Parker Art

Squash Blossom Books in 4-8

2012-02-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

Selecting the section of paste paper

Cutting a small square

Making the paste paper

Creating texture

Two finished book covers

Gluing the paper on the cardboard

Selecting the right piece

The fourth grade through eighth grade students all learned how to make small squash blossom books, inspired by one that had been given to me. They began making paste paper and texturing it. When the paper had dried, they cut small squares to fit over 2x2 inch cardboard ends, glued them on and then began folding the five inset papers that would be the center of the books. A ribbon was glued on to the ends to be the closure.

2/3s Stamp Robots

2012-02-11T17:04:00.000-08:00

Stamping the basic shape

Adding small details

Cutting around the robot

Cutting it out

Using white paint on black paper, the 2/3s used found objects to stamp unusual and original robots. These were cut out to be placed on outer space settings that will be drawn with markers an large white paper that is toned with pastel to create a sense of atmosphere.

K/1s Make Bird Puppets

2012-02-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Coloring the bird

Drawing birds

As the K/1s begin their study of birds of the Northeast in their classroom, they worked on tagboard bird puppets with wings that flap in art class. After drawing and coloring their bird body and two separate wings they cut them out, fastened the wings on with brass fasteners, and tied a string on the back to allow the wings to move up and down.

4/5s Take a Stab at Origami

2012-02-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

Helping with the star box

Starting the flower

With two of the students acting as teachers, the 4/5s learned how to make an origami star box and a flower. The teachers and students did a great job!

2/3s Work on Comics

2012-02-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sharing a story

The story develops

While I was in Barcelona, Melissa Mendes, author of The Freddy Stories and daughter of Michele Ridgeway, taught the art classes about comics and how to create characters and stories. The 2/3s wanted to continue working on these this week, and so they did.

K/1s Study the Work of Jan Brett

2012-01-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

Beginning a bear

Mixing the right colors

Working on the border

Checking the paint color

The K/1s are doing an author study of the author/illustrator Jan Brett. After reading and examining her stories and illustrations, the students designed winter scenes with border designs relating to their picture, just as Jan Brett does.

4/5s Learn from Ted Harrison

2012-01-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

Deciding on the colors

Beginning to paint

Finished work

The 4/5s became familiar with the very colorful landscapes of Canadian artist Ted Harrison. Working with liquid watercolors, they emulated his style of separating areas with white lines and then adding distinctly different colors.

2/3s Paint Animals Playing in the Snow

2012-01-14T08:28:00.000-08:00

Sketching in the snow scene

Beginning to paint

Painting scenes

Painting a sunset

What a sky!

Final details

Rabbits under a kissing ball

A rabbit on skates

Angry bears on broken sleds!

Inspired by an illustration on a Heifer International envelope of rabbits with goggles and scarves sledding down a hill, the 2/3s tried their hands at creating unusual and whimsical scenes of animals cavorting in the snow.

K/1s Paint Snowmen Portraits

2012-01-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

Painting the snowmen

Going around the buttons

Filling in with white

A finished drawing

Going over the pencil with oil pastel

The k/1s looked at some portraits by Vincent Van Gogh to learn about different portrait views: profile, 3/4 view and straight on. They then drew a snowman, too large to fully fit on their 12x18 inch paper with a 3/4 view. This was then painted as though the snow was falling, something we're all waiting for this winter!

6/7/8 Transformation Drawings

2011-12-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

Adding the sky

A Plant Transforming

A green theme!

Sharing an idea

Tackle box to fish

Leaf to fish

Sketching out an idea

Middle schoolers were shown several examples of transformation art, where an object is drawn and over the course of nine to twelve blocks, it morphs into something entirely different. They began sketches for their own transformation pictures.

4/5 Native American Sand Art

2011-12-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

A Strawberry in Sand

A Native American Style Turtle

A Turtle, Tree and Flowers

Gluing the next area

Shaking on the sand

As the final art tie-in to the 4/5s Native American studies they tried their hands at creating sand disks. They developed a design, divided it into segments and put glue and then sprinkled colored sand in specific areas. Hemp and beads were then woven around the edges with beads tied into the remaining string hanging from the bottom.

