Artist of the Week 12 / 19 / 2020

4th Graders have been working on some landscape pictures for the hallway. We talked about evergreen trees, or conifers, and learned that there are many more kinds than just our state tree, the pine tree. Students used oil pastel and then finished their work with tempera water paint. There are many beautiful examples and more will be going up in the hallway throughout this winter season.
The student I am choosing to recognize today is part of an awesome group of friends. They all do amazing work in the art room. They often share ideas and techniques, but also aren't afraid to go their own way and make artwork that looks different than their friends. This student is quiet and creative and always does a great job! I really like the purples that she mixed into her sky, the different greens she used in her trees and the shadows she put under them. Nice work IC in Ms. Phippen's 4th Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week

Artist of the Week 12 / 12 / 2019

• It's pretty much any teacher's dream when a student takes a skill that they learned in the classroom and then takes that information home to expand on it. The student I am recognizing this week did just that! This student is kind, respectful, and challenges themself in the art room. They weren't happy with their first results when cutting snowflakes, but kept trying, knowing and believing that they could do better. They were able to get a product that they liked better in class, but also took this technique home and then expanded on the idea, carefully balancing their cut snowflakes in this mobile! I hope they won't mind if I share this idea with other 5th graders! Nice work HL in Mrs. Gerrish's 5th Grade Class, Artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 12 / 4 / 2019

  Fourth Graders have been learning about the Color Wheel. If you organize the 3 Primary Colors in a triangle and then put the Secondary Colors that are created by the pairs of Primary Colors between them you will get a simple Color Wheel. There is a special relationship between a Primary Color and a Secondary Color directly across from each other on the wheel. These three groupings are called Complimentary Colors. Students created a painting using one set of Complimentary Colors. There were some beautiful peace signs, an amazing fox, and other really cool paintings, but the student I am choosing to recognize really took his time mixing different purples to put on top of his yellow background. Congratulations LC in Ms. Phippen's 4th Grade Class for his painting of a British Flag using complimentary colors, student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 11 / 21 / 2019

In Bath, we are lucky to have a great art teacher at Dike Newell School. Mrs. Main, does a great job teaching our younger students how to safely work in the art room, to focus, make quality work and be creative. Students come to FMS with great knowledge about art. I am so pleased that they all know about their Primary Colors, Yellow, Red, and Blue, when they get here in 3rd grade. (Thanks, Mrs. Main!)
  Recently we have been looking at the art work of Piet Mondrian, who used the 3 primary colors and black to make his geometric art with straight lines. 3rd Graders did a great job using rulers to plan these pieces and then carefully painted them. The artist I am choosing to recognize this week is quiet and always paying attention. I really like the careful job they did painting their piece, and I am not sure I can paint lines as carefully as they did. I also really like how there is a certain symmetry in this piece, but it is not exact symmetry. A 5th grade friend who was admiring the art work noticed the balance of the three colored areas. It is for all these reasons I am happy to recognize EG in Ms. Newkirks's class, Student Artist of the Week! I know her older sister will be proud!

Artist of the Week 11 / 14 / 2019

   As many of you know the 5th graders have been studying Dia De Los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) in Art Class. Last week I gave students a choice of either continuing on this project or starting something new. Many students needed to give their energy to a new project, but I was happy that some students continued with their Dia De Los Muertos projects because they had such a good start.

 
   Sometimes in art class we are asked to try new things and the art we end up making might not have that much personal meaning to us. The student that I am choosing to recognize this week made this project very personal and I think it's awesome! Congratulations AO in Ms Hoskins 5th Grade class, student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 10 / 7 / 2019

It's unfortunate that my Friday classes are missing out on so many days in the Art Room. Between Professional Development Days, Storms and Holidays, they miss out on many classes. That's one of the reasons that many 5th Graders haven't finished their Dia De Los Muertos, or Day Of The Dead drawings. The Day Of The Dead, is not a sad or scary holiday. It started in Mexico, and is about honoring and celebrating people we have lost. Mexican art made for Dia De Los Muertos shows skeletons either celebrating or doing everyday things. 5th graders did the same.


