pop art in the student art gallery!

When you get the chance, check out the new artwork on display by Faubion's own 5th graders! They learned about pop artist Jasper Johns and created an interesting composition using letters, which created lines & shapes on the paper. Instead of painting the alphabet, like good ol' Jasper, my students chose a few words that describe themselves. These colorful works of art really catch your attention as you walk through the Faubion hallway! Amazing job, bulldogs! Here are some close-ups :]

 

5th grade onomatopoeia pop art!

Faubion's 5th graders, who have been learning about Pop Art, recently learned about Roy Lichtenstein's comic-inspired paintings. They created onomatopoeia collages with bubble letter words and extra emphasizing shapes and symbols for the background. These awesome artists made sure to select bright colors and add black outlining, to mimic qualities found in comic book art. Good job, Bulldogs! These artworks are STUNNING :]

5th grade art critiques

Ms. Cahill's students made art sandwiches after completing their Roy Lichtenstein Onomatopoeia collages. I loved how effortlessly my 5th graders could give specific feedback to their classmates and help them grow as artists. These students are so smart!! Many of the suggestions and statements they wrote were similar to what I would've written myself. I just love being able to incorporate writing & reflection opportunities into art time :] Pretty soon, we'll be holding group critiques in 5th grade!

snails in the student art gallery!

Ms. Williams's class created these spiral snails, which have been decorating the Faubion hallway for the past few weeks. The kindergarteners and first graders learned about focal point and composition before making their snail pictures. We have been discussing various types of lines and will be moving onto our unit about shape & form shortly. This lesson helped to strengthen my artists' fine motor skills and craftsmanship abilities :]

I wanted to post about these awesome drawings before switching out the artwork in the student gallery later this week. Here are some close-ups!

 

 

becoming art critics

Last week, Faubion's 4th and 5th grade students began critiquing their first artworks! As two students completed their art projects, they swapped papers and made an Art Sandwich. Reflecting on artistic choices is a very important way to grow as an artist, and can help when developing other skills. While working on the Art Sandwich, students had to refrain from unhelpful comments such as "it's pretty" or "I don't like it" and focused on writing specific reasons instead. My artists have been giving and receiving wonderful feedback so far (and sometimes, they enjoy hearing it from someone other than the teacher!) In the future, my 4th and 5th graders will be able to have group critiques and art discussions, using "million dollar phrases"

For more tips on how to get your kids to talk constructively about art, click here!

robots in the student art gallery!

 

Have you noticed the fantastic robot drawings hanging in the Faubion gallery hallway? These imaginative artworks were a fun, simple beginning of the year project to get my 3rd graders to start thinking about how they use line, shape, and pattern in their art. These drawings were created by the artists in Ms. Stoeger's class.

Be on the lookout for more artwork in the gallery soon. I hope to change the display every 3-4 weeks. Go Bulldogs!

encouraging creative thinking

Here are some awesome suggestions from Parents magazine for creative thinking. As an art teacher, I love telling students that there isn't a right way or a wrong way to finish an art project. Too often, I have students who just copy exactly what I do, but I'm more excited by students who invent their own original ideas!

Today the 2nd graders at Faubion learned about landscapes and we discussed different habitats they could design. In my fourth year of doing this project, I've seen lots of mountains, lakes, hills, and trees, but today I saw THREE new ideas I haven't seen before! I saw students drawing swirly patterns for wind, smoking and erupting volcanoes, and gigantic splashing waterfalls! I was thrilled :] Let's keep that imaginative and creative thinking going!!