K/1s Make Clay Animals

2011-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Putting the habitat together

The complete habitat

Checking out the stream section

Frog, beaver and wolf having a drink

Raccoon

Sculpting the mouse

Working on a wild turkey

Painting a chipmunk and the turkey

Painting the skunk

After creating a painting and a collage of the animal they were studying in class, the K/1s sculpted their animal in clay and then painted it. The students then built a habitat in which they placed their animals.

2/3s Study the Hudson River

2011-12-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sketching the background double page

Another sketch for the background

Drawing a crab and a fish

Working on another fish

As the 2/3s study the Hudson River in class, they are drawing plants and animals from the river, and designing a background page in art class. The drawings, and their research and poems will be put together in a book about the Hudson.

K/1s Collage Animals

2011-12-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

The fox approaching a tree

Opossum on a branch

Adding the skunk's stripe

Trimming the fox

After carefully painting the animal they're studying, the K/1s made a collage of their animal using cut and torn construction paper.

K/1s Study Northeastern Animals

2011-11-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

The fox

Opossum and offspring

Painting the frog

The squirrel and its background

Drawing the chipmunk

Working on the beaver

In conjunction with their classroom study of an animal of the Northeast the K/1s looked at a photo, and figured out the shapes they needed to draw it. They then drew their animal and a background, and added color with liquid water colors.

4/5 Iroquois Tunnel Books

2011-11-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

Assembling the book

Drawing the back page

Figuring out the scene for the last page

Measuring the border pages

Cutting the border pages

The 4/5 students are demonstrating their knowledge of some aspect of Iroquois life by creating a tunnel book. The end page is a picture of the Iroquois involved in some specific task. The center pages are borders on which they have added details like trees or animals.

6/7/8 Op Art Boxes

2011-11-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

A finished cube

Three more cubes

Working on the fourth side of the cube

Working from a sketch

After looking at the work of British Op Artist Bridget Riley and other eye-popping black and white designs, middle school students tried their hand at designing an Op Art cube with at least four different optical designs on the six sides of the cube.

Middle School Students Work on Positive/Negative Pictures

2011-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

Finished work

One more

This image seemed to be swirling around

A positive and negative octopus

The middle school students spent a couple of classes considering positive and negative spaces while working on cut paper black and white designs.

K/1s Make Collages for Their Bees

2011-11-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

A Bee on a Flower

Hovering Bee

Cutting flower shapes

Gluing down the ground line

Many drops of glue

The K/1s worked on large flower collages to create a background for their large bees.

Middle School Continuous Line Drawings

2011-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Keeping the pencil attached to the paper

Working across the composition

Getting in the details

The middle school students worked from a long, horizontal still life set-up to create continuous line drawings. They began at one end of the still life and couldn't lift their pencil off the paper until the whole set-up was captured. The results look a bit like wire sculptures while helping to build increased eye-hand coordination.

K/1s Draw Oil Pastel Bees

2011-10-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

Mixing yellows and black

Large, clear stripes

Working first on the drawing

After some experimentation with color mixing with oil pastels, and in conjunction with science and classroom bee studies, the K/1s tried their hand at drawing bees while singing a song about their head, thorax and abdomen.

4/5s Draw Shaded Columns

2011-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Wobbly columns

A Finished Work

Coloring the first stack

Shading to get a 3D effect

Figuring out the first column

The 4/5s had fun drawing crazy stacks of curvy lines and then adding color in "families" (two primaries and the secondary color they make). They shaded the stacks so they appear to have dimension. The results are fanciful, organic looking tunnels!

2/3s Paint Bees in Relief

2011-10-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

A Finished Work

One More

A Collaboration

Another pair working

Mixing colors

Painting the sky

Working collaboratively on a background

Figuring out where the bees will be flying

Carefully cutting the bee parts

More cutting

Working on the wings

Painting those bee abdomens

After careful observation and drawing, the 2/3s are painting bees in sections. The bees will be cut out and glued together to appear to hover over cut out flowers that are attached to large painted backgrounds.

