens, roosters and little chicks. Students had a choice to enlarge a hen or a rooster onto a 9”x12” paper. In order to create a “feather like texture”, students used white paint and different colored tissue paper to turn their drawings into a barnyard regular.








3rd GRADE: Miwok inspired Basket Weaving

Third grade students continued and completed the weaving of their California Miwok inspired baskets. Students used round willow reed to twine the sides of their baskets and added color accents by incorporating beads into their weaving  

Students were introduced to fiber artist Emily Dvorin. Emily Dvorin is a self-taught, award-winning fiber artist. She grew up in New Jersey in the 50s. Her specialty is up cycling materials and weaving them into one of a kind pieces of art. 



Inspired by Emily Dvorin's work, some students include upcycled materials such as nylon laniards to their baskets. 

To complete their baskets students explored a variety of innovative rim and handle finishes. Students presented their finished baskets to their classmates and shared what they are planning to use their baskets for. 


















4th GRADE:  Illuminating Islamic Stained Glass

Students were introduced to basic facts about Islam, where people practice Islam and the elements of Islamic stained glass and architecture.  

Islamic art is often characterized by recurrent motifs, such as the use of geometrical floral designs in a repetition known as the arabesque. The arabesque in Islamic art is often used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible and infinite nature of the Muslim God Allah. Islamic art rarely uses animal or human forms. Islamic architecture focuses more on interior beauty than exterior beauty.

The Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, also known as the Pink Mosque  is a traditional mosque in ShirazIran. It is located in Gawd-i Arabān quarter, near Shāh Chérāgh Mosque. It was built under Qajar rule of Iran and opened in 1888.
The mosque includes extensive colored glass in its facade, and displays other traditional elements such as the Panj Kāse ("five concaved") design. It is named in popular culture as the 'Pink Mosque due to the usage of considerable pink color tiles for its interior design.

Islamic designs correspond to meaning. Circles represent the physical world. Squares represent earth, air, and water. Endless geometric designs represent infinity. Stained glass in Islamic art protects people from heat and represents the idea that light makes all things possible. It also represents  divine enlightenment in a spiritual context.


Students started their Islamic stained glass design with a Pi chart, locating geometric anchor points and connecting them with straight, or curved lines and adding additional symmetrical designs. Using rulers and sharpie pens students transferred their designs onto a transparent foil. Students carefully colored their designs on the foil with color sharpie pens.

In order to illuminate their stained glass, students are building a light box with a complete electric circuit and a functional switch to  light 2 LED lights. Students will adhere their finished stained glass to their light boxes. Can't wait to see the final, illuminated products!
























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