The student I am recognizing this week can be very helpful. They always do a quality job and work quickly, and for that reason they are one of the few students who has completed their drawing. Nice work CS in Mrs. Gerrish's 5th Grade class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 10 / 31 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize today has asked many times, "When am I going to be the Artist of the Week?" I have told them many times to be patient and keep trying, and for the post part they have. I feel very fortunate to work with all the students in our school and I hope they know how great it is to see the art they make when they really try, but I can only recognize one student per week.


Last week instead of asking, "When am I going to be Artist of the Week?" this student asked, "When is someone in my grade level going to be Artist of the Week?" Later, I saw them struggle to use scissors to cut fabric, keep trying until they figured it out, and then help others with the new skill they learned. In this one class they showed me how they could be Community Minded, by thinking of others, and be Persistent, by sticking with something even though it was difficult. Even though he's not quite done with his felt Jack O'Lantern I want to recognize LL in Ms. Phippen's 4th Grade as Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 10 / 24 / 2019

We have so much talent in our 3rd Grade! Every one of our students is doing their best. One of the projects we have done this year is an Animal Mash-Up to create a monster or imaginary creature just in time for Halloween. One of our students really impressed me with her creative ideas, quality work, and the composition of her drawing. Her background reminds me of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night with it's big, expressive stars! I am guessing that she has prior knowledge of mythological creatures, because she actually used two well known mash-ups from ancient Greece, the griffin, who is eagle and lion, and Medusa, who was a woman with hair made of live snakes! She combined them to make this totally new creature! Nice work MS in Ms. Zipperer's 3rd Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 10 / 3 / 2019 and 10 / 10 / 2019

This week I recognizing two students, one for the last week of September and one for the first week of October, which I missed because I chaperoned the FLOW canoe trip with BMS.

First I have to recognize the 5th Grade which have impressed me with their effort noticing details in their Observational Drawings of autumn leaves. I asked them to try a different project last week and I hope I didn't upset their progress. One student had great results in the first class period. He did a great job capturing the form of his leaf and using the water paint for his leaf and background. Nice work LR in 5 Roy, Student Artist of the Week for 10/3/19.

I also want to recognize the 3rd Grade for their awesome autumn landscape paintings the past 2 weeks. At this point they almost all have 2 paintings so they will be bringing one home and leaving one for the walls of our school. They all did so well it was difficult to choose. I am choosing this student for their use of color, overlapping, and layering nice work AT in Mr. Deane's 3rd Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week for 10/10/19.

Artist of the Week 9 / 26 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize today is quiet, but he's always paying attention to lessons and is respectful when working with others. He has impressed me with his ideas many times and I am happy to share an example of his creativity. Fourth Grade students have been working on affirmations, or "We Are" statements for the hall. His "We Are Smart" illustration features a young man hanging from a tree branch by one hand. The "We Are" part is created by floating twisting trees and the figure is exclaiming, "Smart" in a voice bubble. Each letter is unique and the "T" is a thunder cloud with a bolt of lightening coming out of it.. Amazing! Congratulations GE in Ms. LaFosse's 4th Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 9 / 19 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize is awesome to have in class. For three years I have watched him grow as an artist. He is developing his own personal style in his drawings and it is easy to imagine him designing graphic novels or games when he is an adult. In Enrichment Art he has tried some really ambitious projects and learned that sometimes we have to rethink our ideas to make them achievable. He is always KIND, RESPECTFUL, and RESPONSIBLE, three things we hope all our FMS students will strive to be.


For one of our first projects 5th Graders have experimented with oil pastels to create Overlapping Lines. I am recognizing this students work for the Creativity he displayed in the quality of his lines, the Craftsmanship his work shows with its' neat groupings of lines with no space between, and the Composition of the completed piece. Nice work JB in Mrs. Gerrish's 5th Grade Class, Artist of the Week

Artist of the Week 9 / 12 / 2019

It has been so good to see all of my Fourth and Fifth Grade friends, and meet our new Third Graders. I would like to say thank you to drawings and paintings that some of you have given me! In the past week I have seen many students working hard to push their creativity and come up with cool ways to display their names on our new Art Bulletin Board.

