Menacing Mandrills

Wonderful expressive lines and Fauvist colors Zoe!

 This was the first art class for this kindergarten student

as well as the first time using chalk pastels.

Awesome job Butch!

My K-4th grade group kicked off our Animals of the Rain forest and Desert class with these striking Mandrills in chalk pastel. We learned that they are the largest monkeys in the world and live in the rain forests of Africa. The mature males have the unmistakable colorful characteristics of the bright red nose and blue ridged cheeks. They also have enormous canine teeth that they like to show off (for whatever reason, this group preferred to draw them with closed mouths). And while they look menacing, they are in fact quite shy.

We followed a direct line drawing lesson starting with those mysterious deep set eyes. They were encouraged to use their pastels in a way to create the texture of fur, blending outward. I think each has a very distinct personality. More to come....

Cats with Scraped Paint Backgrounds

To create an interesting backdrop for our cat portraits the children chose 3-5 acrylic paint colors that were dripped and scraped on their board using thick card stock(credit or gift cards would be even better- but I'm lacking both ; )  ).You can find detailed directions and options Here. This is such a fun and addictive technique because results are so varied and it's both expressive and spontaneous.

Next the children (K-3rd) chose their media and paper of choice to create their cat portrait. Their completed cats were then cut out and glued on their painted background. I will definitely be playing around with this technique in the future.

 Children added their own flair to their cats following the same line drawing lesson

 Flynn (grade 2) created a cool tie-dye effect background to play against her sleek feline

 This is my example scraped paint background using yellow, blue pink and red

I showed the children a few options for their cat and how they looked against the same background.

Left is a more realistic cat on brown construction paper with chalk pastels

Middle is the Fauve cat on pink construction paper using "imaginary" chalk colors

Right is done with Sharpie line work and a watercolor wash

Colorful Koi Fish

Well, it was week 3 in my Wings, Fins and Fur class. Wings - Tropical Birds (check), Fur - Raccoons (check) ....time for some "Fins." Thanks Natalie from smART Class for your great step-by-step tutorial for Koi Fish. After their fish were "sharpied", the children had the option of using washable markers and water (a great idea from Natalie) for the scales or watercolor for their entire piece. In thinking about composition, I encouraged them to fill up their space in a creative way (an extra cropped fish, lily pads going off the page ect..) The last step was to add liquid watercolor for the background. My K-4th group really enjoyed this lesson and were happy with their bold, colorful paintings.

Mother's Day Bouquets

Art by children K-5th (last 2 pieces are my experiments)

On Friday, I held a special 1-day mixed media class for children K-5th. The children created floral bouquets in honor of Mother's Day. We looked at the floral still life work of one of my new favorites, Lulie Wallace.
Her work is so bright, lively and loose. She even does commissions of bridal bouquets, which is such a fantastic idea! The children were encouraged to create a variety of flowers for their glass vases. I offered acrylics, watercolors, and oil pastels to add color to their work. The last step was to add liquid watercolor in their vases with a sprinkle of salt to give the look of water. I was excited to learn that some of these pieces are headed to grandmothers living in South Africa and Switzerland! For the local Mom recipients, I am wrapping them up for their Mother's Day surprise next Sunday. They will be sure to treasure these. (Wish I was able to get photos of all of them.)

Raccoon Portraits

Raccoons were created using chalk pastels and charcoal by k-4th graders.

Children chose watercolor, acrylics or chalk pastels to add a unique background.

Pageant of the Arts

 "Emu Woman" - Emily Kame Kngwarreye

 "The Connoisseur" - Norman Rockwell

 "Golconde" - Rene Magritte

 "Storm Boy" - Willie Seaweed

 "Starry Night" - Van Gogh

 "Starry Night"

Savannah, post pageant with niece Shaeye

As someone who is passionate about the arts, I am so fortunate to have had my children attend an elementary school that is dedicated to providing a strong fine arts program. This was the 31st anniversary of the school's award-winning Pageant of the Arts. Each year a new artist is selected and all students in first through fifth grade work on a reproduction of the masterpiece. In January, the 5th grade students begin learning the choreography (created entirely by some fantastic teachers) that accompany each piece. Fourth graders, who serve as narrators in costume as the artist themselves, begin memorizing their dialogue/introductions.

My daughter Savannah was chosen to be in the new piece, "Emu Woman" by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, an Australian aboriginal artist. Emily grew up in a remote desert known as Utopia and became an artist late in life, creating 3000 pieces in an eight year period until her death at 88. Her work was inspired by her cultural life as an Anmatyerre elder. The girls performing in this dance wore scarves in the same fashion as the artist herself. 

The pageant was held this past weekend and the children did a Wonderful job! Kudos to art teacher Mrs. Epps, Pageant Director, (and 1st grade teacher!) for the past 16 years, Mrs. Kutz, musical composer, Matt Cohn (from the musical group, Berlin) and the entire group of teachers, parents and volunteers that helped in creating another Fantastic Pageant!

*Due to statewide budget cuts (as well as across the US) this public school's art department is funded entirely by fundraisers and donations.
Note: (other artists celebrated were Albrecht Durer, Roy Lichtenstein, Anjana Kumar, Stuart Davis, Frederick Remington & Charles Russell.) 

Tropical Bird Posters

Amanda, 3rd grade

 Sophia, 3rd grade

 Nathan, 5th grade

 Emma, 3rd grade

 Avery, 3rd grade

 Alexa, 2nd grade

 Abbie, kindergarten

 Lacie, 3rd grade

Jenna, 4th grade

 Flynn, 2nd grade

Zoe, 3rd grade

This session my class theme is Wings, Fins, and Fur (birds, fish and mammals). Our first project was to create a dynamic tropical bird poster using oil pastel &/or watercolor. My K thru 4th group were encouraged to think about composition to keep the viewers eye moving around the space. Bird projects are always a favorite of mine!