2/3s Draw Our Bees

2011-10-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Adding color

Working on the abdomen

Getting the stripes just right

With Parker all abuzz about our two bee hives, the 2/3 class looked closely at the three different kinds of honey bees and chose one to draw.

MIddle School Process Drawings

2011-10-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

Working on the highlights

Getting to the last panel!

Close Observing

Capturing the right colors

With apple season upon us, the middle school students worked on three panel drawings of apples as they ate them. The first panel was the intact apple, the second the apple minus one large bite, and the third, the core. This was a delicious exercise!

4/5s Work on Locker Names

2011-09-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Wiping some of the ink off

Adding some color

A finished work of art!

Creating tiny designs

Getting the name to be the focus

The 4/5 students begin each year working on artwork that will serve to identify their locker and add interest to the halls. This year they are making embossed aluminum foil disks full of tiny patterns and accents of color.

2/3s Paint Birch Trees

2011-09-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

The finished work

Painting the birch markings

Peeling off the tape

More tape peeling

After looking at the beautiful birch trees painted on the walls of one of the school offices, the 2/3s tried their hand at painting birches. They began masking the tree areas with tape and then painted landscape backgrounds. The tape was peeled off and the characteristic birch markings were painted over the revealed white vertical lines.

K/1s Draw Their Houses

2011-09-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

Capturing the brick facade

Painting the sky

After looking at Whoever You Are by Mem Fox, the K/1s tried their hand at remembering the colors and shapes of their houses. They drew their house with whatever details they chose to emphasize, and then painted the background.

Middle School Locker Names

2011-09-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Concentrating on the details

Painting a background paper

Working on the background paper

Inscribing details

Concentrating on popping out the glue lines

Adding ink to the finished designs

Adding dimension with Elmer's glue

More glue lines

The middle school students begin each year working on artwork that will serve to identify their locker and add interest to the halls. This year they are making embossed aluminum foil disks full of tiny patterns and accents of color.

2/3s Explore Positive and Negative Space

2011-09-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

One finished work

Another showing color changes

Figuring out the colors

Carefully painting in the background

The 2/3s cut stencil shapes and rubbed them with crayon under white paper divided into six sections. They painted over the shapes with water color, changing colors each time their shape crossed another image or a new area.

K/1s Mix Water Colors

2011-09-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

Experimenting with color mixing

Dots beginning to grow

The K/1s began the year in art class listening to the book The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. They talked about how different colors mix together to make new ones. They then tried their hand at water colors, blending colors together to discover what new ones they could create.

Zara's Dragon

2011-06-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Amazing!!

Our recent graduate, Zara, made this beautiful dragon.

K/1s Perform Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock

2011-05-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

The play begins

The students performing

The set for Anansi

The Ring-Tailed Lemur

Hippo, Giraffes, and Zebra

After weeks of preparation the K/1s performed Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock for their parents during their celebration of work.

2/3s Make Kites

2011-05-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Trying out the kites

Getting it up in the air

Coming up with a Chinese design

Adding images

The 2/3s learned about Chinese kites and tried their hand at making their own.

K/1 s Work on African Studies

2011-05-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Coloring the Kente cloth design

Working with bold patterns

Large leaves for the play

A particularly large leaf

As the K/1s prepare to perform the play, Anansi, they cut out large leaves for the backdrop. They also made Kente cloth designs after listening to a presentation by a Ghanaian neighbor and hearing the story, The Spider Weaver, by Margaret Musgrove.

6/7/8s Begin Needle Felting

2011-05-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

A finished figure

Penguin with food

Finished cyclops troll

Finished camel

Just getting going

Needling the base form

Working on a small segment

One middle school student introduced needle felting to some of her classmates and a craze was born. Capitalizing on their enthusiasm, I ordered supplies and all the middle school art classes learned this absorbing craft. All sorts of creatures began taking form from skulls and eyeballs to camels. Their work has been amazing!

