New School Year

A couple weeks before school began, I got some news that greatly changed the planning and expectations I had for this school year. Due to a large enrollment number at our school, the art room was likely going to have to be given up to make room for another Kinder classroom. Heartbreak. But after the initial shock and disappointment, I reminded myself that my students and I are lucky to have an art program at all, and that great artists can make art anywhere! So while I was waiting to find out where and how this new arrangement was going to work, I focused my energy on thinking of a couple fun things to get my students' attention the first week of school... especially since I couldn't set up my classroom!

First, I made some artwork on the bulletin board in the main hallway - with scraps and recycled materials saved from last year! I highly recommend this activity. I used construction paper cuttings, notebook and graph paper, cereal boxes, bottle caps, egg cartons, paper rolls, post-its, phone book pages, and LOTS of staples (for functional and aesthetic reasons.)

It was incredibly fun to arrange everything into something energetic and colorful - yet abstract and ephemeral - to encourage my students (and myself) to start thinking about all the possibilities ahead of us this year! The board reads "Hey ARTISTS - What will we CREATE this year? BG GREEN ART 2012-2012." This year will be no exception: we will continue on our quest to incorporate GREEN materials and practices into every art unit this year.

I am considering a way to arrange for small groups of students who have earned extra special privileges this year the opportunity to do something similar at certain points in the semesterI'm really excited about the idea of seeing what they would create on a giant bulletin board with a bunch of leftovers from the art closet! A lesson in installation art! (I wish I could do this with every student - all 915 or so of them!)

And second, the day before school started, I went to the nail salon with a special mission:

RAINBOW NAILS! Warm tones on one side, cool on the other. It was so fun to watch my students discover the spectrum on my hands. I had a great time the first week saying "Oh, you like them? I did them for YOU!!!" AND our first week lessons involved some color theory, so it served as a fun little added visual representation!

Art is a wonderful, healthy, healing and joyful thing. In the nail salon that weekend, I sat next to a friendly woman getting her nails painted with a simple clear coat of polish. She was excited by my choice of colors, and commented that at her place of work, painting her nails like that would probably get her fired. I am so thankful to be an art teacher. No matter the obstacles, this is a really fun job. And an important one too.

More coming soon on THE MOVE and our first week activities. Change, challenge, creativity AND opportunity ahead...

Wishing you a spectacular school year,

Mrs. Gonzalez

Dreams, Dreams

Hello BG art fans!




Well, it has been a great summer, and I'm looking forward to a new school year! Between a newborn baby and an exceptionally challenging enrichment schedule last year, I didn't get a chance to post many of our units from last school year, so I'll start sharing a few now!




This unit was rather involved and very engaging for my third and fifth grade students. Sometimes I like to try out a new unit with two different grade levels to see which one it ends up fitting better with. With this unit, both grade levels really did great. In general, 5th grade was a bit more meticulous and it took them a class period or two longer to finish. (I encourage you to click on individual images so you can see the details and materials more closely!)




First, students brainstormed different dream scenarios based on their interests, daily lives, hopes, fears, and other items of personal relevance. Then, we combined various elements together to create different story ideas, which had to include a person, setting, action and interesting detail. The student had to be in their dream, but could be represented by someone or something else if they wanted. (Most of this part of the process was done through writing and thumbnail sketches.)




First, students worked on creating their setting. We talked a lot about including enough details, texture, etc. that would really visually describe the setting. There was a lot of language integration during this unit. To practice describing a setting, I had the students help me brainstorm all the parts of the art room - right down to the tiny scraps of paper in piles along the walls (we were very messy that time of year, ha!) If a student was still having trouble thinking of things to include for their setting, then I had them work with a partner to brainstorm details of the setting on the back of their paper.




Then, students worked on adding the characters, action and an unexpected detail to their setting. We looked at the work of various surrealist artists such as Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Rene Magritte and talked about ways that the images seem more like a dream than a reality. Some students, just like some of the artists we looked at, only included subtle hints that would clue in the viewer that the image was not meant to be reality. Others constructed totally imaginary places, and stories within them.




For materials, we started out with 11"x17" construction paper as a base, and then built a complex mixed-media collage on top using fabric scraps, leftover paper, magazines and drawing materials such as oil pastel and pencil. We used Elmer's glue to get everything stuck down nice and secure. The students really enjoyed working with fabric; our only challenge was the use of super dull scissors to cut tough fabrics. We managed, though!




I love the story-telling and creative ideas that the students invented based on their own personal tastes and experiences. All of these dream stories were very unique. Some were wishful, some were adventurous, some were peaceful and serene. Others were surreal interpretations of real life - with elements that were just ever so slightly "off." Some students created dreams that were really rather more like nightmares. I am fascinated by the imagination of children.

This unit was a lot of work, and a big success!

Coral Reef

2nd - 4th grade created the most beautiful mixed-media paintings of the coral reef during our last few weeks of school. This two-lesson unit followed a day of observation drawing from a Planet Earth video about the coral reef. We looked at and discussed various life forms in the coral reef, and the students drew what they saw as if they were scientists on a field study.

The next class, students covered a plain sheet of copier paper with textures that reminded them of the coral using warm colored crayons. Then, they painted over their textures and patterns using liquid watercolors in orange, green, purple and magenta as well as gold, bronze and copper. I showed the students how they could sprinkle a bit of salt over a freshly painted area to create a star-burst texture which would develop over time.

Students used fine and coarse salt, and were thrilled to see the effects when they came back next class period. We dusted off the salt, and then students worked on top of their paintings to define areas of coral, add a variety of sea life including plants, and even add wavy lines, algae or bubbles to the water. The results were just incredibly beautiful.

We used pencil and oil pastel to draw on top of the paintings. I loved the effect. We talked about the illusion of space, and how thin, light pencil lines would make something look like it was farther away, while thick, dark lines would make something pop forward.

I did not give the students blue watercolor because I really wanted them to push their thoughts on color. The coral reef is full of warm colors, and often water can have a green or purple tint to it. When we worked on top of the drawings, students had the option to then add blue - which looked really great too!

All in all, a super fun and satisfying unit with lots of room for variation, personal vision, and experimentation!