Painting on Wednesdays

I've really enjoyed the nine young artists who stay after school to make magical, expressive paintings. Shown above are still life paintings by Eve and Walker. We looked at Cezanne but I think a Matisse vibe entered the room.

Accordian Books Inspired by Native American Art

4th Grade looked at a wide variety of images of Native American art. They made books using drawing, stenciled patterns and collage. We talked about Hopi Kachinas and cosmological power in Native American art. Students noticed pattern on Zuni pottery. Some students got motivated when they discovered that figures woven into cloth reminded them of contemporary game characters because of the stylized geometry of their shapes.

Three Grants Funded

I'm happy to spread the news that three small materials grants through donorschoose.org that I wrote this summer have been fully funded.
Kindergarten and pre-K will be creating paintings and sculptures inspired by classic fairy tales, third grade will once again embark on making the Chinese warriors and fourth grade will look at Inuit drawings and Hopi kachinas for a painting and sculpting unit based on Native American art making practices. These grants help the entire school by augmenting the art budget.

Tap, tap, tap, spread, spread, spread...

...like putting jelly on some bread... This is the beginning of the rhyme I say when teaching the youngest students in our school about our glue brushes. Kindergarten started their collage unit with a reading of "It Looked Like Spilt Milk". They made torn paper collages using black and white papers. Next project, we'll move into color. Thank you to Suzie, Stella's Mom and an art educator colleague for some great tips and ideas, like tearing the paper behind my back and asking the children what action they think is making the sound that they hear.

Photos: Dmitry Gubin

Sshhhh.....

I've taught at PS 154 for four years now and have not shown my own art to my students or the school community. So, it's about time! Here is an image of an encaustic painting...

New School Year and New Art Studio!

Welcome back! This year the art studio has moved to room 302. Climb the stairs and enjoy the bright autumn light streaming through our huge windows.

Painting a City

Nicky's City

After drawing from observation, the 3rd grade drew and painted a city using what they had observed and adding drawing from memory and imagination.

Drawing Buildings

The 3rd grade classes went outside to sketch. This was a way to research what our neighborhhood looks like for a city painting project we were beginning.

Drawing a Bicycle

Roman's Bike

Ana's Bike

Anjali's Bikes

Blind Contour Drawings by Ms. Chiu's Class

In June, we pushed all the tables in the art studio together and put my bicycle up on the giant table we'd created. The simple act of placing a bike on top of a table generated huge excitement in the school. Before school, I would happen upon parents and their children standing in front of and speculating about the bike on the table. Jack, the custodian made a joke about it and Ms. Goldberg told me that I had "made the day" for her class and that the bike on the table was all they could talk about enroute to a field trip.

The 2nd, 4th and 5th grade students drew the bike. I demonstrated how to make a blind contour drawing and explained that artists, like athletes, often have ways to warm up before beginning a more involved project. I stressed that this was more about seeing than about making a perfect drawing.

We made three drawings-a blind contour drawing (5 min.), a drawing using one's non-dominant hand (5 min.) and a final drawing with the pencil held in the usual hand and the eyes making the usual measurements and judgements.

Starting off with exercises that insured that nobody's drawing was going to look "right" really helped. I heard quite a bit of laughter during the warm-ups and students spontaneously showed their work to friends sitting nearby.

For the final drawing, I insisted that the bike be drawn from observation but allowed imaginative elements to be introduced, as well. Elementary age students are capable of making exquisite drawings from observation but I believe the fun begins for them when they are free to invent.

More warriors

Yoav's Warrior

Gerardo's Warrior

Shanthi's Warrior

Here are the other semi-finalist and honorable mention warrior sculptures.

VISIT the show at the Met. See your classmate's art!

Congratulations to Christian from Ms. Goldberg's third grade class! His Chinese warrior sculpture was one of 55 works of art chosen for an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! PS Art showcases New York City student creative work. Also, congratulations to Yoav (a semi-finalist), Shanthi and Gerardo (154 awards for honorable mention)! The show will be up for the summer. For more information about and a look (at about 5:20 in the video) of Christian's sculpture go to

http://www.metmuseum.org/now-at-the-met/news/2010/06/29/ps-art-2010-at-the-met-celebrating-the-creativity-of-new-york-city-kids.aspx

2nd Grade City Mural

The mural made a terrific stage set for the jazz concert. 

We looked at Francis Guy's painting "Winter Scene in Brooklyn, 1821" to begin our city mural. Although, Guy's painting shows Brooklyn before cars or bridges, our students collectively decided that their mural could contain elements of the past, present and future. Our student teacher, Kevin Farrant worked with Ms. Varriale's class to make roads and cars for the mural. If one looks closely, the Statue of Liberty (by Noa) is visible on the distant shore. Students made self portrait collages to populate their city but since our city was so crowded, we decided that the 2nd graders could be jumping, cartwheeling, running and parachuting around the borders. Nice work, 2nd grade... more later.

Ian's Warrior

Ready for paint...I particularly am impressed by Ian's solution to showing that their leather armor was pieced together and formed a pattern.

A New Year and a New Grant

Hooray! A Donorschoose grant that I wrote so that the third grade could study and create sculptures about the artifacts in the "China's Terracotta Army" exhibition currently on view at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC has been awarded to us! The materials have arrived!

The third grade is currently building Model Magic  figures based on photographs, drawings and a reproduction sculpture of  a Chinese warrior (graciously lent to us by Eva Lewandowski). 

I love this project because the students love it and I am very happy that the resources to bring it to this year's third grade are in our hands, literally. 

In this lesson, the students begin by drawing the artifacts to become familiar with the forms and details. Students then build the torsos and heads of the figures over cardboard cones. The cones are removed so that arms and legs can be sculpted and added during the following class. 

I feel like the steps involved provide a basis for a satisfying experience to students that comfortably approach 3-D design and also to those who feel intimidated by the complexity of building 3-D objects. Everyone looks and sounds happy in my observations.