Maybe I Need To Change My Definitions????

While I was working on my signs for the art show, I sent an email to my staff asking for "old, yucky crayons."  Several staff members responded, and I'm STILL getting crayons from people (and I soooo appreciate it).  But, maybe my definition is vastly different?  Because I tell you, I got brand new crayons!  So many brand-spanking-new white crayons that I started pulling them out for crayon resists and things like that.  Maybe it's a different mindset when students/parents are supplying the crayons vs. buying them with your own budgets?  I have no idea, but I'll definitely be sending out a "I'll take any leftover art supplies" email to staff at the end of the year!
Why have I never realized this?

2017 Art Show, In the Books

It was epic, friends!  I think we had our best turnout EV-AH, and if I wasn't exhausted I'd be more detailed, but here's some photos from last night:

Art work glued to black roll paper and ready to hang.

Sixth grade Africa-inspired work

Some kindergarten work

Second grade

First grade

More first grade

Fourth grade

If you'll remember, one of my art show goals this year was more/better signage for getting patrons down to the "Make Art" stations:

They worked well, and they were free.  I had some co-workers save gallon milk jugs and I used broken crayons to weigh them down:

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If there's one thing art teachers have plenty of it's old, broken crayons!

The foam core I used for the signs themselves was a pretty beat up donation that's been in my room forever, and the wooden stakes were dirty and given to me by the PE teacher 9 or so years ago, so total cost=FREE.

One thing I will do for next year, I'll add an arrow in my classroom door as I came back to a room full of people after checking on my Make Art stations.  I guess if you tell kids, "you'll get to make some art" they assume it will be in the art room.  Go figure!

I will be driving around with these signs in the back of my minivan when the weather turns warmer to get the crayons to melt into a mass for next year.

The Make Art stations were heavily attended, with the painting station at fourth grade being the most popular:

Third grade Make Art symmetry design station.

Sixth grade adinkra stamp printing Make Art station.
Run by a second grader because sixth graders are too cool for school events.

Fourth grade Make Art landscape painting station.

If you need more info on how I do set up and run our art show, you can read more here, here or here.If you need me I'll be napping under my desk while students paint. Come on, spring break--I could use a daily nap about now!

Mad Love for Monet

I know, I know, I know, I post about this lesson every year.  But REALLY, what's not to love???? Heres this year's kindergartners painting:

And here they are finished and hanging in preparation for the art show that's only a WEEK AWAY:

This year's art show is going to be amazing, I just know it.  I'm sure that my worrying and lack of sleep is really what will make the difference. 
Until next Friday, I'll be running purely on caffeine.
Happy art teaching!

Black Metallic Clay Mask Magic

Somewhere someone invented this lesson.  It wasn't me.  I don't even remember when or where I saw it first, and I've never carried out this lesson until this year.  My fifth graders have been learning about four artists: Paul Klee, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns.  Right after our Picasso posters, we made small clay faces using slab methods. We just used low fire white clay, and students could make whatever sort of face they wanted, but texture was strongly encouraged. Students were also told to use straws to create holes along the top of their slab (to later add hair or other embellishments). Once fired, black acrylic paint was painted over it all (insert fifth grade whining here).  After the black paint dried, I gave out small amounts of liquid metallic acrylic paint and had students use their fingers to add it to their projects:

We learned the half-hitch knot and frayed yarn to add some oomph.
Oomph is a real made up technical term

The black adds something under the metallic paint, even when students used way more metallic than I advised.  These will be a great addition to our art show in two and half weeks!

Year of the Rooster

It should probably come as no surprise that I read blogs, and enjoy looking at other art teacher blogs to get ideas for my own classroom.  I saw this lesson on Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists blog and decided it was time for some rooster painting with my sixth graders.  
With all the yucky sickness going around (hello, looking at you, February) I was home feeling awful one day and made a little goal setting sheet tied to the Chinese New Year for my sixth graders.  We spent one class period filling those out and then got to work drawing roosters with pencil.  I actually had the students bring their chromebooks to art so they could find an image of a rooster that they liked, and had them use Google translate to translate one of their goals to Chinese.  Students drew their roosters with only pencil, but they did trace their Chinese writing with permanent marker.  Next we used chalk pastels (I really think I have an allergy to chalk, but that's what obsessive hand washing is for) and cotton swabs for the background.  We used only yellow and red paint the first day, applied with paint brushes and spread with hair picks (which I'd bought years ago for something else that didn't work out):

When students returned to art, we added some blue, then used tiny brushes for details:

This rooster really needs a beak.
Someone remind me to have this student add a beak.
[Side note, this is why we all need assistants or secretaries,
'cause who can remember all of this stuff?!]

These will be displayed during our art show with their Chinese New Year goals worksheet, most likely mounted on black paper, because a little black fancies everything up.