Art Show Invite

Artwork Submissions

Willow River's annual Art and Music Show is on April 9th, 2010. We are now accepting  art submissions for our silent auction. This is our parent group's biggest fundraiser and we would like to encourage all local artists to submit works of art! The parent group will retain 25% of the sale price as commission for the sale. To participate, visit my class pages and print and fill out the submission form found in the Resources section and follow the instructions on the form. I hope to see a lot of art in our media center next Friday!

Magazine Bowls

I got the idea for this project at Art Projects for Kids. I mostly followed her directions, except I instructed my students to watch the shape of their circle and plan the shape of their completed project. I didn't want them all to end up being bowls, so my examples had lots of different shapes. One with a ridge, one that was high on one side and low on the other, etc. I pointed out that the middle of the roll is fatter than the ends, so if that part of the roll is consistently on the same side of the circle, the middle will be off-center. If that's what they want, great. If it's not, then they have to think about where the fatter part will fall on the circle while wrapping it.

They were asked to make their circle a minimum of 5" in diameter before creating their form. When it was at least 5" and they decided they wanted to stop, they created their desired form and then Mod Podged the inside of the bowl first. Next class, they flipped it over and Mod Podged a small paper with their name on it to the bottom of the bowl.

This is another project for our recycled Art Show.

Egg Carton Lions

I got the idea for this project from a work of art that was displayed at the Capitol for Wisconsin Art Education Association's Youth Art Month Exhibit in 2009 and modified it, adding a bit of my own ideas to create these. They are for our recycling themed art show.

LEARNING TARGETS:
-Create a work of art using recycled materials.
-Students will recognize art by Henri Rousseau.

TERMS:
Henri Rousseau: An artist most known for his paintings of jungles.

MATERIALS:9" X 10" Foamcore Board
Tissue Paper; strips of greens and browns, small squares of many colors.
Construction paper in greens
Egg Cartons
Paint; I used Pear, Golden Brown, and King's Gold Acrylic paints for lions and green Tempera Cakes for the background.Paint Brushes
Water/Containers
Garland
Glue
Brown/Black Markers
Twisteez Wire
Wiggle Eyes

We began with a discussion of paintings by Henri Rousseau. Students noticed how full the images are, and that often, the animals are partialy hidden in the plants. Next, we painted the foamcore board solid green, and the egg cartons any of the "lion colors" that I had poured. Students were asked to have three or four lions in their picture and they put them on a paper plate with their name on it to dry.

Next class, students used brown or black marker to draw the mouth and nose on the lions and glued them to the foamcore board. Then they worked on making tissue paper flowers. I asked them to have at least three flowers.

During the third class period, they glued eyes on each lion. They were allowed to have different sizes of eyes on different lions, but I told them to make sure that each lion had they same size eyes. I showed them how to cut long triangles out of green paper to make a strip of "grass." They were given the option of having a "tree" in their image, or not, but asked to make sure the whole board looked full. They used strips of tissue paper and twisted them to make the trees, branches, and vines. They glued their trees, vines, flowers, and grass into the picture.

Lastly, Students were given old Christmas garland and they glued it around each of their lions to create a mane. They turned out wonderful!

Mexican Tin Lizards

LEARNING TARGETS:
-Use a design sheet to plan out the project.
-Create a successful work of art using knowledge gain about Mexican Tin Art and Folk Art.

TERMS:

-Mexican Tin Art: A type of art created by artists from Mexico which involves embossing metal to create a work of art. Works are often enhanced with enamel, jewels, mirror or tiles.
-Folk Art: Art that is specific to its culture and is most often used as decoration.

MATERIALS:
Design Sheets
Pencils
Foamcore Board
X-acto Knife (teacher use)
Printmaking Foam
Scissors
Glue
Aluminum Foil
Erasers-either new pencils or cap erasers
Sharpies or other Permanent Markers
Metal Tooling
Stapler/Staples
Masking Tape
Twisteez Wire (optional)

I got the concept for this project from Denise Logan's Dynamic Art Projects for Children. If you haven't checked out this book, I strongly recommend it; the projects are outstanding, as you can tell by this example! We started with a PowerPoint of examples of Mexican Tin Art. They are easy to find through Google. Students talked about the use of color, and aspects that were embossed. Next, I gave them a design sheet of the basic lizard shape and asked them to design how they want their lizard to look. I gave them ideas, such as using symmetry, or shapes down the center of the lizard's back. I stressed keeping it simple. Too often, my students have gotten too complicated with their design stage. I also asked them to color their lizard so they would begin thinking about what they will be doing with color before they get to that step.

With the design sheet completed, students were asked to transfer their design onto the lizard body;which I cut out for them prior to class. They then trace their lines with black Sharpie to make them dark. This allowed them to be able to see their shapes through the printmaking foam. Once their shapes were traced onto the printmaking foam, they were cut out and glued to the lizard body in the correct spots. I showed students that they could put two layers of printmaking foam to create different levels of "embossing" on their lizard. With all the shapes in place, I showed them how to put glue on a piece of alumunium foil, spread it out, and wrap it around their lizard. I encouraged them not to be overly concerned about minor tears as they will be covered with the marker.

