In month of December students will be making art projects focused on the anticipation of Christmas. In this first week we looked the painting by Jan Van Eyck, The Dresden Triptych painted in 1437. A triptych is a paint or low relief sculpture with three parts. In Mr. Van Eyck painting, to the right is Mary in a blue dress pregnant with Jesus. In the center Mary is in red and holding Jesus, to the left St. Michael and a priest. We talked about the first Christmas and how the Nativity might be represented in a three paneled picture of their creation. Materials
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This week students in the upper grades, 6-8th grade, worked with linoleum and lino-cut printing. We learned about safety and using sharp tools. A few finished their carving and printed their work on paper with ink. In the lower grades we learned about the artist, Piet Mondrian. He was an abstract artist and titled many of his works “Composition”(s). Students learned that a composition is the arrangement of objects or shapes in a picture and that abstract art represents an idea or feeling. In kindergarten-1st grade, students made “stained glass” with contact paper and tissue paper inspired by Mondrian in primary colors, red, blue, and yellow. In our drawings students learned about secondary, orange, green, and purple, and primary colors. Students chose one set of colors to use in designing a drawing in the style of Mondrian. Check out the display of the “stained glass” in the church entrance and see how the work of the students, inspired by Mondrian, illuminates the space!
This week we revisit the artist Elizabeth Catlett. She was known for her sculpture as well as her printmaking. We are going to create out own prints with our images we make on a styrofoam tray. First practice drawing in your sketchbook with a picture of your choice. We practice in our sketchbook because we want to try first, and get it even better the next time. So once we are confident that we know and have tried our pictures we can make our styrofoam print. (avoid writing/words, if you do it will have to be backward. So if you want to try go for it!) Using a blunt end of a paint brush and using pressure on the styrofoam create your picture. Make sure your dents are deep but you don't break or rip the tray. Once you have completed your "drawing" for your print, have your paper ready you are printing on, brush a layer of paint on your print (careful not to fill the grooves with too much paint), and press onto the paper, gently lift the paper from the styrofoam. Voila! MATERIALS
![]() INSPIRATION Elizabeth Catlett (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) Catlett was an American and Mexican graphic artist and sculptor best known for her images of the African-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C. to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of freed slaves. It was difficult for a black woman in this time to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up printing. This week we look to the artist Elizabeth Catlett. Her sculpture is reductive, meaning to take away. In our project we will plan and experiment with Ivory soap. Plan to keep your designs simple and close to the shape of the soap, Practice thinking about what you may want to carve by drawing in your sketchbook. Materials Sketchbook Pencil Ivory Soap Plastic Butter Knife or other tools for carving and making marks Inspiration Elizabeth Catlett (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) Catlett was an American and Mexican graphic artist and sculptor best known for her images of the African-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C. to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of freed slaves. It was difficult for a black woman in this time to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a fellowship awarded to her in 1946 allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. In the 1950s, her main means of artistic expression shifted from print to sculpture, though she never gave up printing. Video Link to the Lesson by Mrs.Buss
youtu.be/40xUqNeGb7M Week 7&8 we look to the artist Augusto Torres. To make one point perspective we need to define a vanishing point on our paper. Once we have that we can draw our horizon line, and our lines that will define our rows in our landscape. Those rows can be fields, this time of year pumpkins are ready to harvest! I love fall it is my favorite time of year. Feel free to draw other things like trees, bushes, rocks keeping in mind tht the things drawn at the bottom of the page are to be the closest to you so they will be the LARGEST. Things drawn near our vanishing point will be the smallest. Have fun! Materials Sketchbook (for practice) Pencil Ruler Color Pencils, markers, crayons, watercolor Black marker, Black Sharpie Paper Inspiration Augusto Torres 1913-1992 The eldest son of Joaquín Torres-García, Augusto was an active participant in his father's artistic life. Growing up primarily in Italy and France, the young artist met many of the great figures of twentieth century art, including Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, and Joan Miró. During the 1930s, while living in Paris with his family, Augusto was the apprentice of the sculptor Julio González and studied drawing in Amedée Ozenfant’s academy. Introduced to North African and American Indian art by the painter Jean Hélion, it was also in Paris that the artist developed his lifelong passion for tribal and primitive art. After Torres-García brought his family to Uruguay in 1934, Augusto participated in all the activities of his father’s teaching, Augusto later went on become a teacher himself, instructing subsequent generations of artists. Throughout his life, Augusto traveled widely, including two years living in New York. From 1973 on, he divided his time between Barcelona and Montevideo. The art of Augusto has been displayed internationally in both solo and group exhibitions, and his work is included in the collections of such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; the Miró Foundation, Barcelona; and the Museo Torres-García, Montevideo. Video link to Mrs.Buss
