K/1 and 2/3 Observe, Draw and Collage Sunflowers

Vases of beautiful, bright sunflowers provided inspiration for some observational drawing in art class. Looking carefully at the shapes and colors of the flowers and in some cases the stems in water in the vases, the students filled their papers with large sunflowers, colored them with oil pastels and painted backgrounds with tempera paint. The resulting discovery of oil resisting water added to their enthusiasm. When done with these pictures the students looked at the very tall sunflowers growing outside the Pre-K 4 classroom. They worked with green and yellow paper to make their own tall versions that will be part of a group collage greeting all who enter the front lobby.

Observing and drawing

Adding paint over oil pastels

Careful coloring of the dark center

Petals cut and glued

Overlapping petals around the dark center

Gluing flower petals

A finished picture

More finished pictures

One group of sunflowers

A large wooly bear

Beginning a monarch caterpillar

Painting with liquid watercolors

Careful application with a very small brush

K/1 and 2/3 Lines, Shapes and Colors

The new school year began with the younger students listening to Leo Lionni's Matthew's Dream and talking about lines, shapes and colors in abstract art. They drew long, lazy lines across their papers and noticed the shapes that emerged as their lines crossed each other. The different shapes were then colored in to create abstract drawings reminiscent of Matthew's paintings in the Lionni story.

Long, lazy lines

Some thoughtful areas of color

Contemplating the overall design taking shape

Concentrating on color application

4th - 8th Grade Students Begin Locker Names

Each year the older students begin art class creating art work to differentiate their hall lockers. This year they are working on name pictures that appear different when viewed from different angles. By combining their distinctly written name with a picture that tells something of their interests, anyone walking in the hall will learn a bit about each student. Two separate pictures are created, cut into 1 inch strips, reassembled and glued on a backing paper in alternating strips. The backing paper is then accordion folded so each picture is visible from opposite angles.

First pass at sketching ideas

Working an a name in Chinese characters

Bold lettering

Eye-catching color

Making sure the name is legible

And here is the sequence of putting it altogether!