FIFTH GRADE . . . Presenting our sketches

Each week, 5th graders come into art class with drawings that they complete at home. Some of the assignments might ask for them to use their observational skills and draw objects from life, in pencil only and as realistic as possible. Other drawings can highlight their design skills and call for working in color and patterns. Drawing from our imagination is another option, as is drawing an animated sketch and trying our hands at cartoon style illustrations.

Last week, 5th grade artists celebrated the colors of the season by creating a pattern with leaves. As students came up to present their drawings to the class, they also presented an artist statement, giving us more information about their art and getting us more engaged in the presentation. Classmates then had the opportunity to offer a critique to the artist. We are all learning how to talk about art, use art vocabulary, and we are learning how to appreciate the artwork of others.

Here are four very different interpretations of this week's assignment. Please contribute to our conversation by adding your own comments at the bottom of this post. Our featured artists for this blog post would love to hear from you!

Grace created a pattern on the page by alternating different colors and shapes of leaves and forming a beautiful star-like design. Some thought it looked like a snowflake design too!

Ashley drew a full page scene. Her landscape shows a pattern in the repetition of the tall trees and with the fluttering leaves falling to the ground. A pattern within a pattern is also visible in the veins inside each leaf!

Michael has us focusing on a perfectly drawn leaf. The blending of light to dark green for his coloring is so well done. We can almost imagine the color changing as the season passes. His patterns are exhibited in the colors of the leaf, in the natural beauty of the veins, and in the small corner leaves on the page.

Tyge has a wonderful sketchy style when he draws and it works perfectly in a sketch like this one! We can sense that this is not just a forced arrangement of leaves, but a glimpse at a real pile of leaves. One gust of wind and the leaves could easily fall into another arrangement. His sketchy lines give us that sense of transience and movement.


What do you think about these sketches? How well have these artists represented this colorful and changing season? Please add your comments below!

FOURTH GRADE... Photoshopping our selfies!

Fourth graders discovered the magic of Adobe Photoshop in our general art class. Each student began with their image and learned the basic steps to crop, re-size, and adjust the brightness scale. Then they explored the artistic filters to create these amazing transformations. A favorite transformation occurs in the Liquify window with tools that slide pixels around on the screen, bloat or pucker areas of the image, and create swirls like in a Vincent van Gogh painting.

There are many photo editing programs and apps out there for people to use with their digital images, but the special effects cannot be controlled or customized. With Photoshop, our fourth graders learned how to create an original work of art out of a photograph, all on their own!

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

PRE-KINDERGARTEN . . . Tracing our hands and feet!

Artwork by Brooklyn

Artwork by Ryland

Artwork by Josiah

Artwork by Andrew

Pre-Kindergarten artists worked with many different materials for these portraits. We started out by tracing our hands onto big paper and coloring them in with colors and patterns we enjoy. Then we took off our shoes to trace them onto the paper too. The idea that we would actually trace our feet brought out many giggles in art!

Our faces were created out of a pad of multicultural face-shaped papers. We added eyes, noses and mouths and glued the faces at the top of the paper. To complete the portraits we glued down strips of colored paper to best match our own hair color.


 Making a portrait that represents who we are is a fun and creative way to get to know each other in class. We can't wait to share all of them with you at our art show next month! To see all of our work, please visit our home page on Artsonia.com and scroll down through the exhibits to the Pre-Kindergarten portraits.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

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 . . . A Modern Mona Lisa!

Portrait by Brooks

Portrait by Juily

Portrait by Mia G.

Portrait by Jonathan

As an introduction into the rich world of art history, first graders learned about the "Mona Lisa," painted by Leonardo da Vinci. To create our self-portraits, we drew our faces, shoulders and folded hands just like in the famous portrait by da Vinci, and colored them in with a color palette that best represents each of us.

In the "Mona Lisa," the subject of the painting is the portrait. The background is the area behind the subject, represented as a soft landscape that seems to be very far away.

To make the distinction between the subject and the background in our pictures, we created two separate works of art. The subject of our pictures is a portrait drawn with bright colors and fine details. The background was created as a landscape with watercolors in softer, more muted tones. Some students created a pattern with colors, just like with Sydney's beautiful background below. Tyler blended his colors together and this gave him a  lovely painterly appearance, as you might see in an impressionist landscape.

Subject by Sydney

Background by Sydney

Subject by Tyler

Background by Tyler

Our portraits were personalized to look just like us with hair and eye colors that best represent us. As Sydney did, some students wrote or drew something special on their shirt. Other students, such as Tyler, drew a favorite pet or toy in their arms, and this also helps to identify who they are. The portraits were then cut out of the paper they were drawn on. On the back of these portraits Styrofoam strips were added so that the portraits would look 3-D when we attached them to the backgrounds. This distance between the subject and the background gives our portraits a sense of perspective.

To see all of our Mona Lisa style portraits, visit our home page on Artsonia.com and scroll through the list of exhibits to first grade portraits.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

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

SECOND GRADE . . . What kind of Lego figure would you be?

