A Different Kind of Book Learning

Art class provides a unique opportunity for the kindergarten children to discover books in a different way than they do in their regular classrooms: as artistic inspiration. Reading a beautifully illustrated book to the kindergarten classes and focusing on how the story unfolds in pictures as well as words has been an exciting vehicle to launch new projects. Recently, the children explored the pages of Eric Carle’s A House for Hermit Crab and then made their own depictions of how a hermit crab would decorate a home.

The Geometry of a Dwelling

The kids began with the basic shape of a hermit crab shell – the spiral. And that was the only thing that was basic! Colors not typically seen in crab shells under the sea were vividly on display in these marker drawings.

Feathering a Nest – or Decorating a Shell

Like the hermit crab in the story who adorned his plain shell with everything from sea urchin to starfish, the children were incredibly inventive in adorning the shells in their pictures. Flowers, rainbows, fish and even a pumpkin or two found a way into the kids’ designs. 

Home Sweet Home

Each of the kids put their creativity, hard work and lots of love into the hermit crab shells – a pretty good recipe for a happy home!

  

The Van Gogh Mystery Project

This year, each fourth grade class worked on a collaborative art project re-creating Vincent Van Gogh paintings. Here’s how it worked: each child was given a separate rectangle showing a portion of a painting. They were to reproduce the image they were given using pastels on paper. The twist? The class didn’t see in advance what the original Van Gogh work looked like so they could only guess what each individual rectangle was depicting and what all the rectangles, when put together, would reveal.

La Berceuse 

During the period 1888-1889, Vincent Van Gogh painted a series of portraits of Augustine Roulin, the wife of the postmaster of Arles. The portraits, which he titled La Berceuse, or “woman who rocks the cradle,” show Augustine Roulin rocking an unseen cradle via a string on her lap. One portrait in the series, which was begun just before the artist’s breakdown, can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Working Blind 

Not knowing what the finished work would depict, the children had to focus on the information in their individual rectangles: colors, shapes, texture, line. As they worked, some kids tried to figure out what the finished work would depict. Some guesses? A garden, a hammer, a fish pond.

Building a Masterpiece 

Once the kids had completed their rectangles, it was time to construct the full image. Working together, the children tried to place the rectangles together – six across and five down – in the proper order so that they would produce their version of a Van Gogh. It was puzzle work – lining up colors and shapes that continued from one rectangle to another.

Mystery Solved! 

With each rectangle fitted in place, the children could see that, together, they had created a richly hued portrait of a woman. The next step was to compare their work to a picture of Van Gogh’s version. Our favorite? The kids’ version!

Accordian "Books", 4th Grade

Fourth grade made their accordian books inspired by Native American art. For this project we look at art from so many Native cultures from both North and South America. We talk about diversity in Native cultures. We look at pattern and imagery. We draw, stencil, paint and collage.

Welcome to the Masking Tape Planet

5-307 looked at and discussed James Rosenquist's "Welcome to the Water Planet" recently. They saw green pencils, combustion, and faces. They heard the title and saw planets. They made bold leaps at analysis. They cared more about their interpretations than about what the artist may have intended. They were animated!
This image leads well into having students create their own abstract art using a small collage element from a Rosenquist reproduction and masking tape to make lines (through removal). Looking intently at the Rosenquist and having the tape to manipulate lessens their questioning about the meaning of abstraction. 5th grade has gotten into this! Many have continued making abstract drawings as they have had waiting time during our casting project (casting post follows).

Choice Time!

Many Kindergarten children tell me that choice time is their favorite part of art. In choice time, I set up the tables with different material options for self-directed creative play. I facilitate as the children negotiate what they will make with the materials presented. Choice time can be very social. I step into the role of teacher-observer. It gets loud as the children tell each other their ideas!
Recently, Ms. Hammond's 1st grade made it clear to me that they wanted to have choice time. They remembered it fondly from Kindergarten. We'd been working on projects since September and I hadn't scheduled in choice time yet. I promised them a choice time art class and here they are in all their glorious choice energy.

The Shaw Memorial, 5th Grade

The 5th grade began this year analyzing Augustus St. Gaudens' Shaw Memorial, a public sculpture in Boston Common commemorating the Massachusetts 54th regiment. Students did an amazing job of deconstructing the meaning of the memorial through looking at it and using their experiences of seeing public sculpture to inform their analysis. We talked about what a memorial is and how a sculpture is cast. We talked about the Massachusetts 54th and the fight to end slavery.
Since then, we have been attempting to cast our own clay sculptures. We have had technical setbacks and I am so impressed with the patience and resolve I've witnessed! We're not done yet but here are a few pictures of our process...plaster molds that we made from plastilene originals and clay casts pressed into the molds.

Rube Goldberg Inspired Animations

Our student teacher from Pratt, Alana Glantz brought this very cool project to the 4-303 art classroom. She came each Tuesday this semester and the students had a great experience with her. I am very grateful for the energy and excitement that her ideas generated.