4/5s Make Immigration Suitcases

2011-05-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

The front of a finished suitcase

Another finished front

Measuring paper to cover the shoebox

About to glue on brown paper

The spring unit in the 4/5 classroom is Immigration. In art class each student is beginning with a shoebox and turning it into a replica open suitcase. The exterior shows what might have adorned the outside and inside are pictures of what some of the contents might have been.

Middle School Self-Portraits

2011-05-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Looking in the mirror

Working on the initial drawing

The middle school students have begun working on their self-portraits. After their drawing meets their expectations, they will add some shading and colored pencil details.

K/1s Paint Scenery for West African Folk Tale

2011-04-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Painting the sky

Filling in the grassy area

Everyone is pitching in

As the K/1s study Africa, they are working on Anansi, a west African folk tale that they will perform in late May. They are painting a large backdrop for this play and will then make props and simple costumes.

2/3s Start China Study

2011-04-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

The finished dragon

Going over pencil lines

Figuring out the dragon

Enlarging the original drawing

As the 2/3s began their exploration of China they looked at some Chinese dragons. They tried their hand at designing and painting dragons of their own. Their small drawings were projected onto tagboard and painted with bright colors. These will be cut out and turned into shadow puppets. Stories inspired by these creatures will be the basis of some shadow puppet plays.

K/1s Make African Animals

2011-04-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

Painting the giraffe's spots

Working on a hippo

The gorilla gets painted

Each K/1 student has chosen a particular African animal to study. In art class they drew that animal on doubled paper, painted it on two sides, cut it out, stapled the two sides together and stuffed it with newspaper. These animals will help transform their classroom into an African landscape.

4/5s Work on Pocket Weavings

2011-04-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Getting the hang of weaving

Trying a new pattern

Working with the first color

Working on small rectangular looms the 4/5 students began figuring out designs to weave on both sides of the loom to create small pouches that can be turned into necklaces.

4/5s Draw Self-Portraits

2011-03-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Getting the initial shapes

The hat is definitely essential!

After focusing on their past and present self-portraits, the 4/5s worked from mirrors to capture their current appearance in colored pencil.

2/3s Paint Self-Portraits

2011-03-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

Finishing touches

Precision in the accessories

Checking the overall look

After completing their past and future portraits, the 2/3s got to work looking in the mirror to observe their current appearance and put it on paper using tempera paint.

2/3s and 4/5s Create Past and Future Self-Portraits

2011-03-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

2/3 Portrait

4/5 Portrait of the past

In connection with a poetry unit that the 2/3s and 4/5s worked on together in their classes they created images of what they used to look like at approximately four years old and their projections of what they may look like twenty years from now.

K/1s Paint Self-Portraits

2011-03-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

Adding paint to the work

Beginning with a pencil drawing

The annual Parker self-portrait project is underway in several classes. The K/1s observe themselves in a mirror, then draw and add paint to their images.

Middle School Students Work on Wire Sculptures

2011-03-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR5_KxqcECA

Shooting the destruction of the forest scene

Setting up the street performers for recording

Working on an alligator for the jungle

A figure taking shape

Clothes being sewn on the farmer

Two wire figures

After looking to Alexander Calder and his wire circus for inspiration, the middle school classes developed ideas for scenes to make out of wire, beads, corks, and such. Production of street performers, a farm, and a jungle are underway. When the scenes are completed, they will be photographed with incremental movements and then imported into a program to create a stop action animation.

Middle School Students Receive Tee Shirts from Africa

2011-03-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Students wearing their tee shirt from Kenya and holding photos of the Kenyan artist

Kenyan tee shirt and photos of the kids who received shirts from this artist

Keela showing a photo to Parker students

Keela Dates, Reason2Smile founder, returned from Kenya with tee shirts for Parker students designed by the students at the Jambo Jipya School. Parker kids received a photo of the Kenyan student with the shirt they received and a shirt designed for them. One student said, "this is my favorite day of the whole year!"