youtu.be/v7sw-GuA-yE Mary Cassatt's work included many monoprints. The image of mother and child was some of her favorite subject matter, what she chose to put in her pictures. Mono means "one". SO when a monoprint is made it is meant to be printed once. In this project We will experiment with this process. Create a simple image (mother and child, landscape, favorite animal, etc) on a cookie sheet in tempera paint. quickly press paper on your work to print before the paint dries. This project is about the process, feel free to create multiple images in the spirit of discovery! Materials Sketchbook Pencil Color media for drawing- crayons, markers, oil pastel Cookie sheet Tempera Paint Brush/Water cup Paper ![]() Inspiration Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Pennsylvania but lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. Video on Mary Cassatt's work:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcTE5x7cTL8 Video Lesson with Mrs. Buss: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfwQK78Ha_0&t=2s In this lesson we look to the artist Frida Kahlo. She created many self portraits and included animals or items symbolic to her in her compositions. Picture day is also coming soon at St Paul's and we read in the lower grades K-5 the book, Mrs.Toggle's Picture Day by Robin Pulver. Students are given directions to create a portrait of themselves and to include 1-3 things that are their favorite or have significant meaning to them. In my example I chose to include a landscape and a Blue Jay because it is my youngest child's favorite bird. Many things can be added to make your self portrait your own. Your pet, favorite color(s) in the background, a favorite place, a favorite toy but something that hold importance for you. Practice your drawing in a sketchbook or separate piece of paper, practice eye, ear, nose, mouth, shapes, practice your favorite or important items. When you are ready draw the portrait on the watercolor paper with pencil draw lightly so you can correct or make any changes. Use any colored media, colored pencils, crayons, markers, oil pastels, and/or watercolor. fill the page and like Ms.Kahlo use VIBRANT colors. Materials Sketchbook Pencil Watercolor Paper Crayons Color pencil Markers Watercolor Water cup Brushes Mirror Visual examples of your favorite or important items ![]() Inspiration Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. Kahlo, who suffered from polio as a child, nearly died in a bus accident as a teenager. She suffered multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and dislocated shoulder. She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering in a body cast. In her lifetime, she had 30 operations. Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's approximately 200 paintings, sketches and drawings. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly on canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, who she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. A warm up to the school year includes celebrating Dot Day. Based on the book by Peter H Reynolds, dot day encourages young artists to make their mark, encourage others, and trust in what your hands can achieve. As I read the story to our entire school, even the 8th graders, they all listened. As I explained the key principles in the book students understand that finding courage and encouraging others relates to passing on the acts of kindness and giving value to one another's achievements. Here are just a few of many talented work generated this past week. I am so excited to be working with a wonderful group of children.
We began our very first school day and very first hour in 6-8th grade practicing mindfulness. We settled our minds and bodies to let thoughts and feelings like anxiousness, fear, or even excitement pass by us. We also allow our mind to wander... Only for a few minutes and then we recognized that maybe we may have felt calmer. As a class we discussed subconscious and related it to dreams or day dreaming, much like the meditation that we just practiced. We also discuss the concept of abstract art and looked to the work of Joan Miro. We watched a brief video on his work. I described automatic drawing and the kids went to work. I began each grade this week with the same lesson, 3-5th grade and 1-2nd grade. Surprisingly the kids were very receptive to settling their minds for just a few minutes. This year my goal was to introduce mindfulness as a starting point to the day in our art room. The world moves so fast, we get caught up even as children in the hustle and bustle. MaterialsWatercolor Paper Pencil Colored Pencil Crayons Watercolor Brushes Water cup Inspiration![]() Joan Miro (1893-1983) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona in 1975, and another, the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró, was established in his adoptive city of Palma de Mallorca in 1981. Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods as a way of supporting bourgeois society, and declared an "assassination of painting" in favour of upsetting the visual elements of established painting. |
AuthorI have a passion for the visual arts and love sharing it with others. I have enjoyed teaching all ages and love to incorporate art history and traditional disciplines as well as innovative ideas. Art is vital to who I am as a creator and educator. Archives
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