4th Grade Art Gala
What a Success! Congratulations 4th Graders!
For those of you know didn't know, we just had our long-anticipated 4th Grade Art Gala last Thursday night. The event featured music by each 4th grade class (very impressive!) and a display and reception of original art by the 4th grade students. This year we also had writing included in the gala - forth graders wrote cinquin poems to accompany their relief sculptures! So creative - what a talented group; what a great night!
Here are some pictures of the display:

eli george

SK8 4 LIFE!!!
The afterschool Expressions group have created their very own deck designs. These boys love to skateboard, so we looked at what was appealing about other deck designs. Then, the boys brainstormed what elements would look cool on their own decks... They sketched colors, designs, patterns, and images that they find personally appealing. Then they each made their own unique deck.

Take a look at what they created - they even came up with their own brand name! Maybe one day they will grow up to be famous skateboard artists!

Cryptonight
By Jonathan R.

Family deck

By Aliah M.

by Ben S.

by Eli G.

by Noah T.

Exquisite Hearts

Students collaborated to make these unique, detailed hearts from construction paper and oil pastels.

Sample student work from Mrs. Sawyer's Class

Here's the process -

Step 1:

Fold paper hamburger style and cut half a heart along the folded edge.

Step 2:

Color one half of the heart with a beautiful pattern or design.

Step 3:

With your heart still folded, pass it to your partner. Don't let them see the side you colored! (It's part of the fun!) Let your partner color the other half.

Step 4:

Open up your EXQUISITE HEART and see how it turned out!

Maybe you can try making one with a friend or parent for Valentine's day!

*On display now in the hallway across from the nurse's office!

Tools... COME TO LIFE!


4th and 5th Grades have created TOOL CREATURES!
Utilizing their skills of drawing from observation and drawing from imagination, the students combined everyday tools with body parts from different animals to make their own creature. Here's the process these artists went through to make their creative and unique artwork:
Step 1: Brainstorming - students made sketches of different combinations of tools and animal parts, using real tools and pictures of animals for inspiration; some students came up with up to five or six different tool creature designs!
Step 2: Large-Scale Drawing - students made a final, large contour line drawing in Sharpie of their favorite creature from the ones they brainstormed; they had to make the creature so large that it touched three different edges of the page!
Step 3: Watercolor Washes in Warm and Cool Colors - students used watered-down watercolor washes to add a first layer of color and value to their creatures and background; students had to choose warm colors (red, orange and yellow) or cool colors (blue, purple and green) to use to paint their whole page
Step 4: Adding Details - after painting with one color family, students used crayons in the opposite color family to add details to their creatures; for example, if a student painted with all cool colors, they would then add detail using warm colors
Check out some of the finished work below! See if you can spot the tool (some are more obvious than others) and the animal parts in the creature!


Sample Forth and Fifth Grade Artwork
FYI: The work of the 4th graders will be featured in the FORTH GRADE ART GALA in April!

!!!!LOTERIA!!!!
Have you ever played BINGO? 1st graders have been learning about a similar game from Mexico called Loteria. Check out their work below and find out how we made and played the game!



Brainstorming for our very own Loteria game:
Students brainstormed different toys, games, foods, animals, places, people, and plants that are a part of their culture.

After coming up with ideas, each student chose one item and made a painting of it.

Riddles:
When students finished their paintings, they were asked to write a riddle about their Loteria painting. Here's an example:

"It's pink and purple. It's warm and sort of small. It makes cakes and cookies. What is it?"

See if you can guess which image it is from the choices below!

_

_

It's..... Emily's Easy-Bake Oven!

How We Played the Game:

-Students constructed a tabla (gameboard) with photographs of their classmates' artwork arranged in a grid.

-Students' names were called one by one at random.

-When a student's name was called, the student read their riddle aloud. Another student was called on to guess the subject of the painting.

-The student then revealed their painting. Any students with that painting could put a marker down on their tabla.

-The first student to get three in a row shouted "LOTERIA!", winning the game!

Students learned about the traditional game of Loteria, and then looked at artwork inspired by the game. Check out the work of Teresa Villegas at http://www.teresavillegas.com.

Personal and Imaginative - 3rd Grade Compositions

first on the left: I and The Village by Marc Chagall; three on the right Sample Student Artwork

- Third graders studied the artwork of Marc Chagall, focusing on the painting I and the Village. (see artwork) Students noticed and analyzed the artist's use of personal icons in his composition.

- They came up with possible answers for questions like "Why is the man's face green?" "Why is the woman floating upside down?" and "Why is there a woman milking a cow inside a goat's head?"

-The students concluded that there must be important reasons for the artist's choices in color, size and placement of his icons.

Students made an imaginary composition using their own personal icons. Here's what they did:

Brainstorming

Students began by making different icons (symbols) for things that are significant in their lives, such as their favorite food, an important person, a hobby or sport they are involved in, or a special toy. Icons are pictures that represent a person, place, thing or idea.