The student I am choosing to recognize this week, like many others, is someone I have been keeping my eye on for a long time. In the Art Room she is quiet and focused. She always does quality work, but at the same time is able to work quickly and is not afraid to make mistakes. She knows that as long as she is trying, there will be something cool about what she has created.


She made designing her name for our poster look easy. She tried out a couple ideas, found one that she liked, and did this quality color draft all in one day. Check out her amazing dragon letters! Nice work J.J. in Ms. Roy's 5th Grade class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 5 / 30 / 2019

This student is always conscientious. They are thoughtful when speaking and when making their art. This recently revisited and finished a print making project. It was a pleasure to hear his classmates excitement when he showed them his work. Nice work EM in Mrs. Gerrish's 5th Grade Class, student artist of the week, for his first person adventurer print.

Artist of the Week 5 / 23 / 2019

 Choosing the artist of the week is always a difficult task. I try to pick the student from the previous school week after assessing all the work and their behaviors. The art piece I am choosing to recognize this week was actually made a couple of weeks ago. This student is an English language learner, meaning that during the first part of their life they spoke a different language. A lot of us have had to move to a different school or could imagine having to. Can you imagine moving to a new school where you don't speak the language that is used in the school?

This student is usually quiet, but is always listening. A few weeks ago when 3rd Graders were experimenting mixing Secondary Colors he made this amazing artwork. Most students filled in approximately an equal amount of their puzzle pieces with their Secondary Colors. I love how this student used mostly dark purple and rich red oranges, and only sparkling bits of green. This abstract work makes me feel a sense of wonder and power. Nice work GB in Ms. Levesque's 3rd Grade Class, student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 5 / 16 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize today is new to FMS this year. As I write this I realize what a great addition to our school community our new students have been. Many of these students have entered our system with great attitudes both in interacting with their classmates and teachers and trying their best in their academic work. 5th Grade students have been creating a Relief Sculpture out of Ceramic Clay. A relief sculpture is sculpted, but not in the round. It has a flat back elements that pop off of that background. The faces on a coin are relief sculptures in low relief. Many students have had great success with this project and I am very excited to see them all glazed. Today I am choosing to recognize a student for their tree with one piece of fruit hanging from it’s branches, EH in Ms. Hoskins’ 5th Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist Of The Week 5 / 8 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize today has come a long way since the start of the year. Art Class has not always been easy for them, partly because they are a natural artist with lots of their own ideas. Sometimes students like this have a hard time trying new projects because they want to make art their own way. I always try to give students an opportunity to put their own ideas into their work, but I do have to ensure that they learn certain things and practice different skills. This student has been doing an amazing job cooperating with me in the art room. What I really like about this piece is that the artist made a plan and then made it a reality by doing Careful, Quality Work! Check out his awesome painting that he created using the Secondary Colors: Orange, Green, and Purple that he mixed himself and the Primary Color Red. Nice Work BW from Mr. Deane’s 3rd Grade Class, student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 5 / 2 / 2019

 This week I am recognizing a 4th Grade student for having great success with their weaving project. In this case weaving includes threading yarn over and under the strings that cross our looms. Creating a full weaving takes a degree of skill of the hands, mastering some simple knots, and the perseverance to continue the repetitive motions until the piece is completed. Although challenging for some, many students in our 4th Grade have already completed multiple weavings. The young woman I am choosing to recognize this week has seemed much happier in art class lately. Ever since she made a really nice Asian Dragon she has smiled more, been more motivated to make quality work, and has interacted more with her classmates. She has been happy to help me and other students which has not always been the case. It is really nice to see, and I am very thankful to see her shine in this way. She is also on her 3rd weaving! Congratulations AB in Mrs. Towle's 4th Grade Class student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 4 / 25 / 2019

  Today I am recognizing a student who is quiet and is always paying attention in Art Class. He works hard on his art both in and outside of the art room. As we have been finishing up our project he has been unable to stop adding more details, including a bow and quiver, a sword and shield, and a helmet. Congratulations to DD in Mrs. Wheeler’s 5th Grade Class!

