OUR SHOES MADE IT TO KENYA!!

Last year all Smilie students created shoes in art as part of our Smilie Cares and Smilie Shares initiative. The fourth grade students designed and decorated two pairs of shoes in art. These students worked hard to design their shoes all the while keeping in mind that the shoes are meant to be a piece of artwork themselves. (Which lead us to several queries... for example: What is art?)

Then, each fourth grader implemented his or her design on two pairs of white canvas shoes using permanent sharpie markers. One pair of shoes was for the students to keep and proudly wear. The second pair of shoes was a donation to another child. (This brought up several questions as well...what would it be like to NOT have shoes?) 

NOW THIS IS THE EXCITING PART; the second pair of shoes has now made it all the way to Kenya!!!! 

It is so exciting that we were able to share our creativity and celebrate the spirit of giving. 

Now our students have a unique connection to the students in Zimbabwe in that they own the only two pairs of each unique shoe design that exist in the whole world!

Printmaking for All!

All classes have been doing some fun and exciting printmaking projects. 

The first, second, third and fourth graders have been looking at the artwork of Georgia O'Keefe. The students observed that she paints a lot of flowers and that her artwork is MAGNIFIED. In her style, the children drew a close up of a flower and then an EVEN closer magnified version. 

In her style, students created stamps that are magnified view of flowers using foam board as the base of the stamp and markers to ink.

Using the same technique and materials, Kindergarten students have created a four-seasoned inspired stamp. Each child created a stamp of a basic tree and then by inking the stamp in differing ways, they have turned it into each of the four seasons.

Smilie Cares, Smilie Shares

Kindergarten Five Senses Books!

Kindergarten students are ALMOST done with their five senses books. We have done five differing art projects which focused on each of our five senses. The children have created beautiful covers and are working on placing these works of art into their books. 

For a sight project, we viewed optical illusions and noticed how complementary color influence the way the pictures "trick" our eyes. The children, then, created their own tricky pictures using complementary colors.

For a touch project, students created a collage using various textured papers. We talked about the words texture and collage as art terms.

For hearing, the children listened to three very different songs and then drew with crayons and added a watercolor resist to illustrate the way the song felt.

For smell, the children drew their noses and then added ground cinnamon which they sanded from cinnamon sticks on sandpaper--it was a great fine motor practice and the art room smelled fabulous afterwards.

For our taste project, students learned an origami technique to fold their papers into "peek-a-boo" paper. The children then illustrated their papers with their favorite foods. Each paper had an area for four small pictures and, in the middle, a large space for their very favorite dish.

This project is a lot of fun as it relates directly to the kindergarten curriculum, but it also provides hands on exposure for our kindergarten students to a wide variety of art media. 

Hundertwasser Clay Houses and Dream Homes

Smilie students have been learning all about artist and architect Hundertwasser this year! 

He was a very interesting man with many uniques ideas which he seamlessly integrates into both his paintings and his architectural designs.

Things we know Hundertwasser likes....

• Bright colors and Spirals!
• Hidden Faces and Lollipop Trees!
• Lines that mimic nature (i.e. wavy, not straight)
• Nature! Trees! Roof top gardens!
• Dreaming, showing your dreams, and sharing your dreams with others!
• Creativity, taking your time, and caring for others.

Students from grades 1 through 4 have created Hundertwasser inspired artwork!

The first grade students created Hundertwasser clay buildings. These were a challenge, but all of the children showed perseverance and hardwork! We began by rolling a clay slab. The students then had to trim the clay slab, roll it into a cylinder, and join the ends by scoring and slipping the clay. The following week, the children etched Hundertwasser details into their clay houses by scratching designs such as windows, doors, and spirals into the surface of the clay. After the houses were fired, the students painted on bold bright colors. We will soon be planting grass seeds into the tops of the houses so that each building has a Hundertwasser rooftop garden!

The second, third, and fourth grade students all designed their own Hundertwasser inspired "Dream Homes."

Inspired by Hundertwasser's extravagant architectural details and designs the children created colorful, intricate dream houses.

We began the process by sketching with a pencil. Students then traced their pencils lines with a sharpie to give their lines a bold appearance. Lastly, using markers, they carefully colored their dream homes.

They have all turned out fantastic! All of our Hundertwasser work will be on display at the Art Walk/Concert in May!

Hundertwasser!!!

Today, 2/3 and 3/4 students did some art history research on Austrian artist and architect Hundertwasser. By collaborating, Mrs. Esterline and I were able to see the two classes together and give them a large chunk of time to prepare their presentations. Working in small groups, children read an excerpt, found interesting facts, and then developed a creative way to present this information to their peers. Below are a few of the awesome presentations! Enjoy!

(Sorry kids auto-correct got the best of me when I titled this one!)

Still Life Drawings

 Ms. Cafferty and Mr. Menz's classes have been working on still life drawings. We began the project by carefully observing the flower arrangements and noticing as many details as possible. Students then sketched the flowers using pencils--making sure to include all those wonderful details. The following week, students checked their work to see if they had created "balanced compositions." Some children decided to add other details in their works to add visual interest and balance to their artwork. Then, they traced their pencil lines with black glue to create a bold, slightly 3D effect. Today, the children began coloring in their works using oil pastels. As a lesson launch we had watched a time lapse video of a professional artist using oil pastels to draw a pear. We observed some techniques she used and then tried them in our own works. Below are a few time lapse videos taken of students working. Enjoy!