2/3s Weave

2011-02-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

Pulling the yarn tight

Adding a new color

The 2/3s began weaving on paper plates, working with different colored yarn and adding the occasional bead or two.

K/1s Make Articulated Teddy Bears

2011-02-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

A finished brown bear

Four with bears

Painting the bear parts

Working on the face

Painting the body

As the K/1s study bears in class, they are making cardboard articulated teddy bears in art class.

2/3s Begin Weaving

2011-01-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

Finished work with beads

Another finished weaving

Weaving the center

Getting some help from a 9th grader

Figuring it out

Two graduates offer assistance

The 2/3s were very excited to tackle their first weaving. With the help of two Parker graduates who were visiting school, the students strung their round looms (paper plates) and began enthusiastically weaving.

4/5 Wycinanki

2011-01-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Finished Wycinanki

And another

Cutting the fine details

Getting the main shape

Gluing the design together

Wycinanki is a Polish word for paper-cut designs. These beautiful paper cut-outs have been used to decorate the interior of Polish homes since the early 19th century! The 4/5s tried their hand at their own Wycinanki designs. They drew out their idea, copied it onto colored paper, carefully cut away the negative areas, and then glued it to a contrasting colored backing paper.

6/7/8s Begin Working in Water Color

2011-01-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

Landscape with sheep

Vertical landscape

Sunflower

Mixing colors

Working on a specific image

Painting flowers

Laura sharing some of her work

6/7/8s started a unit on water color painting by experimenting with the paint on wet and dry paper, mixing colors together, and adding details to wet and dry surfaces. Local water color painter and Parker Admission Director, Laura Mandelson, came into class to show the students some of her work and to talk about how to achieve different results with this medium.

2/3s Think About What Dinosaurs Would Do Today

2011-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Dinosaur as ski lift

Dinosaur as night watchman

Painting snow!

Thinking about the colors

Painting dinosaurs

Working on the sky

Getting all the details in

Drawing the dinosaur from a model

If dinosaurs walked the earth with us today what kids of jobs might they do? How might they help us out? They 2/3s used their imaginations to answer these questions in their latest paintings.

K/1s Get Inspiration from the work of Eric Carle

2011-01-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Cutting shapes from painted paper

Adding another shape

Textures in blue

Variations in red

The K/1s looked at the work of author, illustrator Eric Carle. They painted different colors and textures on paper that they'll cut into shapes to create their pet collages.

4/5 Historic Character Masks

2010-12-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

Chuck Yaeger, Anne Frank, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dorothy Eustis, Thurgood Marshall, Amelia Earhart

Sacagawea

The 4/5s each picked a specific historical character who held a particular interest for them. They researched their person, wrote about them, made artifacts related to them, and in art class, made a paper mask representing their character.

Middle School Students Design Tee Shirts for Africa

2010-12-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

Three shirts ready for Kenya

Three more ready to go

A chipmunk pilot!

Sliding the cardboard out from inside the shirt

Accenting with paint

Two cats and a dog

For the second year, Parker middle school students listened to Keela Dates' stories of the students at Jambo Jipya (something new) school in Kenya. To continue the connection begun last year, our students are again designing tee shirts for the boarders at Jambo Jipya. Keela will deliver the shirts along with photos of their creators in January and return with photos and shirts the Kenyan students will send back later in the winter.

2/3s Paint Dinosaurs

2010-12-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

Iguanodon

Velociraptor

Ankylosaurus

Mixing colors

Adding detail

Making the teeth look fierce

Clarifying areas

Each student in the 2/3 class is studying a specific dinosaur. In art class they looked at the particulars of their dino.... size, proportion, texture, color (do we really know?). They drew their dinosaur, projected it onto large paper and then painted it. They then painted a background keeping in mind the scale of the trees and plants in relation to their dino.

