"Every Child is an Artist" August 30, 2013
So said Pablo Picasso. There are many things to love about spending the days with student artists. One of these is their ability to follow my directions in their own unique way. This is a first grade drawing, done in Sharpie marker (no erasing!) and showing an expression. Just look at this masterpiece! The teeth, the earrings, the tongue complete with taste buds! Love it!!
They're Baaack! August 16, 2013
We spent our first week learning rules and routines. Students also made covers for the sketchbooks we will be using in class. As I told many of my art classes, I have the best job in the world!
Getting Ready! July 29, 2013
The classroom is really taking shape! It has been wonderful to set up here at Northwood knowing I will be here everyday once school starts. I seem to arrive here each day with new ideas.
Today, my daughter and her friends moved all of the clay into my storage closet. I am so grateful for their help and enjoyed their company!
Today, my daughter and her friends moved all of the clay into my storage closet. I am so grateful for their help and enjoyed their company!
Traveling Days Are Over! May 17, 2013
After traveling between three elementary schools for the last couple of years, I am thrilled to be the new full time Art teacher at Northwood Elementary School in Roswell, GA. Looking forward to generating lots of excitement in my new classroom soon!
Passion Day May 9, 2013
Each teacher was asked to share a passion of theirs with a small group of students. My group consisted of twelve 4th and 5th graders. I had prepared Chicago-style deep dish pizza last night and baked it this morning. The basic idea of my cluster was making connections with people through food, and also by making and sharing art. The pizza was a big hit! After we snacked, we created pizzas out of foam. Students made a pizza to share and one to keep. I will be including my Twitter account on the back and placing these out and about near our school. Hopefully, people will tweet me with the news that they have found one of our pizzas!
Artist Day April 26, 2013
1,100 students rotated among performances and presentations by all types of artists. There were visual artists, of course, such as painters, potters and origami experts. We also had a storyteller, an improv duo, and all kinds of musical performers. Kudos to Dierdre Christian at Roswell North ES for an amazing day! Where else can you find three classes of kindergartners rocking out to a steel drum band on a Friday afternoon???
"Growing Like Weeds" April 10, 2013
-something my dad always says about children- first his own, then his grandchildren, and now even his great-grands. It is always remarkable to me just how much my students grow over the course of a school year. It's bittersweet to see them getting taller, losing teeth, and growing into their own people. This time can seem so fleeting! I hope each and every one of them are treasured by the people they love.
Fifth Graders are preparing to create a Legacy artwork, representing this time in their lives as they prepare to leave elementary school and head to middle school. These students have taken photographs of each other to be added to this artwork. Fifth graders can be sassy sometimes. They are, after all, the big cheeses of the school. What a treat it was to check their photos after class and see their sweet, smiling faces!
Fifth Graders are preparing to create a Legacy artwork, representing this time in their lives as they prepare to leave elementary school and head to middle school. These students have taken photographs of each other to be added to this artwork. Fifth graders can be sassy sometimes. They are, after all, the big cheeses of the school. What a treat it was to check their photos after class and see their sweet, smiling faces!
Critique March 20, 2013
First Grade students admired each other's paper sculptures as we circulated from table to table. Students were allowed to give two positive comments to each of their fellow artists. It was gratifying to hear about all of those art elements and principles in our discussion!
Glazing Days March 13, 2013
In the Art room, some of my favorite days are the ones the students spend glazing their clay pieces. This week, Fourth Graders were reunited with their face jugs, which had been recently bisque fired. There were six colors of glaze and brushes on tables around the room. Students carried their face jugs to the glazes they chose, applying three careful colors of each. Excitement filled the air!