The next step was to color the lizard with permanent markers. I reminded them not to forget the sides of the lizard body. We cut feet out of metal tooling and stapled and taped them to the underside of the lizard body. Neither staples or tape are strong enough on their own. NOTE: these could easily be kept as snakes by leaving the legs off. I gave students the option of adding a tongue by attaching a piece of wire the same way as the legs. These are getting rave reviews!

Embossed Rose Windows

LEARNING TARGETS:
-Demonstrate understanding of radial design.
-Experience using a design sheet to plan the project out.

TERMS:

-Radial Design:A pattern that repeats in a circular pattern, working its way from the center of the circle to the outer edge.
-Symmetry: The image is the same on both sides; such as a mirror image.
-Embossed: The method of pressing metal to create raised and lowered aspects in the work of art.
-Rose Windows: Circular stained glass windows most commonly found in cathedrals.

MATERIALS:
Metal Tooling
Tooling Tools
Newspaper
Sharpie or other Permanent Markers
Scissors
Glue
Black Paper, 8"X8"
Design Sheets (Circle drawn with eight equal triangles)
Pencils
Colored Pencils (optional)

We began by looking at a PowerPoint with many examples of Rose Windows. We talked about radial design and symmetry. I pointed out that the windows vary in how elaborate they are. Next, students were asked to create a pattern on a design sheet. I told them if they didn't like their first idea, try something different in the next triangle. They could use as many design sheets as needed, but their final sheet should have at least three triangles in a row of the design they like so they can see how the shapes flow from one triangle to the next. I asked them to plan out their colors with colored pencils on their design sheets as well. The permenant markers won't come off the metal, so I wanted them to have an idea of their color goals before they got to that step.

When their design sheet is complete, they were given a piece of metal tooling and shown how to place their design sheet on top of the tooling, with a thick pile of newspaper under the metal. A tooling tool (sharpened stick) was used to trace over the circle and the straight lines that made up the triangles within the circle. Next, I asked them to cut out the triangle that they thought they drew the best. That triangle was taped to the metal and traced. Then it was moved to the next triangle and traced again. They repeated this step until all eight triangles are traced onto the metal, completing their radial design.

Now the fun begins! I showed the students how to use the back of the stick to press the metal until the shape is popping out. I stressed that they must have a thick pile of newspaper under the metal, or it wouldn't work properly. I also asked them to pop the same shape(s) out on every triangle.

Finally, when they are satisfied with their embossing, studesnts should color their project with permanent markers. Last, they cut their circles out and glued them to a piece of black construction paper. When displayed together, this project is very eye catching!

Clay Birds

LEARNING TARGETS:
-Learn handbuilding techniques
-Create a 3D work of art by combining shapes

TERMS:
-Score: drawing lines on the surface of the clay to create roughness.
-Slip: Adding water to scored clay to create muddy clay.
-Smooth: The act of pushing the scored and slipped clay together so it will stay through the firing process.
-Kiln: The device that fires clay.
-Firing: Putting the clay in the kiln and heating it to approximately 2,000 degrees. Creates a chemical change in the clay, making it hard like stone.

MATERIALS:
Clay
Water
Kiln access
Paint in a variety of colors
Wiggle eyes
Orange construction paper
Glue gun and hot glue
Clay tools (sharpened stick)

Clay Duck by a Kindergartener

We started this project by looking at my example, and talking about 2D and 3D objects. Next, I demonstrated how to assemble the birds. I used three different types of birds; one for each class of kindergarteners that I teach at my home school. The ducks are the easiest, as the kids just make balls out of the clay and assemble them. I show them how to score, slip, and smooth the clay together (I call that the "Three 'S's" which makes it easier for them to remember). For the wings and feet, I asked them to squish their clay ball to make a flat oval/circle shape. These kids painted the bird yellow, and the feet orange. I added a paper beak and wiggle eyes with the glue gun.

Clay Parrot by a Kindergartener

I think the parrots were the hardest. Again, I showed them how to create clay balls and assemble them. The wings and feet were just squished balls, but I also showed them that if they'd like to add plumage to the top of the head they could pinch the clay. Once they were fired, I added clay beaks that I made and let them paint them whatever color they wanted. After painting, I added the wiggle eyes. The penguins had an added challenge, because I had them use triangles for the feet and stretched out triangles for the wings. I also showed them how to pinch the clay to create a tail. Again, I added clay beaks that I made after they were fired and wiggle eyes after they painted them. I instructed them to paint the white first, yellow second, and black last.

Clay Penguin by a Kindergartener

ASSESSMENT:

As always, I circulated the room providing guidance when needed. Completed projects are assessed for craftsmanship, understanding of concepts taught, and completion of the painting.

To view all of our birds, check out our gallery on Artsonia.