After a nice break...getting back into the idea of school

After a summer break from here, I thought I'd share some upcoming ideas that I have in mind for the school year.  I have 2 weeks until meetings/inservice days and 3 weeks from today the kids come back to school!  I'm not quite ready but once the kids will be in the building I will be.

I am looking forward to the upcoming school year and not having to go through the "firsts" of everything like last year.  My schedule has some moderate changes that I am also looking forward to, hoping I will have more time for planning, grading, and hanging art around the building at the elementary school.  My afternoons are basically the same, but my mornings will drastically change for the better!  My K-6 classes will be shortened from 40 minutes to 30 minutes and I will now have the same grade levels on the same day.  I have 2 days with 4 elem. classes, and 3 days with 2 elem. classes.  This gives me 3 days a week with plan time which is a welcome change to last year!  My JH and HS classes will be the same.

Last year my elementary art theme was "Wild About Art!"  This year I am going to attempt "Around the World and into Outerspace" focusing a lot of project ideas on different cultures from across the globe and throwing in a few fun space projects along the way.  Although this will be my focus, it will not be everything that I have planned. 
My goal for this school year is to focus more on basic foundation ideas for each grade level from Kindergarten all the way up to my High Schoolers...perhaps I am biting off more than I can chew, so we will see how the vision in my head turns out.  

Although my planning has just begun for the year, I am excited to post in the future such ideas as Pinwheels for Peace, The Buffalo Stampede (a spin-off of The Cow Parade), and many more! 
I am excited to venture around the world with my students and would welcome any culture/diversity lesson plans anyone has to offer!

High School Weavings

My high school students took on self-portraits using a grid.  They used basic shading skills and built upon them by using pencil and matching the values in the photos I took of them.  I knew that my kids might be a little sensitive about their work, so I decided to combine this project with something else. 
I then had my students choose a superhero (some chose a villain) and they drew this using a grid method as well.  I had them use colored pencil on this one to create some contrast.

We then cut them up...oh my some of my students were not too happy about this!  One of the drawings they cut in 2 inch vertical strips, the other drawing in 2 inch horizontal strips.  They then wove them together, figuring out which part they wanted to show and which parts they wanted to hide. 

I like this idea and like that it can be changed to be a million things!  Limitless subjects and mediums can be combined to create a variety of different looks. 

JH Complementary Paintings

I got this idea from a JH/HS art teacher in my league at our league shows.  These pieces he did with his students stood out to me at the art shows, and my kids that went with me loved them as well.  I love this idea because it is something different, and yet it can be altered and changed to encompass a lot of variety.

My JH students created one painting of a reptile or insect and another painting of a plant/flower/leaf.  We reviewed complimentary colors and did tints and shades of those colors.  One painting would be one color with different shades of that color, the other painting would be the complementary color with different shades of that color.
After the paintings were dry, I gave students the option to add small details with black sharpie.

Then, students cut their paintings up and put them back together in an AB pattern.

Lizard and Cactus

Grasshopper and flower

Dragonfly and Leaf

Some kind of lizard and Rose

Turtle and Sideways Cactus

I like this idea because you can use any combination of paint, colored pencil, or pencil, etc. with any variety of subject matter.  I think an important factor to consider though is 2 subjects that compliment each other, and mediums that allow for contrast.

Elementary Art Show

A few nights ago, I had an elementary/junior high art show open to the public.  Overall it went smoothly, especially for it being my first one.  I have a few things I will tweak for next year in terms of the date, time, etc. especially with other calendar items going on this time of year.

I decided to do a themed show and I think this is a great idea!  It made everything cohesive, but my theme was quite broad so I could fit a lot of things into it.  My theme this year was WILD! about ART.  This theme was fun for me to put together ideas for.

I have about 250 students that fall into K through JH and I wanted at least 2 pieces per student.  With 3-D items too, I know I had 600+ pieces although I didn't count for accuracy.  The show was held in our school gym and it was full of projects!  I have a bunch of pictures to share.  Many lesson plans I will blog about soon when the end of the year things slow down a bit.

Cow Jumped Over the Moon

I saw this idea on another blog, but when I went to my handout on it I couldn't find who i got it from.  I am trying to do better with this, so I can give credit where credit is due.

This project was set for 1st grade, but I used it with 3rd grade and had equally great results.  My art show theme is WILD about ART, so we are doing all kinds of animals.  I loved this project because it referenced the Nursery Rhyme "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon" and it was just cute :)

We did a black and white weaving on 9X12 paper.  On another white paper we drew the cow's head and legs.  I used 12 X 18 purple paper for the background and we created a moon night sky with oil pastels.
I believe it took us 3 40 minute class periods, possibly 4.

Tips for Putting on a Show?!

Any takers on tips/tricks to smoothly put together an art show for school?!?!

My Elementary Art Show is a little under 2 weeks away and I am starting to stress.  Projects currently being worked on may not be done in time, time is slipping away, and I have no free time!

I am trying to go with the flow, but I am pretty particular about how things need/should be done, so I am starting to worry.
I need help!  Any ideas for a smooth show would be much appreciated!

JH Awards

I haven't posted much about my JH students so far, so I thought I'd give it a whirl!

To be honest, JH has been my tougher class during my 1st year.  I think this is mostly because students have a choice of choir or art so I get kids that have no other place to go.  Half of my kids want to be there and do a good job and learn, the other half just don't give a darn.  This makes it so hard!

I have a fun project that was either way awesome or a big flop, depending on the student.  I need to take pics but will post about that later. In the meantime...

I took 5 of my 10 students to our JH league art show today and they had fun!
The awards are given as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category.  Categories are such things as sculpture, functional ceramics, watercolor, printmaking, ink/scratchboard, colored pencil, pencil, etc.  Just to name a few!

Each school can bring 20 pieces with 2 entries per student.
One of my students received 3rd place in scratchboard and another placed 3rd in sculpture.

Here are some of our captured "candid" moments :)