Sample Student Worksheets

Sketching

Next, students began drawing a sketch to figure out how they would arrange their icons to create an interesting composition.

Students had to meet the following requirements within their compositions:

- Include at least 6 icons

- Place 1 icon inside another icon to create a relationship

- Make at least 2 icons large to create emphasis

- Include a horizon line to create a sense of space

Students also learned that a strong composition makes the eye move around the whole page, so they worked on using the whole page for their sketches!

Sample Student Sketches

Drawing With Glue

On black paper, students drew their final composition using Elmer's liquid glue! The glue dries overnight. When it's dry, it's clear - which makes the lines look black!

Adding Color with Chalk

As a final step, students added colored drawing chalk to make the black glue lines pop out! Chalk does not stick to the dried glue lines. Students practiced color blending and mixing, filling in all parts of the paper with vibrant color.

Sample Student Artwork

_

Attention 3rd grade parents - I need help! All third grade classes need their work spray-fixed in order to take it home. This can be very time consuming for one person! If you think you have some time to help out with this please email me at kweymout@houstonisd.org . The students really want to take their work home... WE'D REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP!

Kindergarten

Self-Portraits!

Kindergartners have been learning to draw their faces so that they look really real!

Kinder Self-Portrait Display

Here are some of the ways they learned to make a face look real:

1. The shape of the head is similar to an oval.

2. The eyes are similar to the shape of a football or lemon, and sit in the very middle of the head.

3. The mouth has two lips - and the top lip is kind-of shaped like an "M"!

4. The nose has three distinctive parts - the bridge, the tip and the nostrils (so we draw all three!)

5. The ears sit on the sides of the head just in between the top of our eyes and the tip of the nose.

Student Artwork Samples

Here's the steps we took to make our self-portraits:

Step 1: Draw all parts of the face, neck and shoulders using Sharpie.

Step 2. Use crayons to color the portrait using imaginary, expressive colors. (We pushed hard with the crayons to make the colors look bright.)

Step 3: Paint over the portrait using watercolor tempera paint. (Using watercolor over crayon is called a "resist". )

Art on display near the nurse's office - take a look!

4th and 5th Grade Observation Drawing Display

4th and 5th graders have been working hard to learn and master different ways to draw objects so that they look realistic. Here's what they've been learning:

Observation Drawing:
Observing (really looking!) at an object and drawing exactly what is seen

Drawing Techniques:
Contour Line Drawing - describing form and details using line
Continuous Contour Line Drawing - Contour line drawing made without lifting drawing utensil
Student samples of these two techniques below:




Value Drawing - Adding values through shading to describe how the light hits the object
Subtractive Value Drawing - Subtracting values by erasing to describe how light hits the object
Student samples of subtractive value drawings below:


Other Vocabulary:
Highlights
Shadows
Light Source
Value Scale



Art on display upstairs in the 4th and 5th grade pod areas! COME SEE IT SOON!

We've created... Monsters!!!

2nd graders have worked so hard on these creative creatures! Some are friendly, some are scary, and some are just plain silly! Take a look:

(Sample student artwork from the display.)

Here's what they did:

Step 1: Students came up with ideas for their monsters by first thinking about what their monster's personalities would be like. They imagined where their monster would live, what it would like to eat, and what kinds of things it would enjoy.

Step 2: Students drew their monsters using black and white crayons. Students were given images of animals and asked to include at least three different animal parts in their monsters.

Step 3: Students painted their monsters using a variety of colors.

Painting Process:
Resist - when two materials that do not mix push away from one another
Students saw how crayon on paper resists watercolor paint by pushing it off when its painted over.

All About Color:

Students added and mixed these different types of colors during different stages of the painting:
Primary Colors - colors that cannot be made with any other colors; red, blue, and yellow
Secondary Colors -colors made when two primary colors are mixed; orange, purple, and green
Tint - any color mixed with white (pink, for example is red + white)

ON DISPLAY NOW - HALLWAY NEAR ART ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Images from the "Think like an Artist" Displays

In this series, students K-5 were asked to illustrate and/or write what it means to think like an artist. The work was so unique! Everyone had a different idea!

1st Grade Artwork Inspired by the Paintings of Piet Mondrian

Right:Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow by Piet Mondrian

Left: Sample Student Artwork

The Art-making Process

-The firsts graders began by intersecting and gluing horizontal and vertical lines to make a collage.

-Students were allowed to choose primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) or secondary colors (orange, purple, and green), along with black, white and gray, to color their collages.

-Students first colored with crayons, then painted over that with watercolor tempera paint. This method is called a resist.

-These creative artists used their imaginations to see more than just lines and shapes in their artwork - they saw cities, apartments, sinks and even cake! Take a look at their interesting titles!

Hello everyone, welcome to the BG art page. Soon we will have up-to-date info on what's going on in the art room here at Briargrove. Until then... enjoy looking at some of my personal artwork over on the left!