3rd Grade: The Scream!

At the end of the first quarter 3rd Grade students completed a guided master copy of The Scream by Edvard Munch. The unit began with an introduction to Impressionism and Expressionism. Students learned the characteristics of Impressionism and Expressionism. Students learned how to use oil pastels to blend and mix colors on the paper in a similar way that Munch did in his work. Take a look at some of their work:

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 markers, crayons, and colored pencils 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: 

5th Grade: Study Drawings

In the first quarter 5th grade students were introduced to art of the Italian Renaissance. After viewing and discussing various works by the famous Italian masters (Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Donatello, ets.), I introduced students to an aspect that is often overlooked from their work--study drawing. I love when students are stunned and amazed at the works of these masters. But what they often don't realize is the lifetime of study and hard work that each of these famous artists put in before creating their legendary works.

Study drawing is simply when an artist spends time studying the thing they intend to create through doing many small rough sketches. Students learned that that before creating a beautiful masterpiece comes much trial and error. We spent a day looking at journal and sketchbook entries by each of the great masters.

The final project for the quarter was to create their own study drawings. Each student picked one animal or plant to study. They each researched and brought in three pictures of their subject to class. After some instruction on how to use graphite sticks correctly and how to begin a drawing through first mapping out basic shapes and then adding detail, each student was able to produce amazing results. Take a look at some of their hard work!