High School Paintings

My high school students spent about 4-5 weeks this semester working on large paintings.  They painted on 18X24 inch canvas board.  I had very few requirements for this assignment that included a grid drawing of a photograph.  The photograph had to be a photograph found on the computer of something that was real...meaning no graphic design/cartoons, etc.  As they painted, they were matching the colors in the photo, so color was a factor on their photograph search.  I approved all photos before drawing and painting began, and although these "rules" I gave above were the parameters of the assignment I allowed for some interpretation/bending of the requirements for creative purposes.

Each of the photographs my students chose to work from seemed to fit their personalities and that was cool to watch them choose and execute their idea!  Here are a few of my favorites.  I chose these not because of who did them or the subject matter, but the quality of work done by my students.  It was hard to choose just some of them because they were all very good!

Some students chose to add a gloss medium after they finished
and this affected the flash in some photographs I took.

Love the idea of this one!

 

This student said each bird represented each of her friends
and I believe she was the green one :)

Yummy!

One of my students is obsessed with golf and I have seen
a lot of golfing inspired art produced by him

Elementary Art Show

I'm way behind on my posts if I am doing them in a chronological order.  But then I will have more to share with you during the summer.  It has been a crazy semester...and there are only 3 days left!!!

About a month ago, I was preparing for our annual elementary art show.  It was paired up with the 1st-3rd grade musical program, which was great to bring in plenty of families.
The theme this year was Around the World and into Outer Space.  Here are a few photos:

1st Grade - Chinese Panda Bears, Rocket ships, Star, Planets

4th Grade - Native American inspired Kachinas

JH - State Post Card Collection

5th Grade - African Animals and Chinese Bamboo Scrolls

JH - Clay Masks and Modernized Clay Russian Nesting Dolls

3rd Grade - Dream Catchers

3rd Grade - Space Ships

Kindergarten - Egyptian Pyramids/Camels, Antarctica Penguins,
Australian Koalas, Kangaroos, & Saltwater Crocodiles

These are just a few of the projects we did for this theme.  I felt that this theme was very broad and we just touched the surface of what could be done.  We had a great turn out with tons of parent support!  It was a great night!

JH & HS Clay Masks

My postings have been few and far between lately because this semester has been CRAZY busy!  A while ago my JH and HS students created clay masks.  This was a basic slab mask that used newspaper to hold the form.  Students added features, carved in designs, etc. to make each mask their own.  Here are some results:

Junior High:

The mask on the left received a medal at our JH league art show :)

High School:

This "Old Man" mask was the only one that broke in the kiln but most
pieces were salvageable and I think it adds to its character :)

This is one of the lightest, thinnest clay pieces I have seen.
It is incredibly light-weight but sturdy.