Haring inspired school murals

      I started the year with a wonderful student teacher from UGA, Rachel Blair.  She did a gesture drawing Keith Haring style painting project with the 4th and 5th graders. While introducing Keith Haring, Rachel found a video from the 80's of Haring working on a mural with high school students. (It's quite amusing to see a professional artist try to instruct teenagers). We were so inspired by the process that we know we had to make some murals for the school.  Rachel drew these with black paint and then all of us painted patterns inside the shapes without the same color shapes touching. It was simple and really fun.  We painted quite a few shapes ourselves!  They are hanging outside the art and music room, the front entrance, and the cafeteria.

                           

                                   

Hearts: inspired by Jim Dine

      These hearts weren't created for Valentines Day but for Jump Rope for Heart (a PE program about healthy hearts).  After discussing symbols and meanings of hearts we viewed and discussed the art of American artist Jim Dine, who created many sculptures, paintings, and prints of hearts.  Students painted hearts, covered them with vibrant patterns, and then wrote sentences to go with them.

Space in Space!

What is space?
The answers of course began with stars, planets, and aliens. Then we discussed what the word space means in art. That if can be positive and negative and that it can be the creation of depth and distance.
The students began by tracing their shoes at the bottom of the paper and their own hands at the top of the paper. They used a little teamwork to help with the hand they write with.  Then they drew themselves as astronauts smaller connecting the hands and feet as if they are reaching forward.  They used their knowledge of the planets from 2nd grade science to add planets, space shuttles, and details to their space suits.  They colored the astronaut and planets with crayons and watercolor for outerspace.  I have been trying to use up supplies that I may not want to pack in SPLOST remodel next summer and even though I let them use the glitter freely it seem to replenish itself!

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1st grade Color Fish

 We packed many skills and techniques into these fish paintings!  We read a book about fish and learned how to draw different styles of fish.  The first day students drew six fish (3 large and 3 medium). Then they added a treasure chest and other ocean life.  The next day we played primary and secondary color games to review, then using only primary colors students painted the 3 largest fish with primary color and on the 3 medium fish they mixed the colors right on the paper to make secondary colors.

Then the next couple of classes we reviewed pattern got full paint trays to paint the other sea life, background and patterns.  On the last day students used oil pastels to create more patterns and details and they also used glitter to create their coins and jewels in their treasure chest.