Integrating Technology March 7, 2013
The Foundation at Roswell North Elementary has generously provided each teacher with an iPad for classroom use. This has allowed me to convert to an entirely paperless system for tracking attendance, grades, and discipline. I have also used it to film and photograph students at work in the Art room. This week, students took turns teaching the rest of their class about tricks artists use to show depth in an artwork. The iPad was connected directly to the projector. Reproductions of artwork had already been photographed and were used with the "Show Me" app. Students used a stylus to indicate size, placement on the picture plane, and value in each area of the artworks (foreground, middle ground and background). Using the iPad is second nature if you're a third grader, but for me, this is new and exciting!
The joys of carpool duty! March 1, 2013
In the world of elementary school, if you're not a homeroom teacher, you are asked to help provide supervision before and after school. On Fridays, I am outside helping with carpool. In the morning, parents pull their cars up in front of school and I help make sure students exit their cars and walk inside safely. On the first Friday of every month, some of our students' fathers are out there, too. Today, the dads had music playing outside. One of them had a megaphone and was enjoying greeting our families. TGIF, for sure! And thanks, Dunwoody Springs Dads for a fun start to the day!
Weaving with paper February 20, 2013
Before this class, I had folded each of the scribbled papers in half and cut three lines in it to create warp for each student. The pink strips of paper were used as weft and we used the "over, under, over, under..." technique to weave the weft into the warp. Students who finished early became assistants and offered support to their classmates. Love the camaraderie this kind of lesson promotes!
Scribble, Scrabble! February 13, 2013
Kindergarten students are studying the pop artist Jim Dine. We learned to recognize his work because he frequently uses hearts and a background that looks like he scribbled to create it. This lesson will incorporate weaving and mono-printing. But the first day is definitely the most fun because we scribble. Students chose a crayon and used it to scribble over their entire piece of paper. I set the timer on my phone for one minute. When they heard the alarm, students stopped, chose another color and used it to scribble for one minute. We repeated this process a total of five times. The resulting layered color paper will make excellent warp for our weaving. Thank you, Pinterest, for the timed scribble idea! More photos to come.
"Why are we studying social studies?" February 7, 2013
Fourth Grade students are studying face jugs and their roots in the time of slavery. These clay containers may have been used as grave markers. I saw this story in the news and we discussed it in class.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/30/black-history-dies-in-southern-cemeteries/1877687/
The students were moved by the injustice of segregation and the fact that it continued even after death. At the end of class, a student asked the question above. It is all connected, don't you think??
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/30/black-history-dies-in-southern-cemeteries/1877687/
The students were moved by the injustice of segregation and the fact that it continued even after death. At the end of class, a student asked the question above. It is all connected, don't you think??
It's always nice to overhear... February 6, 2013
students repeat things I like to tell them about themselves. Today, I overheard this conversation between two kindergartners:
"I'm doing my best!" said the first student.
"Well, I am an artist!" said the second.
"I'm doing my best!" said the first student.
"Well, I am an artist!" said the second.
Collaborative Paper Sculpture February 5, 2013
Third Grade students have completed construction of their clay coil pots. We have one class in between construction and glazing which lends itself perfectly to this one day lesson.
We discussed the Seattle glas artist pictured here, Jason Gamrath. I circulated around the classroom with a piece of his work. The excitement was building! And then I revealed that I have known this artist his entire life because.....
He's my nephew!
We discussed the Seattle glas artist pictured here, Jason Gamrath. I circulated around the classroom with a piece of his work. The excitement was building! And then I revealed that I have known this artist his entire life because.....
He's my nephew!
Jason's appreciation for the beauty and complexity of nature was nurtured by a childhood spent surrounded by amazing gardens. His mom is the most gifted gardener I know.
With Jason's mom, Lisa at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
With Jason's mom, Lisa at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
Jason's Glass
At Black Hat Studio
with some of his much larger than life creations
Our Sculpture
Students were inspired to think like a glass artist. Using paper, scissors and glue, how many ways could we find to manipulate our materials? Students created paper forms at their seats and then added them to our poster board base. They were also allowed to attach forms to things that other students had already created and added. I loved walking around the classroom and hearing them say things like, "This is fun!" and "This is going to be so cool!"