FIFTH GRADE . . . Leaving our hand prints in Lower School

A Zentangle is a doodle made up of lines and shapes that repeat to create an overall filled pattern. It is a very relaxing way to sketch and some of the designs can be very creative.

Fifth graders drew their hands on paper to create a basic outline shape. Using black marker,they filled the spaces of their hands with intricate lines and patterns. Some of the designs extended beyond the shape of the fingers and others followed neatly within the outlines. All are wonderful interpretations of this very popular technique of drawing.

As the class of 2021 crosses the lawn next week into Middle School, I am hoping that all of my students will continue to draw, whether they draw from observation as we did in our sketchpads all year, or just for fun as we did with these hand prints. The important thing is to feel creative and keep drawing!

Here are a few of our Zentangle hand prints. Some of these designs are so intricate. To see them in more detail, click on each picture. For all of our prints, follow this link to the Ranney home page on artsonia.com.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Artwor by Abbi

Artwork by Chloe

Artwork by Ava

Artwork by Siobhan

Artwork by Saxon

Artwork by Morgan

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

THIRD GRADE . . . Sculpting with Clay

Artwork by Colette

To learn how to see our animals in a 3-dimensional way, we first drew each side of the stuffed animal we brought into school on six sides of a cube. This way we could learn just how the animal forms look from the front, the side, the back, the top and the bottom. Scroll down to see my earlier 3rd grade post for pictures of our finished animal cubes.

Finally, we were ready to work with clay. With our stuffed animals as models we had a pretty good idea of what shapes we should mold. We used an air-dry clay in class, but it works the same way as firing clay. We learned how to knead the clay to make it softer, how to add water to moisten it as it dries and begins to crack, and how to score and add slip as glue to attach the parts of the animal to the body.

Once the clay set, we painted them with bright colors of paint and then a glossy spray was added to seal everything. Here are some of our wonderful sculptures! To see all of our work, check out this link to the Ranney home page at artsonia.com.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Artwork by Ashley 

Artwork by Ava

Artwork by Maria

Artwork by Tomas

Artwork by Pierce

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

FOURTH GRADE . . . Architecture

Fourth graders just completed a unit on architecture. Last year, we created animal cubes out of cardboard and learned how each side of the 3D cube gave us a very different view of our animals. This year we took that lesson a step further and made architectural designs that went beyond just a simple cube. Since our designs are 3D, we learned just how important each side of the building is to the whole design.

We began with a presentation of buildings from all over the world, looking at both traditional and very modern looking designs. Inspired by the unique shapes of some of these architectural photographs, we used graph paper to lay out a design for a building we might find in any neighborhood. For example, some of us chose to make a house, others created a museum, a theater, a store, or a church.

Once every side of the building was designed as a shape and details were considered, such as windows, doors and signs, the designs were transferred to a large sheet of card stock. Students colored in the details of their buildings before they were cut out, folded and glued to a base.

Here are some examples of our architectural designs!

Artwork by Emma S.

Artwork by Matthew

Artwork by Maya

Artwork by Morgan

Artwork by Taylor

Artwork by Tucker

SECOND GRADE . . . Flowers are blooming at Ranney School!

Inspired by the artwork of Vincent van Gogh, second graders painted a still life in art class with a vase and a bouquet of flowers. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), a Dutch post-impressionist artist, is well known for this painting of "Sunflowers." All of his work including hundreds of self portraits and his famous, "Starry Night" scenes were painted with short directional brush strokes that helped to define the shape and movement of the scene.

To explore this style of artwork, we painted our vase, table and back wall with bright colors and added patterns with our brushes all over the page. Then we learned a technique for painting flowers using the thickness of the brush to create the petals. We did not draw our flowers first, but used our brushes to do all the work. They all look like realistic bouquets of wildflowers, and just like Vincent did with his sunflower still life, we signed our names right on the vase!

Here are some examples of our work. To see all the 2nd grade flower paintings, click on this link for artsonia.com.  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Artwork by Jason

Artwork by Shaya

Artwork by Crosby

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