First Annual Night of the Arts!

Hello everyone!

I have not posted in a while as I was out on Maternity leave from February of last year until September of this year. However, now I am back!

All fall, Mr. S and I were working really hard on getting art ready for a 3rd-5th grade art show. We had the show last week, as a part of our first annual Night of the Arts, and it was a major success!! Every student from Grades 3-5 had art in the show, we had a family art making event, student docent tours of the exhbit AND the winter concert followed. It was a wonderful night celebrating the creative talents of our students. 

Mr. S. and Mrs. Engles

The Art Displays 

Family Art Making Inspired by Yayoi Kusama

Mr. West, our Arts Coordinator, being led on a tour by docents

Ms. DiMartino and Ms. Castillo oversaw the family art making tables

Student Docents (overseen by Ms. Fidel)

Grade 4 Coil Pots

4th grade just finished a clay unit. They learned that people have been making coil pots for over 10,000 years. They were the world’s first refrigerators and storage containers. They are built by rolling long coils (or snakes) then attaching them by scoring (scratching) the clay and adding slip (clay mixed with water), then smudging pieces together. A famous artist that created coil pots was Maria Martinez, who was from the San Ildefonso Pueblo in the Mesa Verde region of the American Southwest. 

Maria Martinez making a Coil Pot

Pot by Maria Martinez

4th Graders created their pots using grey clay. They spent several classes rolling coils, as well as adding other designs (like spirals and dots) with the clay. They learned to attach parts, they have to scratch (score) and attach (with slip - wet clay). 

Once the pots were built, students then let the pots dry and become bone hard (greenware).  The pots were fired in the kiln, painted them with glaze and they were fired again. 

The results are beautiful! Enjoy these coil pots made by 4th grade!!

Angie, 4 Cropper

Giovanni and Daniel, 4 Henry

Ethan, 4 Henry

Leyla, 4 Henry

Sarah, 4 Henry

Gabrielle, 4 Cropper

Julia, 4 Cropper

Remi, 4 Cropper

Max, 4 Cropper

Grade 1 Paint Explorations

Through the exploration of the viscous, fluid qualities of tempera paint, 1st graders learned how they could create a variety of lines and brushstrokes with their paintbrushes, as well as how they might mix a variety of colors using the primary and secondary colors. They started by looking at “The Mellow Pad” by American painter, Stuart Davis. After identifying a variety of lines they know (long, short, wavy, zig zag, etc.), students considered how they might make their own compositions using various black lines. 

After composing their abstract paintings in black line, they spent the following classes learning about color and how they might match and combine specific colors to make new colors inside their black line shapes. 

Finally, students learned about contemporary artist Elizabeth Murray and considered how they might use lines in a variety of colors to create contrasting patterns on top of the existing shapes.

Please enjoy these beautiful abstract paintings by our First Grade Artists!

Audrey, 1 Sharkey

Joey, 1 Sharkey

Mei, 1 Red

Yamiley, 1 Red

Benjamin, 1 Red

Rafael, 1 Red

Clara, 1 Red

Saniya, 1 Andrade

Grade 3 Imaginative Animal Collages

Grade 3 artists with Mrs. Engles learned about collage, or art made with paper and glue. They learned there are many ways to change paper with both their hands (ripping, tearing, folding, etc.) and scissors (cutting various types of edges, making geometric and organic shapes, etc.). Artists looked at the wood sculptures by contemporary artist AJ Fosik and were asked “If you were to create a symmetrical collage of an imaginary animal’s face, what animals might you choose as your inspiration?”  

AJ Fosik

Students then spent several classes creating the features of their animal face through the collage techniques they learned (arranging shapes, layering, overlapping, etc.). To finish their collages, artists considered textures they see on animals (fur, feathers, scales, etc.) and considered how they might create these textures on their animal collages (adding textured paper, cutting various edges, ripping, etc.).

Please enjoy these fierce and friendly imaginary animal face collages inspired by the work of AJ Fosik!