Wire Art

Working in a brand-new medium is an interesting challenge, one our grade 8 students took on with this project. Using thick, light-weight alumium wire they created a square framework, then added embellishments. Beads and various types of thin silver and insulated copper wires were used to finish off the designs. Prior knowledge of line as an element of art, as well as the design principles of balance and variety were incorporated into their designs. 

Mehndi Hand Designs

Mehndi is the traditional art of painting the hands, feet or body with a paste made from the powdered, dried leaves of the henna plant. It is an ancient form of body art that has been practiced in the Middle East, India and parts of Africa for thousands of years and is typically used during celebrations and festivals.

Our grade 8 students had a chance to explore Mehndi and design their own hand art using markers and gloves to take the place of traditional henna on skin. Besides the benefit of being less messy, this technique allowed students to create a design which would be permanent after the glove was filled with cotton batting. Traditional Menhdi materials fade and are washed away in a few weeks.

Students reviewed traditional designs from India, the Middle East and Africa as well as the Maori peoples of the Pacific. They used these resources as a jumping off point to create their own personal Mehndi art. Take a look! Clicking on any image brings you to the gallery for more art.

 

Pop-Up Haunted Houses

Pop-up construction is always fun for students to create. Using just a bit of construction paper, a few strategic folds and cuts and some creativity, these haunted houses came to life in our art room for Halloween. Click on any image to see more spooky shacks.

Clay Insects

Our 4/5 class celebrated summer's impending arrival with their own insect project. Keeping in mind the rules for what makes an insect an insect (see Insect Collages,) students created their own three-dimensional insect using air-dry clay. When it was dry the insect was colored using paints or markers. Paper pulp served as a base for an insect home, which could be appropriately decorated with grass, tree branches, etc. The bottom half of an upside down 2 liter bottle served as a dome to protect the insect. Here they are! Click to view the insects in their gallery. 

Insect Collages

The coming of summer has had us thinking about a favorite subject of many second and third graders - INSECTS! This project had students exploring when a bug is an insect and when it's not. We learned that all insects MUST have the following:

1.  three body parts - a head, thorax, and abdomen

2.  six jointed legs

3.  two antennae to sense the world around them

Rules are rules in this case. For instance, spiders may be bugs, but they are NOT insects because they have eight legs, not six. After viewing lots and lots of insects from all over the world, students used colored paper to collage their own colorful insects. They were encouraged to be creative and dsign their own insect if they choose to; but they had to follow the rules for what makes an insect. I think the results are wonderful, don't you? Click on any image below to see lots more of our favorite bugs.

 After the project was done students explored recreating their insect in three dimensions using modeling clay.

More Carnival Masks

Our 8th grade students have offically finished their masks for Carnival, and just in time for graduation! It was a great interdisciplinary art lesson with ties to language, culture and history. See the original post for more information. Everyone enjoyed the project and put in their best effort so be sure to take a look. I've put these latest masks on the gallery page and you can reach it by clicking on any of the photos below.

 

Carnival Masks!

Yippee! For the last several weeks our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students have been working hard on the creation of masks for their celebration of Carnival around the world. I am happy to finally begin sharing the results. Parents, you should be proud of your students, they all put in their maxium effort and we have many gorgeous masks to show for it. For those of you who missed the mask display on Carnaval night, you have a another chance to see them right here.

Before beginnning the lesson in the art room, students spent time in their Spanish classes studying Carnival celebrations and culture in the various countries around the world who celebrate the pre-Lenten event. Just as cultures and celebrations differ widely, so do mask designs. After choosing a photo of a favorite mask students set about creating their own in a similar style. Many chose to build their masks in paper mache, which was then painted with tempera or acyrylic paints. Others created their designs with layered poster papers and foil. Feathers, glitter and whatever was available in the art room was utilized to make their masks as authentic as possible.

Click on any image below to get to the gallery. I'll be adding more masks next week as they are completed.

Weaving Pendants

Here is a small project our grade six students just completed. Creating their own cardboard loom, they learned simple weaving vocabulary and techniques as well as the difference between real and implied texture. The results could be pendants or mini wall hangings. Super!

Craft Stick Snowflakes

The snow is still flying outside and it's still inspiring our artwork! Our 4/5 class reviewed snowflake design and the concept of symmetry. We learned that most snowflakes have six sides, then made some really cool snowflakes by gluing together craft sticks. They were painted and sprinkled with glitter before the paint dried. The beautiful results are shown below.

 

New Year Accordion Book

To note the coming of the new year and the passing of the old, grade six students reflected on their accomplishments of 2012 and created these accordian books in celebration.