Art Night at BRES

This week we had Family Art Night.  This was the first art night that the school had ever had.  We didn't know what the turn out would be like.  Well...it was a great success!  Take a look at BRES students enjoying art night.

Weaving on a Loom

Face Painting

Spinning Yarn

Making Christmas Cards

Paintings on wood and faces

Portrait drawing

High school student sharing her talent

Spinning wheel

Feeling different fibers

more loom weaving

Ornaments for sale

What's Happening in Art

Kindergarten artists are learning about some great artists that loved to use Primary and Secondary colors in their work.  Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse are the inspiration for these paintings and collages.

 Mondrian Masterpieces

Secondary colors with Matisse

First grade has been making art inspired by our feathered friends. 

Here they are painting their clay bird sculptures.

Sixth Grade has been learning about the art of Egypt.  They have created Pharaoh portraits, Cartouche necklaces and are working on circular weaving.

Happening this week...

Hat day and finishing up some fall tree sculptures.

 

Finished Cherokee Booger masks in fourth grade.

Weaving station is part of art reward day!

In The Art Room This Week: First and Kindergarten

First Grade Portraits in Chalk

Students added chalk pastel to their portraits they drew last week.  They loved smearing the messy chalk across their page!  The results were stunning!

Kindergarten added black and white oil pastel to their paintings from last week. The art of Kandinsky, Lee Krasner and Franz Kline were reviewed.  They were encouraged to outline shapes and draw on lines that they discovered in their paintings

Enough with the Rules...Let's make some ART!

It is critically important that I hold high expectations for my students.  I lay everything out on the first day the kids come to my room so they know where they stand.  For me to let every student I teach know my expectations, consequences, rewards, procedures, etc., it takes 2 weeks!  So I was so glad that today my students got to make art!!!

Kindergarten experimented with  mark-making today. We observed the art of Kandinsky, Krasner, and Kline;  all artists who used bold shapes and lines in their art.  We identified lines, shapes, and colors and set to work. To wrap up class we looked at the artist's work again and compared what they painted to what the kids painted.  I love how they all had smiles on their faces.  I could see their confidence to become artists!

Fresh white paper covering the tables, ready for paint

Kindergarten experimenting with mark making and paint (just getting started)

Very simple instructions were given, "make 3 circles.  make 2 straight lines.  make a line around what you have painted already".  They could change colors as much as they wanted.  I did prompt to change colors a few times because some weren't thinking about the colors, just the feel of the paint.  

A limited color pallet makes for a beautiful outcome with kinders. 

I love how Ivy circled her lines and shapes she painted.  I loved seeing the pure enjoyment of painting on her face.

Enjoying the painting process

Kindergarten paintings drying

First Grade learned about portrait drawing today.  We learned the most important part of a portrait...the face!  They used oil pastels to draw a portrait.  Next week we will use chalk pastels....a new material for them!

Each student had a large piece of paper.  They did a wonderful job
of filling up the whole paper.  Drawing BIG is hard for these little ones sometimes!

Drawing away....

This table had a few vampires :)

Third Grade began learning about still life today.  We observed still life paintings by several artists today.  Lastly I showed them art by Georgia O'Keeffe.  They enjoyed seeing her beautiful flower paintings.  We discussed why she painted flowers.  "Because they're pretty" one student said.  Well of course!

The students painted a small vase with green and yellow flowers

I demonstrated using an outline for the clear glass jar

They were not afraid to try!

I was so impressed with their work!

They enjoyed  painting this still life!

I love the bold lines!

Art Open House

Hello!

I will not able to attend Open House on Sunday, August 18th.  If you are interested in learning about the expectations for the art classroom and what your child will be learning in art this year, I will have an Art Open House on Tuesday, August 20th from 3pm-5pm.

Hope to see you then!

Mrs. Postlethwait

Summer Teaching at Florence Thomas Art School

This summer I taught a few kids classes at Florence Thomas Art School in downtown West Jefferson.  I taught still life drawing and painting to kids in grades 1-6 in June.  We learned how to look for shapes and lines in objects so that we could draw and paint what we see.

In August I taught clay classes to kids in grades 4-6.  We learned how to make hollow forms to create an animal rattle and a teapot.

I also taught a nature journal class to kids in grades 1-3.  We took a closer look at plants that we find all around us.  The kids used magnifying glasses to examine plants, taped plants in their journals, drew the plants, and wrote poems and stories about the plants they saw.

Dyeing with Indigo in Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students learned about the Yoruba people of Nigeria.  A traditional cloth made by the Yoruba is the Adire Eleko Cloth.  Sixth grade students used paste to draw designs on their cloth to resist the indigo, a natural plant dye.  When removed from the indigo, the fabric is a yellow-green color, but as the oxygen in the air hits the fabric it changes to a deep blue.  

example of adire eleko cloth

the fabric just taken out of the indigo

Students also tried their hand at shibori, a Japanese style of tie dye.  Indigo was used with for this fabric as well!

Shibori fabric made into a banner