Fall Fun - 6th Grade

6th grade students started this project off by reading the following poems. Students were asked to sit quietly with their eyes closed and think about what images did the poem bring to their thoughts. They then quietly wrote down 10 images that came to mind, we then discussed them as a class, there was no wrong answer however some students suddenly were talking about things like Chucky and Twilight which led to vampires and Taylor Lautner. These weren't necessarily wrong answers but definitely out in left field. As a class we brought the discussion back to the poems and how could we create a picture that represented them.

HALLOWEEN by Richard Anderson

A gentle breeze rustling the dry cornstalks. A sound is heard, a goblin walks. A harvest moon suffers a black cat's cry. Oh' do the witches fly! Bonfire catches a pumpkins gleam. Rejoice, it's Halloween! THEME IN YELLOW by Carl Sandburg I SPOT the hills With yellow balls in autumn. I light the prairie cornfields Orange and tawny gold clusters And I am called pumpkins. On the last of October When dusk is fallen Children join hands And circle round me Singing ghost songs And love to the harvest moon; I am a jack-o'-lantern With terrible teeth And the children know I am fooling.

Students began the art portion of the project by sketching out a design and then drawing that design on a piece of black paper in pencil. Students then traced their pencil lines in white glue as carefully as possible. After the glue lines dried they colored in all of our spaces with chalk making sure to focus on value and blending. As part of this project the students were learning how to use chalks but also how to blend colors to make interesting shadows and highlights. Before turning in the project we sneaked outside and sprayed down the artwork with hairspray to keep the chalk from dusting off. I'm pretty impressed with their work and can't wait to do another one using a poem from Robert Frost.

Students were graded on the following requirements:

    - Create a scene that properly demonstrates the poem

    - Create Contrast through the use of value

    - Neatly use chalk to color image

    - Glue used in a neat manner

    - CRAFTSMANSHIP

Chuck Close Portraits: As we work - 8th Grade

We have been working away on many different projects in the art room.  We have so much going on and as one of my students stated I "am running around the room busy all the time." Each grade has been working on some really cool assignments and after a good morning working with the other art teachers in the district I am able to say that I have some really fun ideas for future projects.

Right now, 8th grade is making large portraits using the process of Chuck Close, we used a grid to draw our images on to the paper. We then began adding in the facial features, this always seems to be the most difficult process and many students are struggling with it but as you can see they are coming along beautifully. Some students have begun to add in the details that are so unique to Chuck Close. Initially we were going to add them to the entire portrait but because the students were doing such a beautiful job with their painting we decided to only add in the shapes and designs into the background.

Students will be graded on the following requirements:

   - Using the grid system to create a portrait that is in proportion

   - Maintaining the look of the grid through the use of Chuck Close's shapes/patterns

   - Blend colors and values to create shadows

   - Layer colors in the shapes in the background to create interest

   - CRAFTSMANSHIP (Clean and Neat Painting)

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The students worked so hard on their portraits and they turned out amazing I am so proud of what they have accomplished. Here are the images finished.