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.

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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.