Empty Bowls at Parker

2010-12-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Purchasing a K/1 bowl

Checking out the Pre-K 4s tissue paper bowls

Admiring everyones' work

A middle school bowl

A 4/5 bowl

K through 8th grade students finished building their ceramic bowls. On Dec 9th Parker community members and friends arrived to admire their work, purchase a bowl, and eat bread and soup the 8th grade cooked from vegetables they gleaned from Hancock Shaker Village. The 8th grade students talked about issues of world hunger. Tracy Neitzel from Joseph's House spoke about the issues of hunger and homelessness in our area. The event raised everyone's awareness of these important issues and raised $1156 for Joseph's House.

K/1s Paint Community Workers' Environments

2010-12-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

The dentist appears behind the flap

The farmer and his farm

Adding watercolor

Selecting the appropriate colors

After drawing the community worker each student is researching in class, they painted their worker's environment trying to include details to help the viewer identify the worker's profession. The worker was then glued to the back of the painting and a flap cut to reveal the worker in their workplace. These will all be assembled into a classroom book.

4/5s Glaze Their Bowls

2010-12-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

Making sure the glaze is thick enough

Applying black and violet glaze

The 4/5s are getting ready for Empty Bowls this week. They are putting the final touches of glaze on their bowls and then awaiting the results from the final firing.

K/1s Draw Community Workers' Environments

2010-12-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

Going over lines with Sharpie

Carefully going over details

The K/1s are drawing their community workers' environments, being sure to include details that will help identify the worker they are studying. They will paint them with water colors and their workers to the back so they can appear through a cut flap!

K/1s Draw Community Workers

2010-11-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

Adding color and details

Coloring the trash collector

The K/1s are each studying a specific community worker in the classroom. In art class they are drawing their worker, adding details to help identify what they do, and then painting their worker's environment.

K-3 Students Glaze Their Bowls

2010-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

Glazing the motorcycle on the bowl's rim!

Concentrating on color selection

Covering the outside

Sharing the blue glaze

The students waited patiently for their clay bowls to be bisque fired and then went to work carefully applying glaze which will give the bowls color and a glass-like finish after the next and final firing.

Middle School Builds Bowls

2010-11-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Throwing on the wheels

Working with a large slab

Building up the sides

Each student in the school is making a clay bowl that will be used to raise money for Joseph's House at our Empty Bowls Event in December. The middle school students work on the wheel as well as hand building with slabs, coils, pinching, or a combination of any or all techniques.

2/3s Make Bowls

2010-11-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Working on the edges

Adding small details

Scoring the surface so the clay sticks together

Each student in the school is making a clay bowl that will be used to raise money for Joseph's House at our Empty Bowls Event in December. Here the 2/3s are at working on their unique designs.

K/1s Work on Clay Bowls

2010-11-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

Getting the clay flat

Concentrating on the slab

Each student in the school is making a clay bowl that will be used to raise money for Joseph's House at our Empty Bowls Event in December. Here the K/1s are at work rolling out slabs.

K/1s' Paper Strip Constructions

2010-10-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Thoughtful folding

Deciding where it goes

Little drops of glue

The K/1s took a break from their careful observations to have fun making paper strip constructions of anything their imagination dreamed up.

K/1s Draw Monarch Butterflies

2010-10-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

The finished work

And another one

Noticing the wing pattern

Drawing the second wing

The K/1s observed the symmetry of butterflies, and using a palette relating to the monarch butterfly they had observed in the classroom, they drew and colored their own. These were cut into parts and glued on blue paper leaving space between the segments.

Students Sketch Along the Hudson River

2010-10-16T15:01:00.001-07:00

Checking out each other's work

Sketching by the water

A comfortable perch

On Hudson River Snapshot day, schools from Manhattan to Troy collected water data to share with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Our 2/3 and 6/7 students collected information on water creatures, weather, tides and current, and shipping traffic, and they sketched the testing site.

Middle School Blue Willow Story Plates

2010-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

An intricate landscape theme

A lyrical abstract design

Asian characters

An elegant bird

Working from a sketch

Adding blue color to the plates

Middle School students learned about the history of Blue Willow Story Plates. They listened to The Willow Pattern Story by Allan Drummond and looked at an example of that plate design. Then, working on a paper plate with blue Sharpies they designed their own plate pattern keeping in mind the original design features while creating an original central image.

