Art Club: Animals!

Students in art club have been learning how to draw animals!  They are learning to recognize basic shapes in the animal first before getting lost in the details. Slowing down enough to get the basic shapes on paper in light erasable lines before moving on to detail and the texture of feathers and fur, has been the biggest challenge. This week we took a special look at the drawings of famous Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer.

Here are some pictures of these little artists hard at work!

Sketchbooks!

There is still an issue where some students do not have sketchbooks. The 2nd Quarter is coming to an end, but pretty soon 3rd Quarter will begin, and they will definitely need a sketchbook by then. You can purchase a sketchbook at Hobby Lobby (across the street), Michaels, any art store (Jerry's Artarama and Blick Art Materials in Tempe), and even Walmart. Any sketchbook 8.5x11in or larger, spiral bound work best.

ALSO some students have made good use of their sketchbooks (I love it!) so far and will need new ones soon! Ask your student whether or not they might need a new one. We use our sketchbooks almost every day so it is extremely important!

4th Grade: Illuminated Manuscripts

In 4th Grade we just finished up our unit on Art of the Middle Ages. Students learned that art of the Middle Ages was mostly religious and an expression of devout faith and devotion to the Church. We spent some time studying the beautiful illuminated manuscripts made by the monks in the monasteries. Illuminated manuscripts were ornate books filled with beautiful calligraphy, gold leaf, and illustrations of Bible stories. One especially famous illuminated manuscript is the Book of Kells. Certain pages like the one below from the Book of Kells are what inspired our next project which was to create their own page of an illuminated manuscript.

Students began by choosing one of the the 9 virtues they are encouraged to take to heart at this school (Courage, Citizenship, Leadership, Wisdom, Humility, Honesty, Friendship, Responsibility, Integrity). Once they had chosen their virtue, they brainstormed an animal that they believed exemplified that virtue the most. The first letter of their virtue and the animal they chose became the content that filled their page. After filling the page with patterns, designs, and textures, they used watercolor to bring it to life. They then gave the finishing touches by using gold and silver sharpies to add the bright highlights to sections of the artwork, making them even more like the manuscripts they studied.  Here are a few examples of exceptional student work: 

Art Club!

Art Club has just started up. I am excited to see how these little artists will grow in creativity, imagination, and independence. Last week we practiced drawing self-portraits with personal mirrors.

This week they helped me get started on making a large display where artwork from all classes can be shown in the school hallway outside the art classrooms. We looked at the long tradition of frame making and how people often do not realize that there is an art to the frames that support an artwork. They learned about gilded frames and how they were ornate, elaborate, and incredibly detailed. The artists that made gilded frames often charged more for the frame they made than the artist would for the painting. 

Each student took part in decorating a section of the frame that will surround the display. 

More photos updating the project soon to come…