Our Shoes Made It!

Last year fourth grade students designed and decorated shoes in art. Students worked hard to design their shoes all the while keeping in mind that the shoes are meant to be a piece of artwork themselves. (Which lead us to several queries... for example: What is art?)

Then, each child implemented his or her design on two pairs of white canvas shoes using permanent sharpie markers. One pair of shoes was for the students to keep and proudly wear. The second pair of shoes was a donation to another child. (This brought up several questions as well...what would it be like to NOT have shoes?) 

NOW THIS IS THE EXCITING PART; the second pair of shoes has now made it all the way to Zimbabwe!!!! 

It is so exciting that we were able to share our creativity and celebrate the spirit of giving. 

Now our students have a unique connection to the students in Zimbabwe in that they own the only two pairs of each unique shoe design that exist in the whole world!

Printmaking for All!

The K, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes have been doing some fun and exciting printmaking projects. 

The second and third graders have been looking at the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe. The students observed that she paints a lot of flowers and that her artwork is MAGNIFIED. In her style, the children drew a close up of a flower and then an EVEN closer magnified version. 

Then, students transferred this pencil sketch onto a piece of foam to create a stamp. The printmaking technique we have been using uses markers to ink the stamp and then print on damp paper. 

Kindergarteners have been learning about the Four Seasons and thinking about how they change the appearance of a tree. Students created a "basic" tree stamp using foam, then during the printing process, we have made changes to turn each tree into a separate season. 

Fourth Grade Shoe Project!

Our fourth grade shoe project is up and running. Students have worked hard to create a design for their shoes keeping in mind that these shoes are meant to be pieces of artwork themselves. Each child then has begun to implement his or her design on two pairs of white canvas shoes. One pair of shoes are for the students to keep and proudly wear. The second pair of shoes will be on their way to Zimbabwe at the end of June!

HOWEVER, A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a video update on how our 4th grade shoe project is going...

First and Second Grade Art Display at the Richmond Free Library

The metal embossing works made by the first and second graders are on display for the month of April at the Richmond Free Library. I hope you are able to stop by and enjoy them!

Hundertwasser Dream Works in Progress!

Third and fourth grade students have been learning about the artist and architect Hundertwasser. He was a dreamer and a lover of nature. He was brimming with creative ideas, and his artwork is full of both life and color. 

Inspired by this out of the box thinker, the students have been creating their own architectural designs for their "dream homes." Students began by sketching with pencil. Afterwards, they traced their pencil lines with sharpie to make bold lines that stand out. Lastly, the children have been coloring using brightly color markers.

"Everyone should be able to build, and as long as this 

freedom to build does not exist, the present-day planned 

architecture cannot be considered art at all."

 

~Friedensreich Hundertwasser

(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/friedensreich_hundertwass.html)

Students have incorporated many of Hundertwasser's ideas into their artwork. They have included a strong connection with nature, bright colors, many curving lines, lollipop trees, hidden faces, awesome details, and a great deal of windows.

"You are a guest of nature--behave."

~Hundertwasser

"When we dream alone it is only a dream, but when many 

dream together it is the beginning of a new reality."

(http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/friedensreich_hundertwass.html)

These awesome works will be on display for you to enjoy at the Art Show and Concert this May! 

The Kindness Wall

The first and second graders have just finished an enormous interactive sculpture: The Kindness Wall. We began the project by coming up with a working definition of 3D art. Most classes settled on something like "art that sticks out." 

Using various interesting 3D materials, each child created a sculpture with a special space (or two, or three) for a message of kindness to be hidden.

The students loved building and combining materials.

The following class, after priming them with white, we painted our sculptures a monochromatic yellow, to tie each individual piece of artwork together. We chose yellow as it is often associated with feelings of joy and happiness--and it's one of our RES school colors!

The Kindness Wall is on display outside the art room. The goal is that adults and children in our school community add to our wall by writing or drawing their kind words and thoughts on a slip of paper and tucking the paper into our sculpture. 

The focus on kindness and friendship gives the students the learning experience of the power of art: art has meaning, art makes a statement, and art impacts others!

Metal Embossing Inspired by the Aztec Sunstone

The first and second graders have recently completed a metal embossing piece. Using the Aztec Sunstone (also know as the Aztec Calendar Stone) as our inspiration, students created elaborately detailed copper embossing pieces. The Aztec Sunstone is a gigantic artifact carved into a very large rock. It has become a symbol for Mexico and even appears on their money. At circle, the students enjoyed looking at the wide range of symbols on the stone and measuring how VERY big it is!

Each child began this project by creating a paper plan of their embossing piece. We used a wide variety of Aztec and Mayan symbols, as well as discussed which symbols we recognize in our culture (i.e. the heart, the peace sign and even the smiley face).

The following class, students adhered their copper to the back of their plan. Then, working on top of a stack of newspapers for cushion, the children traced their plan using pens. As the students traced, the pen lines indented the copper to transfer their design.

Our last step in this process was to frame our work. The children created equally detailed frames to showcase their embossing pieces. 

These works will be on display at the Richmond Free Library during the month of April. Please stop by to admire the hard work of our first and second graders.