Art Activities Update!

At English Landing, we are learning everything there is to know about shapes!  We know about 2-dimensional shapes, 3-dimensional shapes, geometric shapes, free form shapes, and organic shapes.  We can cut shapes.  We can paint shapes.  We can draw fabulously tricky shapes that look 3-dimensional on flat paper!  Wow!  Some classes are even moving on to another important art element: space.  Creating the illusion of space is an important art technique.  It can be a little challenging to make drawings that appear to have space between objects, but we have been practicing so much that we are getting really good at it!  Take a look at the photos below to see how much we have learned.

Kinders made play dough this week!  We practiced making some 3-D shapes, as well as pinch pots.

What a fun and squishy day!  Play dough is a great activity for little fingers.  To make your own, follow this recipe.  It's easy!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• 8 tablespoons salad oil
• 7 to 8 tablespoons of water
• food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together well. Keep in a sealed container.

For more art recipes, check out http://www.kinderart.com/kitchen/nonedible.html

1st grade made beautiful painted paper for a collage project.

Finished 1st grade collage.  We were inspired by Henri Matisse's famous funky shapes!



This 2nd grade landscape project is an introductory lesson about creating the illusion of space.  We used overlapping to make our hills appear to get farther away.  Notice how we used highlights and shadows to make some shapes appear to be 3-dimensional!



Finished 2nd grade landscape.  We looked at artwork by Grant Wood to get ideas for our farms.  Ask your second grader about him!
Media: Tempera cake paint and oil pastel

3rd grade Picasso portraits on display.  We used geometric, free form, and even organic shapes. 
Media: Tempera paint and oil pastel.

3rd grade has also started a unit on space!  This "Harvest Moon" project teaches students to use size to create depth.  Objects in the foreground of our picture are large, objects in the background are small.  We have completed the background, and are ready to begin the foreground!

4th grade Abstract Expressionism project.  This may look like a hodge podge of lines and colors, but it is much much more!  We used color and mark making to express feelings, and then wrote an artist's statement to explain our choices.  Ask your 4th grader about Jackson Pollock and his art!
Media: Acrylic paint and watercolor.

5th grade is learning to draw using one point perspective.  Starting with 2-D shapes, students draw orthogonal lines to a vanishing point to make the shapes appear to be 3-D.  I am so proud of their progress.  This technique is definitely challenging!