4/5s Create Name Designs

2010-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Finishing up name tiles

Figuring out colors

The fourth and fifth grade students began the year looking at Islamic tiles, a rose window, and other examples of radial symmetry. With these in mind they started name designs that will serve to beautify the halls and identify their lockers.

2/3s Make Marbleized Paper

2010-10-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Checking out the results

Scraping colored chalk into water

The 2/3s scraped chalk into water, quickly dropped paper onto the surface, and removed it to see the swirling results transferred to the paper. This will be the background for Hudson River pictures.

2/3 Bug Jars

2010-10-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

A Little Help

Finished Bug Jar

Consultation

After observing live plants and models of bugs, the 2/3s incorporated their active imaginations and redrew their specimens, with some embellishments, inside a large glass jar.

Middle School Name Designs

2010-09-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Adding color and enhancing the symmetry

Focusing on patterns

Noticing the negative space designs

The Middle School students looked at Islamic tiles, a rose window, and other examples of radial symmetry. With these in mind they started name designs that will serve to beautify the halls and identify their lockers.

2/3s Work on Observational Drawing

2010-09-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

A fascinating little live bug was discovered on one of the leaves

Drawing from life

The 2/3s year has begun with some close observational drawings of bugs (plastic replicas) and plants. These will be put together into pictures of Bug Jars.

K/1s Drawing Lines and Shapes

2010-09-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

An animal is taking shape

Concentrating on those shapes

The K/1s began this year thinking about different kinds of lines and how they can make different shapes. We read the Color Zoo, and they drew various shapes and turned them into animals.

2/3s Turn Their Classroom into a Hindu Temple

2010-06-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hindu Temple Altar

Two Gods

Painting the Altar

Tracing the Projected God Images

The 2/3s have been studying India this spring. After a trip to the Hindu Temple in Latham, the students created their own versions of some of the Hindu gods. After drawing them, they projected the drawn images onto large paper. Then they painted, cut out and stuffed them so they became free-standing forms. Working from photos of the altar at the Temple they visited, they painted their own version. The transformed classroom reflected all their learning.

K/1s Transform Classroom into a Rainforest

2010-06-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Classroom as Rainforest

Parrot creation

TheK/1s have been studying the Costa Rican Rainforest. In art they made trees, leaves and vines, plus exotic, tropical flowers and parrots. These were all assembled in their classroom along with their research and drawings of rainforest life. The transformation was magical.

Middle School Students Paint with Acrylics on Canvasboards

2010-05-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Working on the clouds

Trying out the table easels

After learning about Impressionism and Surrealism, the 6/7/8th grade students took a trip to Williamstown, Ma. to view paintings at the Clark Art Institute and the Williams College Museum. They returned to school and began trying their hands at acrylic on canvasboard with either the Impressionists or Surrealists in mind.

K/1s Painting Bird Nests and Eggs

2010-05-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Painting the Pileated Woodpecker's home

Adding final touches to the Blue Jay's tree

After the K/1s constructed three-dimensional models of the birds they studied in the classroom, they painted a picture of their bird's nest and eggs. The pictures and birds were then assembled into a Classroom Native Bird Pop-Up Book.

2/3 Painting Wood Sculptures

2010-04-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Painting sculptures

Working together

Concentrating on the details

After completing construction of their wood sculptures, the 2/3s looked at pictures of Mexican Oaxacan carved animals and began painting their work using bright colors and lots of beautiful lines, dots and swirls.

2/3s Making Wood Sculptures

2010-04-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Gluing pieces together

Assembling the sculpture

The 2/3s built wood sculptures that turned into creatures or creations. Students glued together scraps of wood and then painted them to make sculptures that looked interesting (or fierce, or friendly) from all angles.

