LOWER SCHOOL ART EXHIBIT in Panther Hall Gallery

The illustration for our art show poster was painted by Claire F. in Mrs. Bass' 4th grade class

Here is a video of the artwork in our gallery. Congratulations to all of our Lower School artists!

FIFTH GRADE GRAPHICS . . . The Fun of Steam Education

Package Design by Maya B.

FULL STEAM AHEAD . . .
Package design combines the skill of engineering with the art of design. Once a product is created, the job of the package designer is to create a package that fits around the product. We have to use math skills and innovative thinking to create the shape of the box. Perhaps there should be a window in the front of the box so we can see what is inside. Then, of course, it has to look good. Why should we buy one brand over another? It usually comes down to an attractive package or a recognizable logo. The designer makes us take notice.

We began our package design project in the art room and used clay and cardboard to create a product we invented. Once these were complete, we used plain white paper to experiment with a box shape that would fit around the product. With our sample boxes and an idea for a name and a logo, we head down to the computer lab to work on our boxes.

The logo for our box was designed on Adobe Illustrator. Using the measurements for our box based on our experimental paper boxes, we drew the flattened out box on Illustrator and created a window for the front of the box. We decided on a background color, placed the logo on each side, added a tag line and any other information that might be needed for the box, such as a made-up website, or a UPC symbol!

Here is what our 5th grade graphic artists created:

ALDEN
"A box full of fun!"

Alden made a square cube with windows to look like dice.
It is called Dots of Dice!

He created clay cubes for the dice in the package.

Here is what Alden's box looks like drawn in Illustrator

Alden's Logo

GRACE
"Don't dip it, DUNK it!"

Grace's package looks like a glass of milk
with a basketball hoop backboard.
Her cookies are called Dunk-it!

Grace made her cookies out of clay and paint

Here is what Grace's box looks like on Illustrator

Grace's Logo

Christina
"It's so glazie, it's crazy!"

Christina created a box for her donut with a round window.
Her product name is Crazy Glazie Donuts

Christina's donut looks good enough to eat, but it is made of clay!

Here is what Christina's box looks like in Illustrator.

Christina's Logo

EMMA
"The glasses that make you sing!"

Emma made a box for eye glasses that have a built in iPod.
Her box has an Emoji for the face and the glasses are on the outside. It is called iglasses!

Here is what Emma's box looks like on Illustrator

Emma's Logo

AVA
"From caterpillar to butterfly, watch the magic before your eyes!"

Ava created a butterfly oven box for a caterpillar that
bakes and turns into a butterfly cookie!
This is called Cocoa Cocoons

Ava created her caterpillar out of balls of clay

Here is Ava's box drawn in Illustrator

Ava's Logo

CYNTHIA
"Find your own with a phone"

Cynthia made a box for a cat collar that connects to your phone.
It is called Track A Cat

Cynthia's cat collar is made of fabric, a metal clasp and clay

Here is what Cynthia's box looks like in Illustrator

Cynthia's Logo

MAYA
"The lava that's cool enough to eat!"

Maya created a bottle of hot sauce in the shape of a volcano
and her package fits her bottle perfectly! It is called Lava Sauce.

Maya made her hot sauce bottle out of clay and paint.

Here is what Maya's box looks like drawn in Adobe Illustrator.

Maya's Logo

FOURTH GRADE GRAPHICS . . . package designs!

We learned how to be package designers in graphic arts this year! This was a long process for our creative thinkers in graphic arts. It all started with an idea for a product we wanted to build. We had to come up with the name for our product, a logo design and a box design.

As described in the 5th grade post above, we started in the art room and built our product out of clay and cardboard. Once these were complete, we experimented with plain white paper to build a box that would fit around the product. With our sample boxes and an idea for a name and a logo, we met in the computer lab to finish our boxes.

The logo for our box was drawn on Adobe Illustrator. Then using the measurements for our box based on the paper sample boxes, we designed the flattened box on Illustrator and created a window for the front of the box. We decided on a color for the box, placed the logo on each side, added a tag line and any other information that might be needed for the box, such as a made-up website, or a UPC symbol!

Here is what 4th graders created:

NICO
"Time to Shine"

Nico created a watch and called it FENG

His watch is made of clay, paint
and corrugated paper.

Here is how Nico's box looked after it was drawn in Illustrator with his FENG logo

Nico's logo

DAKOTA 
"There's no skating around a deal this good!"

Dakota created a mini hockey stick set
called 8S.

Dakota created his hockey stick and puck
out of clay and paint.

This is how Dackota's box looked after drawing it in Adobe Illustrator with his 8S logo

Dakota's Logo

NOAH
"For every perfect bite"

Noah created a fork
that seasons your food as you eat it!
It is called Salty Spike.

Noah's fork has actual salt in a plastic tube.

Here is how Noah's box looks drawn in Illustrator with his Salty Spike logo.

This is Noah's logo design

LOGAN
"The ball that serves and returns"

Logan created a tennis ball that you hit and it comes back like a boomerang.
It is called BoomBall.

Logan's tennis balls are made out of clay and paint

Here is how Logan's box looks drawn in Illustrator with his BoomBall logo

This is Logan's logo design

FOURTH GRADE . . . Flowers are in bloom!

Painting by Claire

If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Fourth graders paused in their busy schedules at school to admire the beautiful work of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), an American artist, best known for her studies of nature. She often zoomed in on her subjects, getting us all to slow down and notice the beauty she captured in the world around her. She did not paint an entire field of flowers, but instead focused on the shapes and colors of just one blossom.

As well as inspiring us to admire the details in a single flower, a sea shell, or even an animal skull, Georgia O'Keeffe was also a master of color and blending. To follow her example, we each chose a photograph of something from nature and drew the image very large on our canvases. Then, we selected our color palette, considering carefully how to create the best blends.

To make two colors blend together, we referred to the color wheel. Colors that are close to each other on the wheel will make the most natural blends. Adding white will create a tint of the color and adding darker hues will create a shade of the color. Any of these color choices would work well. To blend the colors directly on the canvas, we worked in one area at a time, letting our paintbrushes do the blending. For a flower with many petals, that meant applying wet colors and blending them together before they dry, one petal at a time. In Claire's painting above, not only does the flower show a blend from yellow to orange, but her background also blends from purple to pink and really highlights the beautiful, bright yellow of her blossom.

These fourth grade nature paintings are sure to be the highlight of our upcoming art show this week and I am just as proud for them to grace the screen of my art blog. Bravo to all my artists! Here are more examples of what we will be showing off in the gallery later this week. To see everyone's paintings, follow this link to our home page on artsonia.com. http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Painting by Sophia

Painting by Lindsay

Painting by Luke

Painting by Araiya

Painting by Syena

Painting by Jason