All students in Lower School are creating a self-portrait in art class and second graders transformed themselves into Lego figures! Using the basic look of the mini figures in a Lego set, students personalized the figures to represent their personality or their appearance. For example, they carefully chose a color palette, selecting hair and eye colors to match how they look. Or perhaps they let us know who they were by the details in their clothing or the items they hold in their hands.

What kind of Lego figure would you be? An artist like Ava, or perhaps a soccer player like Alexander? Each drawing is as unique and special as the personalities that fill our class. To see all of our Lego self-portraits, follow this link to our home page of Artsonia.com and scroll down through our exhibits... http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

In the art room, our Lego box is used to create sculptures. Part of each period in art is designated for group instruction and project work. Another part of each period is free time and this is where students can explore their creativity independently. Building a three-dimensional design with these colorful blocks is always a sure way to inspire the creativity in all of us.

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

BEGINNERS . . . Bringing art to life!

Artwork by Mariella

Artists in Lower School are working on their self-portraits for the fall art exhibition later next month in Panther Hall gallery. Our youngest artists are discovering how to represent themselves on paper using their favorite colors. Their drawings are wonderful and spontaneous depictions of how they perceive the world. It is an exciting discovery in self-expression and creative pride that begins as early as Beginner classes at Ranney School.

Can you picture the well known M&M cartoon character with his arms and legs coming out of the head of the round candy? You might see this same characterization in any child's drawing. As young artists perceive people around them, the face is the most important element of anyone they meet, and everything (such as arms and legs) are simply extensions of the face. There might be a body between the head and the legs, but in their eyes, it is not as important to recognize or represent in their artwork.

We expect children to depict reality on paper, yet how can we get them to notice what is not important to them? One thing all children relate to easily are their soft, cuddly animals and dolls. If they get to design their own softies, they would need to make decisions that travel beyond where the eyes and mouth go on the face. For example, what color would they choose for the body or the tail if it is an animal, or the shirt or dress if it is a person? Beginner artists drew a self-portrait coming up with many decisions for color choices for each part of their portrait. Then, using fabric samples donated to the art room, I turned each of these wonderful depictions into a softie and brought their drawings to life!

As the year progresses and we continue to explore art with Beginners, it will be exciting to see if our experiment in turning flat art into a 3D manipulative doll will make a difference in how they see people and how to represent them on paper. With new innovation labs and maker spaces added to Ranney School within each division, I would encourage all of my artists to develop their creative thinking skills by exploring unexpected ways of turning their ideas into three-dimensional designs.

A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Brown (Laney '23 and Lexi '25) for donating these wonderful books of fabric to the Lower School art room and making our softies possible.

Artwork by Odin

Artwork by Hayden

Artwork by Matthew

Artwork by Patrick

Artwork by Andrew

Artwork by David

Artwork by Lilly

Artwork by Marlena

Artwork by Oliver

Artwork by Yuze

FIFTH GRADE . . . Drawing on the iPad!

Our 5th grade self-portraits are digital portraits! We used an app on the iPad called, Sketchbook Pro. This app allows us to work from a photograph and to work in layers. In the tools palette of the app you are able to select from a pencil, pen, paintbrush, airbrush, eraser, chisel marker and many other art tools. In addition, you are able to choose the weight of line, the opacity of the color and work in colors from a variety of different palettes. The choice of how you draw and what you can create is endless!

David Hockney
iPad Illustration for the New Yorker

David Hockney is a famous present day artist from England, well known for his bold and colorful canvases. Mr. Hockney has also become known for his digital artwork as well, using drawing apps and creating illustrations for the cover of the New Yorker Magazine. Creating art on a tablet or phone is no longer just a game or a way to pass the time, it is used by many artists as their modern day sketchpad and can be considered a serious art form that reflects our time.

Here is a quote by David Hockney...
“People from the village come up and tease me: ‘We hear you’ve started drawing on your telephone,’” Mr. Hockney said in a quotation displayed in the exhibition. “And I tell them, ‘Well, no, actually, it’s just that occasionally I speak on my sketch pad.’”




When we drew our portraits, we worked in layers. One layer was our drawing layer, using a thin black line. The next layer was our color layer and we could choose from many colors in a variety of color palettes, as well as pick up a color directly from the photograph. The final layer was created for the background design and that layer sits behind everything else. To see all of the portraits that have been completed, check out our exhibition page on Artsonia.com.
http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

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

BEGINNERS . . . October colors!

Our 3 year old artists learned the magic of mixing colors in art class! For the month of October we learned how to create the color  ORANGE  by blending together red and yellow paints.

With our mixed colors, we painted big orange circles on the paper with a paintbrush. These large circles became a Jack-O-Lantern after we added a stem, eyes, and a big smiling mouth.

To create the  GREEN  grass, we mixed blue and yellow together. This new blended color became the green grass at the bottom of our paintings.

Here are some examples of our finished Jack-O-Lanterns! To see all of our work, click on this link for artsonia and look through our art projects. Happy Halloween everyone!
http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Painting by Marlena

Painting by Odin

Painting by Andrew

Painting by Patrick

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