FIRST GRADE . . . Seeing with our fingers!

Last time we met, first graders were introduced to the artwork of Joan Miró, a Spanish artist best known for his whimsical paintings. We learned how he was inspired by the colors and movements of the circus and we talked about how he showed that through his artwork.

When Joan Miró was a young art student, he became frustrated when he tried to draw objects realistically. One of his art teachers saw that Miró had a good understanding of color but had a hard time copying shapes. The art teacher blindfolded him so that Miró could better understand the forms of an object by feeling it with his fingers before trying to draw it.

We tried that in our classroom today, using brown paper bags to hide our objects instead of wearing blindfolds. Putting our hands inside the bag, we felt the objects with our fingers and then drew what we felt. We let our fingers see for us! Everyone was so surprised and impressed with their "touch only" drawings and I had a hard time believing that this was the work of just first grade!

Here is a video taken today in art class... part 2 of the Ranney School Miro Project.

FOURTH GRADE . . . Keith Haring Figure Drawings

Mural designs by Keith Haring

A goal for all of my art classes this year is to experiment with figure drawing. I have noticed that my fourth grade students still revert to using stick figures in their independent doodles. I don't mind when students draw a quick stick figure as long as it shows movement and is done in proportion. Drawing arms that come out of the figure's waist is not allowed in my room! So, to begin this lesson, we took a few minutes to practice drawing stick figures. We learned how to make the arms and legs in proper proportion to the head and body and how to show movement through correct placement of elbows and knees. Even in a quick figure drawing, the joints of the arms and legs are very important focus points. As we learned back in third grade when we looked at a wooden artist model, the arms and legs are made of straight bones and can only bend at a joint. A stick figure can express movement the same way.

Keith Haring (1958-1990) was best known for his street art filled with figures in motion. He produced more than 50 public murals in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children's day care centers, and orphanages. During his short career, Keith Haring became a very well known artist although that was never his goal. When he was asked to create murals for organizations and public displays, he took the money he raised and created the Keith Haring Foundation to help support the charities that meant the most to him.

We created our Keith Haring figures by drawing stick figures in fun positions, even upside down! Then we drew outlines around the stick figures to create drawings very much like Keith Haring's poses. We used bright colors of paint for the figures and background and worked hard to create a thick but evenly painted black outline. Painting the outline was probably our biggest challenge! For our display in the spring, we are going add a free standing sculpture with cardboard Keith Haring figures. Here are a few examples of our paintings. To see all of our work, check out our home page at artsonia.com. http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Artwork by Emma

Artwork by Madison

Artwork by Ashley

Note to families...
This art blog will be updated regularly with new posts sharing our daily activities in the art room and news about upcoming art exhibits. To respect the privacy of our students, names will always be limited to first name only and identifiable photos will never be accompanied with a name. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write in the comment box below or send me an email at blevine@ranneyschool.org. I would love to hear from you!
    In my class, students are given the chance to explore different materials and fun new techniques as they develop their signature style. Some young artists love to draw with a pencil, some like to paint on canvas or create images in a digital format, while others prefer working with clay and molding three-dimensional forms. In my classroom, we use a variety of materials allowing all artists to experiment and figure out which type of art they like the best. At Ranney School, we place a strong emphasis on originality and celebrate artistic differences, always nurturing and encouraging the imagination of every student.
     Remember to check out our display of finished artwork and student portfolios in the Ranney home page of Artsonia.com.  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

FIRST GRADE . . . How many patterns did we use?

Ranney students love their weaving project! Taking a break from drawing and painting, we used yarn to learn about what makes a pattern in art. We began by recycling cardboard that was used as a tray for water bottles and made handcrafted looms for our weaving project. Each loom has 6 strings attached to the cardboard and we used an over and under pattern to weave colorful yarn through these loom threads.

Cardboard loom

Weaving on the loom

First graders learned how to measure the correct length of yarn for their loom and cut their own pieces of yarn out of 16 different colors! We practiced the over and under pattern of weaving using our fingers first. That was a little tricky for some of us! Then we wove the colorful strands of yarn over and under the loom threads, following one basic pattern for weaving and creating yet another pattern by alternating colors of yarn.

The wonderful bark that each weaving is displayed on are twigs and sticks that the students found outside and brought in for their project. Here are a few examples of our finished weaving. Please check out our page on Artsonia.com for all of our first grade projects!   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Weaving by Ian

Weaving by Eva

Weaving by Gavin

Note to families...
This art blog will be updated regularly with new posts sharing our daily activities in the art room and news about upcoming art exhibits. To respect the privacy of our students, names will always be limited to first name only and identifiable photos will never be accompanied with a name. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write in the comment box below or send me an email at blevine@ranneyschool.org. I would love to hear from you!
    In my class, students are given the chance to explore different materials and fun new techniques as they develop their signature style. Some young artists love to draw with a pencil, some like to paint on canvas or create images in a digital format, while others prefer working with clay and molding three-dimensional forms. In my classroom, we use a variety of materials allowing all artists to experiment and figure out which type of art they like the best. At Ranney School, we place a strong emphasis on originality and celebrate artistic differences, always nurturing and encouraging the imagination of every student.
     Remember to check out our display of finished artwork and student portfolios in the Ranney home page of Artsonia.com.  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839