3rd grade collage color study landscapes

During art we talked about warm and cool colors as well as how the sky is usually lighter as you approach the horizon line. Students cut out colors from magazines and then added silhouetted trees in the foreground.

2nd grade bees & hive

We integrated the science unit of insects into a 2nd grade art project. During art class we discussed the parts of insects specifically bees. We talked about the various types of bees, why bees are important, and their habitat.  Each student created a bee using paper mache and paint.  Students also constructed a hive making hexagons out of tag board and writing a bee fact inside their hexagon.

Kindergarten Mouse Paint

We read the book Mouse Paint, by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  We talked about primary and secondary colors. Students drew three mice. They made a green, an orange, and a purple mouse using the primary colors red, yellow, and blue. 

2nd Grade Taj Mahal paintings.

Since 2nd grade is learning about India in their classrooms we also discussed the country and culture during art.  Specifically, we talked about architecture and the Taj Mahal.  We looked at various photos and discussed symmetry. Students drew their own version of the building looking at a photo.

Dia de los Muertos!

1st grade made calavera masks to celebrate the Day of the Dead. They are learning about Mexico in their classrooms. We discussed the differneces between the Mexican Holiday of Dia de los Muertos to Halloween. Students cut out skull shapes and designed them focusing on line on pattern.  We looked at the work of other Mexican artists for inspiration.

4th grade ventures to outer space!

We integrated the 4th grade space science unit into art class. We talked about how to use value to create an image that looks more like a sphere rather than a flat circle. Students used tempera paint to explore color gradation and they also experimented with using watercolors to create  a wet on wet technique in order to make a more realistic planet.  Students worked in groups to invent their own solar system.  They shared some very creative stories to explain the history of their solar systems.

I

4th grade Foil Relief

Students studied the difference between geometric and organic shapes. Inspired by our school garden harvest, students drew contour lines of various vegetables and plants with glue to add a relief. They added foil and painted a ink wash which was later rubbed off, to finish students colored the shapes created by line.

Hexagon Project

During art class we learned about hexagons: how they are used in nature and where they are found.  We discussed how we are living in an interdependent world, everyone and everything is connected, and we are not limited by borders anymore. We have connections and relationships with people and governments all over the world. Interdependence means that each member of the relationship is self-sufficient but responsible to each other. As people living in an interdependent world, we need to work together because all countries are dependent on one another in some way. Think about global warming, natural disasters, clothes, disease, entertainment, terrorism, and food; these things do not have borders. 

Each student at Crest View created a self-portrait inside of a hexagon. In addition, students in grades 2-5 wrote an artist statement on the back of their hexagon to express ideas and feelings in their artwork. The hexagons are put together here to represent our interconnectedness–both personally, school-wide, community-wide, and world-wide. We used the hexagon as a metaphor  for our interdependence.

Art of Migration and why birds matter.

Each August I start off the school year doing an installation project with all my students from grades K-5. This year in Boulder there is a community event called the 2nd annual Americas Latino  Eco Festival, my students are making artwork for the  K-12 Art Eco Festival Exhibit.  The Americas Latino Eco-Festival (ALEF) was designed to promote environmental awareness among American Latino audiences and create a platform for dialogue and mobilization for a just society to ensure that everyone has access to a healthy environment.

Each student drew a migratory bird and we installed over 600 birds in the front hallway.  Birds have been a great source of inspiration for people all over the world and throughout time. Artists of all kinds have used birds in their paintings, stories, for their music and even in fashion. Different aspects of birds - their colorful feathers, brilliant songs and their ability to fly across the globe - are all represented in art. This art project celebrates the continuing relationship between migratory birds and people. The relationship between birds and people has always been a special one, and the closer one looks at these valuable associations, the greater these connections seem to become. Throughout time and across cultures humans have relied on birds, be it to supply food, to deliver messages, or to serve as symbols of power and prestige.

Selfie Expression: Who Am I? Images

This project was inspired by http://www.insideoutproject.net/en. and involved the collaboration of various Crest View 5th grade parents and Ms. Jessica.

Selfie-Expression: Who Am I?

Boulder’s Crestview Elementary 5th grade Graduates celebrate their strengths in Selfie-Expression at The Dairy Center for the Arts . Public reception will be held July 22nd 4:30-6:00pm

The Dairy Center for the Arts announces the installation of a positive self-image project undertaken this spring by 5thBoulder’s Crestview Elementary School. Students’ photographic self-portraits and writings comprise the exhibit Selfie-Expression: Who Am I? The work will be on display at The Dairy through July 31, 2014. A pubic reception for the students will be held at The Dairy at 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22nd

In words from the exhibit, these students feel they have progressed, “... since their frightened kindergarten days from awkwardness to confidence, from confusion to self-determination.” The photographs are a cut above the usual cell phone selfie. Photographer Benjamin Buren of Boulder’s Alive Art Studios, worked with the students, setting up professional equipment and encouraging them to play with poses. The students themselves then “clicked” the camera on themselves at moments of their own choosing.

Boulder physician and Crestview parent Rohini Kanniganti conceptualized and developed the project, in collaboration with a Crestview team including Jessica Bernstein, Charlie Wright, Ned Levine, the parents and volunteers of Reach Out Crestview, and the 5th grade teachers. John Molinare of Rock Bottom Press provided printing and mounting services. Other assistance, including volunteer time and/or funding for the project, was provided by Marc Plinke, Amy Shoffner, Kim Friel, Susan Enfield, Sitha Plinke, Charlotte Buren and Layla Enfield.

To label their photos and describe themselves with a positive attribute, the students wrote statements about positive qualities they see and love in themselves. According to the writing that accompanies the exhibit, “Here’s how we did it: We drew ourselves as icebergs. The tip of the iceberg, the part above the water, is our name, our physical appearance, our nationality, anything you can see on the outside. The rest of the iceberg, the largest part that is underwater, we saw as containing our inner qualities we are proud of... our true identity. What would you write inside your iceberg? What qualities do you see in yourself that you like or love? Can you imagine introducing yourself to someone as that quality, rather than using your name? Hi, I am smart. Hi, I am loving. Hi, I am ...”

The Dairy Center for the Arts is a non-profit cultural organization housed in the historic Watts Hardy Dairy building at 26ths home to three visual art galleries, three live performance venues, the Boedecker Theater, an art house cinema and 12 other arts organizations that teach, rehearse and perform there. The Dairy’s Mission is, “... to provide the Boulder and surrounding communities diverse opportunities to create, learn, and participate in high quality performing, cinematic, and visual arts experiences.”

 The Dairy Center for the arts is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Building on the classroom study of insects, students chose an insect to draw and paint. They learned about insect anatomy, dry-on-dry watercolor techniques, line, and color. 

5th grade Bat Houses

Visiting artist, Buffy Andrews, Crest View parent and local architect, helped teach a unit on architecture. Students are in the final stages and they are beginning to complete their bat house designs.  Some are on display in the front case across from the office.  Students integrated math & science with the arts to complete their bat house scale models, which are very cool.

3rd grade Stabiles

We looked at the work of Alexander Calder and students created their own sculpture using paper board. They could choose to do an abstract or representational work of art.