3rd Grade Leaf Prints = Crowd Pleaser!

Leaf Prints

3rd grade artists have been exploring one of my favorite mediums, printmaking!

We started out by making connections to learn more about what printmaking is,
such as a foot print or a hand print, or a stamp. 
Printmaking is anything where you transfer an image from one surface (the printing plate) to another.

These prints are so easy and the students loved them.
They simply painted on the surface of leaf with water colors. 
The trick is to get the right balance of water to color. 
Then students transferred the print by placing paper over the painted leaf and rubbing.

Everyone had success!

You can see 3rd grader, Emma D. demonstrate the process here.

Students' prepared their leaves for a group display and also created a finished composition.
The colors are so beautiful!

Stop by and see our group display in the Howe Manning Lobby!

What other things could you use to print?

Monster Mania!

Kindergarten artists have been finding their inner monster in art class!

First they explored all different types of lines.  They used this wonderful video from Scratch Garden to get them thinking about what a simple line can become.

Next they used oil pastel and watercolor in a resist technique to create colorful line art.

The next week in class they were so excited to learn that 

we were going to turn their line art into MONSTERS!!!! 

They read a few great books for monster inspiration and to advise on the hazards of glue! 

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly and Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre

Finally, students tore and cut scraps of paper to finish their monsters with faces and accessories. 
We discussed how monsters could have many of the same features that people do, 
such as eye brows, eye lashes, nostrils! 

The finished products are great. I love the individuality of each monster!

The monsters below are from Mrs. Libby's kindergarten class.

 They took them and used them as inspiration for a writing prompt!
Students were prompted to use learned sight words (or popcorn words),
such as look, like, my, for, see, and the to describe their monsters.
They did a great job!

Next time you're at Fuller Meadow check them out in person!

4th Grade Artovation Challenge: Geometry Meets String Art

4th Grade “Artovators” have been busy exploring the beauty of

geometric shapes for their next Artovation challenge.

Artovators started out imagining all the possible designs they could make with shapes.  

They explored regular and irregular shapes as well as the parabolic curve. 

They loved creating their nail beds and were so excited to use actual nails for this project. 

Finally 4th graders got to stringing! 

Check out some of the beautiful designs they created using simple geometic shapes.

The next two designs were created by 4th graders in Mrs. Deeley's class.  

Each design used 4 parabolic curves which students coined the "fourabolic" curve!

Love their humor!

This week I had a big surprise for them....

We are going to create a huge string art installation on the grounds of the school. 

 Each 4th grade class is going to contribute to finished product. 

 We took a google form survey so they could give their input on which design and grid to create.

 Stay tuned over the next few weeks as this project takes form!

October Mystery Artist

October Mystery Artist

I have a special mystery artist this month, perfect for October.
I wonder how many students will know who it is without looking it up!

I was born in 1958

I am an American film director, producer, artist, writer, and animator

I am known for my dark, gothic, and quirky fantasy films.

Some of my most famous works are Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie.

Submit your guess in the envelope at school or in the comments section below! 

* Include your first name, last initial, and class code ONLY for online guesses (ex. George S., 5Ha)

Total Eclipse of the "Art"

Getting Ready for Dot Day: 3rd Grade Edition

It seems like ages ago now but I wanted to share our first 3rd grade project of the year! 

So many 3rd grade artists were excited to talk about their eclipse viewing experiences.  

I was so impressed with how many made their own viewers too.  

A few students even shared their travels to see a total eclipse with us!

We used this years solar eclipse and Dot Day as inspiration to create Eclipse Dots.

I love how each student had a different take on their eclipse dot art.

Did you have eclipse fever? 

Check out this video for DIY cereal box viewers just in case you want to get ready for 2024 early!

Introducing "Artovation" at Howe Manning

ARTOVATION!

This year at Howe Manning, 4th and 6th grade students are helping to pilot a new innovative arts curriculum called Artovation.  It is an arts based class with so much more! 

Artovation will integrate STEAM, Makerspace, and project based learning into to the art room. 

We're off to a great start.  Check out our first challenge.  

This project was inspired by art teacher, Jenny Knappenberger. 

Click here to learn more about her approach.

We put a "DOT" spin on our brown bag art challenge.  Each group had a different material to use; clay, popsicle sticks, cardboard, pipe cleaners, or curling ribbon.

It was wonderful to see how each group tackled this problem in a different way.  

Check out a few of our finished products and the students at work.

See if you can find how a dot influences each work!

Next time you're at Howe Manning come and see our Dot Gallery in person.