Leafy Stop-Motion- RES

My Wednesday third graders are at different places in their work than the rest of the grade, so we were lucky to have enough time for a fun and silly one-day project last week.  Students colored a picture (or two) of leaves on a tree, and I created a stop motion video of all of pictures together using an app that is new to me, iStopMotion.

I have done claymation and dry erase stop motion, but attempting sequential drawings made by different artists was also new to me. Think about a flip book, but a different person doing each page.  Here is what we created:

Now, before you tell me "Hm. Not so hot.", let me tell you, I know. Not everything works in the art room, and I want to share that fact.  Not everything works anywhere. And if this blog is to be a true picture of what I teach and how it goes with kids, it needs to be honest.

I love stop motion, but in reflection, here are some ways it could have worked better:
•The group could decide on mutual colors or materials to make it more cohesive-looking.
•Small groups or individuals could do their own over several classes to keep work stylistically similar.
•The line weight of the sharpie could be thicker, heavier, and more dynamic.
•The objects could be larger- the sun is an element that worked well, because it is easier to visually track than the leaves.
•It needs music! Or narration?

We'll try it again, because practice makes perfect!

Bowls Begin for the Harvest Festival- RES

At the end of October is the annual Harvest Festival to raise money for the RES Farm-to-School program. This year it will be held on October 25, at Monitor Barn.

Monitor Barn

 The 4th grade artists are continuing the tradition of making ceramic bowls for soup to be donated to the festival. Attendees can purchase a bowl of soup, select the bowl in which it is served, and can keep the bowl.
This week students are glazing the first of their two bowls using radial symmetry, and planned their designs first in pencil.

Students thought about these like pizzas, dividing their bowls into "slices."

It's easy to erase pencil on ceramic to make changes as needed.

After they were finished drawing, they began to glaze.

The glazes look very different once fired.

 It is amazing how the colors change in the kiln- the most surprising to the students is how the glaze that appears pink will turn blue during firing.

Two layers of glaze are recommended for the truest colors.

All bowls use food-safe glazes and are clearcoated before firing.

The pottery will be safe for the microwave and dishwasher. 

In Art class, I let students talk while they are working.  Some art teachers I have met ask for silent classrooms, but I feel that navigating social conversation is an important skill and allow students the space to practice that in art class. Consequently, conversations are often surprising and delightful. 

A few overheard gems from this morning's fourth grade class:

____________________________________________________

Sample 1-

Student A (boy) to Student B: You know, it just occurred to me to wonder, why are we talking to a girl?

Student B (boy): I don't know.

Me: Why wouldn't you?!

Student A: Because girls are gross.

Student C (the girl): No way, boys are gross. They pick their noses.

Student A: Actually, my mom picks her nose.  But she doesn't eat it.

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Sample 2-
Student A: I have a cat named Raven.

Student B: Raisin?

Student A: No, Raven. R-A-V-E-N.

Student B: Oh, because I thought you said Raisin.  I hate raisins.  I never eat them. They are all wrinkly and gross, and it would be like eating little old people.

_____________________________________________________

Just a day in the life.

Garden Mural- RES

You may already know that first grade artists here at RES are working on scientific drawing.  We began with our shoes and then moved onto leaves, incorporating lots of formative assessment in the style of peer feedback.

Last week we read Janet Stevens' book Tops and Bottoms to help us think about how plants have many parts.  If you haven't read it before, KnowWatchLearn has it in video format, which we used in the classroom to see the illustrations larger. The story is hilarious, as the hare outwits the lazy bear into selecting the inedible portions of each crop, and is a great introduction into plant parts.

Each students chose a vegetable. We began with a basic discussion of whether we eat the tops or bottoms of each vegetable.

Tops of vegetables

Bottoms of same vegetables as above

We then discussed how those "tops" and "bottoms" have other more specific names, such as leaves, stems, fruits, flowers, tubers, roots, bulbs, and seeds. Each student illustrated their vegetable in its entirety and wrote about what parts we eat, what parts they like, and some even chose to describe what the vegetable looks like. Special attention was given to leaf shapes and mixing shades of greens.

"Beets are red and green.  We eat the bottom."

 Look at that beet!  This student worked very carefully to mix just the right red, and really focused on the shapes of the leaves, and the way that the stems cluster together so tightly at the bottom.

"We eat the root of the carrot."

All of these are being put together into one big garden.

"I eat the bulb of the onion."

The accurate overlap of the leaves as they grow out of this onion bulb really astounded me- this is a first grade artist!

In-progress garden mural

This morning the Kindergarteners walked by on their way to drop off vegetables in the RES kitchen for the Stone Soup they are making with the Farm-to-School program.  They stopped to check out the work of the first graders, and it was a wonderful opportunity to make some subject area connections between the grades.

The soup is simmering away, and the hallway now not only looks beautiful, but smells amazing as well!

