Willow Art Show Preview

I've spent my morning researching living artists, hoping to find inspiration for an art show inspired by them. All I have to say, is I am so sick of shock art! Seriously, maybe it's because I have two girls ages 3 and 2 and I don't really want to bring them to an art museum filled with genitalia or maybe I'm just getting old, but I am sick of it! It's old news, how about something creative and fun that can be introduced to elementary school children?

Ok, rant over.

Here's what I found that is inspiring AND age appropriate for my little cherubs. . .

Kindergarten will be making stone scupltures based off the work of Daryl Maddeaux. This will be so perfect, as one of the fourth grade teachers is working with several grants to create a raingarden in our "Cinder Lot" play area and this will be Kindergarten's contribution to that too. Special thanks to Princess Artypants for this post, which is where I got this idea.

First grade will create layered painting via Gerhard Richter. I'm thinking pallet knife/cardboard scraping the paint to get similar results.

Princess Artypants to the rescue again! When I referred back to her blog for the Kindergarten lesson I found this new post on the artwork of Edward Said Tingatinga. Beautiful! Although ES Tingatinga is no longer living, his sons and many other African artists continue producing artwork in his style. Way better than the pipecleaners-as-neon-signs project I was thinking of about Bruce Nauman!

Third grade photo collages a la David Hockney.

Fourth grade pour paintings inspired by Holton Rower.

Unlike all the other grades, who have yet to complete thier projects, fifth grade just finished using Romero Britto as inspiration for thier silk hoop batiks (link is to last year's music themed hoops).

As with many big events, it's possible that these ideas will be tweeked, revised, or even completely ditched prior to the big day.

TP Snowflakes-Part 2

 I thought I had already posted the final snowflake projects, but apparently I just thought about posting them. We finished them off by painting them with white tempera paint and sprinkling some clear/white glitter on the wet paint. They are currently hanging from each other in long strings of snowflake in the window to our school office.



Favorite Classroom Tips

I get tips from all of your blogs all the time. Two such tips have completely transformed my classroom environment. I wish I could remember which blogs I got them from, if it was you, please let me know so I can send some linky love your way.

1. Use wipes to clean the tables. I'm sure landfills everywhere disagree, but using wipes is amazing! It easily cleans off even dried paint, and the kids are so excited to use them. I tell them I will pass out a wipe or two to each table after all the stuff on the table is put away. They rush to get it all put away so they can come up and get a wipe. No more lakes on my tables! As an added bonus, the whole room smells fresh and clean after 20+ kids use a baby or Chlorox wipe on their table spot.

2. Use a magazine as a pallet. SERIOUSLY?! Brilliant! Simply rip off the top page and toss when the kids are done painting with it. Viola. Done and done. I hate cleaning pallets so much, I almost shouted out loud when I read that idea! And to think, all the new supply catalogs are coming out right now. A perfect way to recycle outdated or multiple catalogs!

TP Roll Snowflakes~Part I

Usually my Adapted Art lessons are "one and done" type of projects. The kids like to take them with them as soon as possible, and I like to accommodate. However, today we are starting a two part project recycling TP rolls into snowflakes that look quilled. Here's step one.

Students should write their name on the inside of a piece or TP roll

(I cut them about 1/2 each).

2. They can make three different shapes from the TP strips;

keep it round, pinch one side, or pinch both sides.

3. Put a drop of glue on the shape they've created.

4. Press the glued spot to the piece with their name on it.

5. Add a paperclip to hold it for them so they can keep working.

6. Add their next piece, gluing it to the center and the first piece that was glued.

7. Paperclip all the glue spots.

8. Continue until they have made a whole snowflake.

 OPTIONAL: Add spirals
UPDATE: Unless you plan on spray painting them, or leaving them their original color I'd recommend skipping the spirals. Brushing on paint causes them to become too wet and straighten out.

1. Cut a circle into a strip.

2. Roll the strip around a pencil.

3. Hold it on the pencil for a moment.

4. Glue it to the snowflake and add a paperclip to hold it on.

5. End of step one!



Click here for our project inspiration.

Kumihimo Weaving

While attending our local Art Fair this fall I talked with a fiber artist that was selling pocket looms to create Kumihimo Weavings. I had never heard of them, so I looked them up and it is a Japanese style of weaving. I found some videos online and there are many sizes of looms and they can be created with many different numbers of strings. You can use embroidery floss, yarn, ribbons, or even beaded strings to create these.

My third graders used Foamies to create their pocket looms and then embroidery floss for the actual weavings. It is such a hit, even kids that don't put a lot of effort into art have been asking to bring them home to work on them more! Some kids have finished, and within two days approached me to show me more weavings they've made on their looms since bringing it home. One teacher even told me she's noticed kids in her class have started making friendship bracelets since we started this project.

 Many kids made theirs long enough to go around their wrists twice.

This student loved the process so much she made a cardboard loom at home and completed that weaving before the one she made in class!

Some students got more creative with where to display their weavings.

I created a stop motion video on the whole process. I highly recommend this project for your students!



Adirondack Alcohol Inks

When I found this image in Pinterest, I had to try it out. I a little discourage when I found out that a small, three bottle package of Alcohol Inks are $9.99! Ugg. I kept it in the back of my mind and continued as normal until I found this pin on how to make your own alcohol inks. Amazing! Perfect! Exactly what I wanted to do at a tiny fraction of the cost! I went out the next day and bought Rit Dyes and Rubbing Alcohol galore at Wal Mart. I'm fairly certain the clerk thought I was nuts to be buying three economy sized bottles of Rubbing Alcohol, but she was nice enough not to say anything. I rushed to work the next day, completely excited to try out all I'd learned.

Total disappointment.

I could not get the dye to completely dissolve into the alcohol, leaving the tiles gritty, transparent, and downright ugly.

Sigh.

I gave in last night. I went to Michael's and bought the good stuff (thank goodness for that teacher discount!). I am so glad I did! Here's my tinkering this morning. . .

 The needed supplies: Alcohol Inks in various color and blending solution. I was going to use the cotton swabs, but didn't actually use them. They could be used instead of a paint brush to spread the blending solution though.

 First, spread the blending solution on the tile. This will disperse the ink and lighten it so the color is visible instead of being so condensed that it looks almost black regardless of the color.

 The inks come with a pointed tip so it's easy to drip just one drop at a time.

 Loving it! I'm thinking of putting a board of these up over the windows in my classroom. It would be spectacular (and the kids wouldn't be able to reach them!).

They do need to be sealed. I read to make sure that it is a water based sealer, such as Mod Podge because anything solvent based will cause the inks to rub off.

The Truth Hurts

I got this from Phyl, over at There's a Dragon in My Art Room. It really coincides with what my cohort has been talking about in our monthly meetings. We've been looking at the Finland model of education, which is number one in the world and only tests their students ONCE their entire school career. Something to think about.