Names, Names, Names

It only took a month...

 Sixth graders completed their radial name designs with analogous color schemes. The had to design a square, flip and trace it four times, outline the pencil lines in sharpie and color with analogous color scheme. Most of them came out AMAZING, and the kids were excited with the results. I wanted to show this one because it had a moment of problem-solving.. the student messed up his radial symmetry on the tracing stage and figured out how to cut it apart, rearrange, and reattach the quadrants to achieve radial symmetry.

 My seventh graders made their names pop out in one point perspective, shading the perspective lines for atmospheric perspective, and added backgrounds to increase the sense of space. I loved how James, above, put his name in a wrestling ring.

 These 2 were my superstars. Really good craftsmanship and creative backgrounds. Gabby's on the "road of life", and Gianna is a superhero...

 My eighth graders used Alexander Calder as inspiration for a name sculpture. They had to illustrate each element of art in their letters, than use hinges and slots to connect their pieces into a 3-dimensional work of art.

 Making the letters was excruciating.. some thought it was boring, others went over-the-top in their craftsmanship and took forever. But once they got to the sculptural stage they got way more into it and thought it turned out to be a really interesting project. They are all over the school now, and we've gotten lots of compliments.

It would be fun next year to maybe do this as a group project with one massive sculpture per class or grade....
My kids are settling into our routines and I've made some good connections- especially with my 8th graders (oh, I was so worried....). If the rest of the year goes this well I will be one blissful art teacher!

4th grade shell variety

The 4th graders tried out their observational skills and learned about variety in this shell-drawing project. Students had to do 3 versions a contour line drawing, a value-shaded drawing, and a color drawing in colored pencil. The great thing about the shells is that they hold the kids' interest and curiosity longer than a bottle would have, and the irregular shapes of the shells were very forgiving to those whose drawing skills were not very developed.

 It's very interesting to see from the pictures who REALLY LOOKED at their shells and who just drew from imagination.

 I was also impressed with how many kids based their drawings off of the ellipse-sketching style they had used in their previous project. (Hey! They learned and remembered something!!)

 At the end of the project I had the kids write about which style was their favorite. The overwhelming response was COLOR because it made the drawing "pop out".

 Only a few chose value or contour. My very favorite of all is this sweetly simple spiral of a shell with some  speckles and stripes. It is so sensitively drawn:

I'm proud of my fourth graders for willingly trying to see and draw in some different ways. It was wonderful to talk with them individually, point out details, and help them SEE. It's about seeing more than about drawing. I saw lots of little light bulbs go off in their heads. I hope they're ready for their next challenge: we're entering the National Wildlife Refuge Jr. duck stamp contest!