Artist of the Week 3 / 28 / 2019

All the winter artwork is down at Fisher Mitchell School and art work celebrating spring is going up in the hallways. You may have seen some 3rd Grade landscapes showing overlapping green hills and trees just starting to bud. Many students did a really nice job on these. I especially like some of the examples from Mrs. Walsh’s class. 

The student I am choosing to recognize today is an very nice and quiet young women. She takes her time and always does quality work. The purple she put in her sky makes me think of a damp spring day. I also enjoy that she has a new baby fox with its mother, as we know that spring is the time when many animals have their young. Congratulations M G-B in Mrs. Walsh’s 3rd Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week!

Artist of the Week 3 / 21 / 2019

The student I am choosing to recognize today has a strong interest in art. He regularly participates in extra art, as well as working on projects in his free time and outside of school. He likes to take his art in his own direction. This year we have done a lot of work together helping him to learn how to respectfully make a project more his own. As you might know, we have done a lot of work with Asian Dragons in 4th Grade. The Asian Dragon is kind of a mash-up of different animals, so 4th Grade students were invited to sculpt a clay dragon or come up with another kind of animal mash up. This student asked if he could sculpt his favorite deejay, who is a kind of a mash up between a marsh mellow and a man. He succeeded in doing something extremely difficult: using clay to make a freestanding figure balanced on two legs. He is also completing this very cool cardboard skateboard. Congratulations B.C. in Ms. Phippen's 4th Grade Class student artist of the week!

Artist of the Week 3 / 14 /2019

  

The student I am choosing to recognize this week has become very interested in art during the time I have known her. She is a fast worker and always completes her projects, although sometimes I wish she would slow down just a little bit to concentrate on her craftsmanship. She has participated in Extra Art making very cool sculptures and she loves working with oil pastel. She is one of the first students in the 5th grade to finish her hand sewn hand puppet. Congratulations to IR in Mrs. Gerrish’s 5th Grade Class, Student Artist of the Week! Nice Goat!

Artist of the Week 3 / 7 / 2019

I usually like to recognize artist and their finished art works, but in all grades our students work is in the process of being completed. 4th Graders are just beginning their clay sculptures. After a review of using ceramic clay, a demonstration on building our project, and a draft for the following week 4th Grade students were given the opportunity to make a small pendant. They were required to be rather flat and to experiment with texture or lines in this quick piece. 

The student I am choosing to recognize has a great imagination and an interesting sense of humor. He often surprises me by taking his projects to a next level. There are many very cool pendants that were started last week and I can’t wait to see them glazed and hung on a string. This student did something that no other student and started to sculpt a creature popping out of the pendant. This is called sculpting in relief. An example of a relief sculpture is a face on one of our coins. Congratulations to W. R. in Mrs. Towles’s 4th Grade, Student Artist of the Week, for his relief of a dragon on this cool start to his medallion. I will be sure to share a photo of this piece when it is done.

Artist of the Week 1 / 16 / 2019

Did you know 5th grade students have been learning about physics and chemistry in art class? 5th graders have been studying and creating snowflakes. We looked at beautiful pictures of snowflakes and watched a video about how they form. Snowflakes have 6 symmetrical arms because of the way that water molecules arrange themselves around a piece of dust when a snowflake is forming in cold weather. We are doing a couple of projects using snowflakes. The first project involves using oil pastels and water paints to create beautiful snowflake inspired artworks! You can see more of them in the hallway in the 4th and 5th grade wing. The student I am choosing to recognize this week might be better known for her animal drawings, but she really did an awesome job on this assignment! Her teacher even said if her kid made it she might frame it! Nice work C. W. in Mrs. Wheeler's 5th grade class!