Summer Art Adventures

I'm busy recharging my batteries this summer.  Spending time with my newborn son, William, taking lots of walks and hiking when I can, and of course, making art!

Here is what I've been working on:

Weaving - it's great project to work on while William plays beside of me. Here are some of the weavings I have completed so far.

 

Sketchbook - I bought a lovely leather covered sketchbook last summer and now I'm starting to fill it with small drawings and paintings. I have my sketchbook and a few drawing and painting materials with me so I can sketch on the go!

Here is a short video showing what I have done in my sketchbook so far.

Weaving, weaving, weaving!!!

Lots of weaving has been going on in the Art Room this year! Check out what each grade has been up to.

Kindergarten created paper place mats by weaving with paper.

First and Second Grade made painted paper and used it to create their weaving.  They turned their weaving into houses for a collaborative mural.

Third Grade made a weaving with yarn on a small loom.  Then they learned now to sew the edges together to create a pouch.  They added a braided cord to the pouch so that they could wear it around their neck.  Now they have a special place to keep their things!

Weaving on a small loom

Evey's woven pouch

Kaitlyn's woven pouch

Sara's woven pouch

Earlier in the year, Fourth Grade learned about the different regions of North Carolina and created a tree weaving based on their choice of region.  They painted paper plates with a landscape of a North Carolina region, then added the tree in the foreground by weaving.

Piedmont and Mountain Regions of North Carolina

Fifth Grade is working on different weaving techniques including plain weave, box weave, basket weave, and rya.  They are weaving wall hangings.  They have worked really hard on these! Some students even made up their own weaving patterns!

Sixth Grade created a circular weaving on a CD after learning about Egypt.

Sixth Grade Art Club meets on Fridays.  These students create their own projects, and I am just there to guide them.  Weaving was one of their favorite projects.

Dalton showing off his work from Sixth Grade Art Club
a woven wall hanging and a pillow for his grandma

Second Grade Clay Owls

Second grade students have been learning about color families in art.  We had already learned about warm (red, yellow, orange) and cool (blue, green, purple) colors and now it is time to learn about neutral colors.  The neutral colors are browns, blacks, grays, and whites.  These colors are not found on the color wheel.  The second graders has already been curious about theses colors because they didn't see them on the color wheel.  That lead into our discussion of owls and why they were neutral colored.  We create our owls of out clay, glazed them and then made nests for them.

Group shot of a few owls in their nests

Second graders learned about neutral colors while making their owls.

They reviewed neutral colors by making nests for their owls

Blue Ridge has a KILN!!!

Mrs. Postlethwait's pottery

Making pottery is one of my favorite art forms. So when I came across a great deal on a kiln this past summer I had to get it! Now the kiln is installed at school!

Here is the kiln.  A kiln is like an oven, except it gets a lot hotter! Hot enough to take all the moisture out of clay and turn it into glass! 

Second grade students were the first to get their hands on creating something in clay.
We are learning about neutral colors and making owls.

The owls are loaded in the kiln and ready to be fired.

Art Night 2014

Blue Ridge Elementary's Second Annual Art Night was December 11th, 2014 from 5-7pm.  Every student had art work displayed throughout the school.  The Sixth Grade Chorus performed in the cafeteria while snacks were served.  There were several activities in the gym including, ornament making, watercolor painting, clay, and demonstrating artists.  There was also a scavenger hunt with the student artwork that encouraged families to work together to answer questions.  It was a wonderful experience for families at Blue Ridge to share!

Families viewing hallway artwork

Activities in the gym

Featured Student Artists displaying and demonstrating their talents. (Savannah Wilcox and Chris Sturgill)

Docia Denny showing her quilting

Appalachian State University students brought a fun watercolor activity for the students of Blue Ridge.

Jimmy Savely brought clay and tools for students to experiment with.

The Ashe County Arts Council shared program information and had a coloring activity for students.

High School volunteers did face painting.

Painting a mini canvas was a hit!

Paper ornament making station

Pop up card making station

Christy Hoffman brought a spinning wheel for students to try

Christy Hoffman also brought a loom for the students to try their hand at weaving.

Snowflakes in Art Class

Snowflakes are a great project for sending kids off to Christmas Break.  They are an easy project for teaching cutting, folding and symmetry.

Here are links to the videos I recorded to use in art class for Snowflake Day!

Coffee Filter Snowflake

Copy Paper Snowflake

Learning about Henri Matisse in the Art Room!

"Creativity takes courage" - Henri Matisse

Kindergarten and Third grade have been learning about the art of French Artist, Henri Matisse.  In his early years of painting he was known as a "Fauve", the French word for wild beast. Fauve painters were known for their use of crazy, bright colors

 

Goldfish by Henri Matisse

Woman in a Hat by Henri Matisse

Below are paintings and collages by Kindergarten.  They are learning about secondary colors; orange, green, and purple.  They discovered these colors in Henri Matisse's goldfish painting

Third grade is learning about Henri Matisse in his later years.  With failing health and eyesight, Matisse began to move from painting to large scale paper cutouts.  Here is our group collage installation outside of the art room based on the collage The Parakeet and the Mermaid by Henri Matisse.

The Parakeet and the Mermaid by Henri Matisse

Collage by Henri Matisse

Third Grade Collages inspired by Henri Matisse