Is that a QR code on that bulletin board display?  It sure is! Now when I display student work in the hallway, I link right to this blog with a QR code to let visitors get more information about artwork.

Magic at the Faire! BCA + Generator

Today I taught five sessions of a Magic Wand workshop for Burlington City Arts and Generator at the Champlain Mini Maker Faire at Shelburne Farms.

How could you not want to make one?

My official Maker tag

Now, it was a pouring rain. But I must say, if it could have been any busier, I wouldn't have known what to do!  (My teacher voice is flagging, y'all, and I need some more tea.)

That's the back of my big 'ol head talking electrical circuits.  Thanks Nance Nahmias for the photo!

Dozens and dozens of wands were made.

Groups were about ten at a time, mostly with hands-on help of older siblings or parents.

Many Flynn Elementary students came through today

Many Halloween ideas were launched today, and one brother/sister pair came to the Faire specifically because they read about the wands, and wanted to learn to make them for their wizard costumes. Like the wands above, many students added a packing tape orb to the end of the LED to refract the light and make it look like a crystal.

I was thinking elfin forest sprite could work as well with this leafy one- look at those seasonal colors!

It took a lot of concentration and careful work to make these on the part of all the kids, who ranged in age from 2-12 (and a few adults like me who never exactly outgrew childhood).

Such focus.

But the payoff was pretty big. Alakazam!

 

Abracadabra! Poof!

Spider Weavings and a Meditation on Glitter- RES

Happy October!  Nearing Halloween, I start to think of all things creepy-crawly, and ways to incorporate them in the Art Room. What's spookier than spiders? Not much, if you are me.

Except maybe making spiders while wearing a skeleton shirt! For the win.

 Second graders are discussing all the things we know about spiders- their anatomy, the purpose they serve, and how they make webs.

With pink polka dots

The students begin by drawing the spider on a plate, and can artistically interpret their spiders however they would like, creepy or cute, real or imaginary.

Black widow!

 Then students began to weave.Over, under, over, under.

First layer of yarn- over under, over, under...

Switching colors as she weaves!

AB pattern striped spider

Camouflage spider

After two classes, the spiders were mostly finished. 

Hairy legs

Using a multi-toned yellow skein the whole time

Some even got bedazzled with silver glitter. 

That is one sparkly web.

Let's talk about glitter a moment. 

If we are being honest, I think that we can all admit that it is the zebra mussel of art supplies.

Glitter seems to proliferate. You thought you had one project covered in it, but later you find it on your arms.  You take a shower to wash out the glitter that mysteriously ended up in your hair.

Glitter belly button

And then the next morning, when you inspect yourself in the mirror, there is still a single dazzling fleck on your nose. It just doesn't go away. Like zebra mussels.

That said, children across the land love it, and deserve to use it. My general spin is to tell students to use glitter to enhance, not overwhelm, their artwork.

Visiting the building here at RES? My bulletin boards are now interactive with QR codes.

But let's admit it.  In the words of my son's preschool teachers: 

Glitter: It's not done 'til it's overdone. 

And that's why we love it.

Simple Book Binding- RES

Third graders are turning their handmade papers into journal covers. 

The materials needed are inexpensive, the process is simple, and the results are beautiful!

Materials: Rubber bands and sticks Tools: Hole punches and paper clips

The first thing I did was fold printer paper in half and use a large hole punch to make the pages that fill the journals.  The students lined up those holes with their handmade paper covers, and punched two holes in both the back and front covers.

Look at how neatly the holes are lined up on that first cover!

The students used paperclip hooks to pull a rubber band through the layers, and slid a stick through the loop.  The used the hook to pull the elastic across the back of the journal, and up through the other hole, and slid the other end of the stick through.

Finished third grade journals

The paper in these journals is blank, and students can use them as they choose. The journals would be wonderful to fill with drawings, poems, or scientific observations!

Magic and Sparkles! Come to the Champlain Mini Maker Faire

This weekend I am teaching at the Champlain Mini Maker Faire at the Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms.
 Representing Generator and Burlington City Arts, I will be at Booth #2 on Saturday, October 4, with classes YOU can attend at 10am, 11am, 12noon, and 1pm.

Come sparkle with me!  

 In the workshops we will be making LED magic wands that you get to take home.  Creating one is simple to learn and will teach the making of a basic electrical circuit. Perfect for kids of all ages. You may have read here about the ones my students made last Spring.

Color changing, sparkling, bedazzled magic wands? Yes, please!

The cherry on top?

This is where I will be:

Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms. Photo via shelburnefarms.org

Whoa.   

Amazing makers (over 50 booths!) demonstrating everything from rockets, robots, and 3D printers to glass blowing and 21st century bee keeping, all on the amazing grounds of one of Vermont's most gorgeous gems. 

Hope to see you there!