K/1s Making Birds Native to the Northeast

2010-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Piecing the blue bird together

Cutting out the song sparrow

In conjunction with the classroom study of native birds the K/1s each worked on making the bird they studied. After accurately painting their bird's nest with eggs, a class pop-up bird book was crafted with the birds flying out of their nests. Each student made an additional bird so that they’d have one that they could take home.

Middle School Self-Portrait Collage

2010-03-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Finding the right hair papers

Working on the face

Middle School students drew their self-portraits in pencil and then added a touch of color of their choosing. They copied the self-portrait and began making a collage of their likeness using different colors, patterns and textures, from torn colored paper and magazines.

4/5 Self Portraits

2010-03-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Coordinating the background

Adding pattern and color to the background

The 4/5s work with colored pencils as they study their image in the mirror and try to capture the proper placement and proportions of their features.

2/3s Painting Self-Portraits

2010-03-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Working on the clothes

Checking in the mirror

The 2/3s looked in the mirror to check that their work would look like themselves.

K/1 Painting Self Portraits

2010-03-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Painting the background

Checking skin tone

Finishing up

Each student works on an annual self-portrait. The k/1s began painting theirs looking in the mirror and observing shapes, colors and placement of features.

Middle School Tee Shirts from Africa

2010-02-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

Modeling African Tee Shirts

Keela Dates, founder of Reason2Smile, a support organization for Jambo Jipya, a school in Kenya for orphaned and at-risk children, returned from her latest trip to Kenya bringing with her the tee shirts each African student designed for the Parker student who had made a shirt for them.
Our students were the ones with the smiles as they received their unique art work, put them on and modeled for the camera.

Middle School Finished Food Sculpture

2010-02-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Pretzels with mustard

Burger and fries

Ribs and fries

The food sculpture created by the middle school students looks good enough to eat!

4/5 Dessert Pictures

2010-02-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

Drawing desserts

Coloring a cake

With the contemporary artist Wayne Thiebaud in mind, the 4/5s had fun creating their own sumptuous dessert pictures using heavily applied colored pencils on black paper.

4/5 Iroquois Village

2010-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

Stream running through the village

Another view of the finished village

The 4/5s finished their Iroquois Longhouses, attached clan signs, added people, trees and animals and assembled them into one dynamic village.

2/3 Hudson River Mural

2010-02-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

Finished Mural

The finished Hudson River Mural was presented to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services where it will adorn their office wall for all to view.

K/1 Grandma Moses Snow Paintings

2010-02-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Adding final details

Painting snow scenes

K/1 students used our wintery weather and an appreciation for the snow scenes of Grandma Moses to create their own snow paintings.

K/1 Math Bird Collages

2010-01-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

figuring out the border

Beginning with circles folded and cut into eight triangles, the K/1 students pieced together fanciful birds and then painted colorful patterned borders.

Middle School Food Sculpture

2010-01-13T13:11:00.001-08:00

making pretzels

ribs and fries

applying paint

Working with the unlikely medium of toilet paper and water, the middle school students have been sculpting some very realistic looking plates of food!

4/5 Iroquois Longhouses

2010-01-13T12:23:00.000-08:00

sculpting people

making animals

The fourth and fifth grade students have been making Iroquois longhouses and outfitting them with bunk beds, storage containers, people, animals and more. When completed, they will combine them all into one large village.

K/1 Animal Habitats

2010-01-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Forest Habitat

Field Habitat

Stream and Wetlands Habitat

The K/1 's study of animals of the Northeast ended in a celebration of work where they displayed the animals that each student made and the habitats they constructed to simulate where their animal lives.

Middle School Students Design Cakes

2009-12-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Artists happy with their work

Yumm!!

Deshawn about to dig in

After looking at the work of artist Wayne Thiebaud, known for his luscious dessert paintings, the middle school students created their own pictures of their favorite dessert. When the drawing project was completed the students each decorated and then devoured a real cup cake.

4/5s Work on Their Iroquois Seed Masks

2009-12-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Anya and her Special Friend

Christine (Mom) working with Lara

On Special Friends Day the 4/5s had help from their visitors putting the finishing touches on their seed and bean masks.