Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Artist of the Week 1/31/18



 On occasion, when I feel like 2 students worked together, or were influenced by each other, I will recognize them both as Artist of the Week. Here we again look at two examples of work created by arranging Geometric Shapes (shapes that have rules) to create Abstract Portraits (an abstract work focusing on the face). Both of these 5th grade students have impressed me many times with the art works they create. One of these students makes most things school related look easy. He always does careful, quality work when working on assignments in the art room. The other student often impresses me with his sense of design and how he often uses abstract patterns and shapes to make a project his own. From the start of this assignment I used one of these two students’ work to show how he created a very interesting balance to his piece by arranging his shapes almost (but not quite) Symmetrically. The other student, upon taking time to really appreciate his classmate’s work, decided to start over and create an abstract portrait that displays true Symmetry. I has been a great pleasure to watch these two young men learn from each other in the art room and I have been waiting for the right moment to recognize them both as Artist of the Week.   Nice job A. S. and C. M. in Mrs. Wheeler’s 5th Grade Class!

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Artist Of The Week 1/24/2018


This week’s artist of the week is very kind, super helpful, and always makes quality artwork. I have seen her grow over the years and I am always impressed by how she reaches out to students who might be having trouble in the art room. Last week I suffered a mild concussion from an ice skating accident. (Make sure you wear your helmets folks!) When I got back to school Wednesday morning I was very curious to see the notes that the substitute teacher had left for me. Fifth Grade classes were asked to work on a project that they had started previously. We are learning about Geometric Shapes, or “shapes that have rules.” We reviewed some of the Abstract Portraits painted by Pablo Picasso, and then 5th Grade students were asked to create a portrait using only Geometric Shapes! Now, this student didn’t exactly follow the instructions, because her picture isn’t actually a portrait, but that’s ok sometimes in Art Class. She did do a careful job tracing her shapes, coloring them in, and using the whole page. She also made me chuckle by creating an expression of surprise on her Geometric Figure at the center of her composition. Nice work Madison B. in 5 Hoskins!

Friday, January 12, 2018

2nd Artist of the Week 1/12/18

We are going to do things a little differently this week and recognize a student artist this Friday, 1/12/18. I want you all to be aware that we are losing to really awesome young women artists because they are moving to Montana. Riley St. Pierre has been recognized twice for her artworks, a flying fox princess, and a flying paper dragon sculpture. I want to take a moment to recognize her little sister Morgan, known as “Mo” in the art room. Mo has serious drawing skills. She has been working on an ambitious painting in Enrichment Art. The concept, or idea, of her painting is very cool! Mo carefully studied Leonardo D’Vinci’s famous portrait, “The Mona Lisa”. She then used her imagination to put Princess Peach, from the Super Mario Bros. video game, into a similar pose and placed the princess in an environment that includes other characters from the game. She just finished her painting yesterday and I want you to all take a moment to look at it. I put it up across from the entrance to the cafeteria. Awesome job Mo! and best of luck to both sisters on there journey to there new home in beautiful and exciting Montana!

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Artist Of The Week 1/10/18

Today I am choosing to recognize a student in Ms. Newkirk’s 3rd Grade class. I noticed her interest in art almost immediately when she entered my classroom. This student is an accomplished artist and has already developed her own style. She shares a fondness for foxes with many of our students, and these furry animals find their way into many of her drawings. She has also started a paper mache fox in Enrichment Art and created this Flying Arctic Fox   in our make up “Free Day” for students who missed out before our Holiday Break due to the early release. Her classroom teacher even told me that this student plans to give an art lesson to her 3rd grade class in future weeks. Amazing! Nice work Ada B!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Artist of the Week 1/3/2018

It has been a tradition in the FMS Art Room to have a day of free exploration of various crafts on the week before the holiday break since the days when I shared my responsibilities at FMS with WCS teacher Laura Devin. This allows students to create gifts and cards for their family and/or create art in a less structured way, and in interest areas of their choice. It is a fun and sometimes hectic day, and each student must do their part to exercise patience, share resources, and advocate for their needs, both for materials and my assistance. There truly were so many awesome art works created this week. Please see examples here. I may have said to more than one student that I was so impressed that they may be the new years first Artist of the Week. When the dust settled and the art room was put back together I looked through the photos I took of students work. I thought about originality, craftsmanship, the ability to work well with others, and work independently. I chose to recognize Charles T. in Ms. Phippen’s 4th Grade for his boat, complete with sail and sailor, that really floats (we tested it in the sink)! Nice work!