4/5s Create Tessellations

 Adding color

Tracing a tessellating shape

The 4/5s tried their hand at tessellations, designs which can fit together in repetitive patterns without gaps or overlaps. They began with a 3x3 inch card, cut parts off, taped them to the opposite side and created a new shape that would tessellate. This shape was then traced onto a larger paper and colored in an alternating two-color pattern.

K/1 Amate Paintings

 Painting a border

Adding small details

Outlining with Sharpie

 One finished painting

One more

The K/1s recently began their study of Mexico and learned about Mexican Amate paintings in art class. The Mexican paintings are done with bright colors on bark. The K/1s used brown paper to simulate the bark and painted flora and fauna in bright tempera colors.

2/3s Sew Stuffed Indian Elephants

 Tracing onto felt

Cutting out the elephant

 Attaching an ear

 Embroidering the body

Thoughtful stitching

l

 One finished elephant

A finished herd!

A visit to the Hindu Temple deepened the study of India

As the 2/3s began their study of India in the classroom, they enriched their studies with several art experiences. To start they traced and cut elephants from gray felt and then embroidered flowers and saddles to make their elephants look like they're ready for a festival. The two sides are then sewn together and stuffed.

4/5s Make Pop-up Animal Scenes

 Making the the pop-up background

Gluing in a flower

The 4/5s concocted fanciful animals in Spanish class. They drew these, and built 3D pop-up environments for them in art class. They will then return to the Spanish class where all the parts will be labeled in Spanish.

6/7/8s Paint Cigar Boxes

Claude Monet

Picasso's studio

Joseph Cornell

Sol LeWitt

                                                                                             Diego Rivera

 Researching in the library

 Painting on the gesso

Preparing the edges as well as the lid

 Beginning to paint

 Painting the image

After "The Scream" Edvard Munch

 A nod to Mark Rothko

From a Cezanne

Figuring out the composition

 Working from a James Whistler landscape

 Sol LeWitt hard edge painting

Looking at Picasso

What to do with stacks of lovely, empty cigar boxes? That dilemma was solved when I happened upon the work of Ray Nolin in Provincetown, Ma., who paints beautiful impressionistic landscapes on cigar boxes. The middle school students have each selected an artist to research. Their research will go in the cigar box and a work inspired by or copied from that artist will be painted in acrylics on the lid. They began the research in the library and prepared their boxes with a coat of gesso.

2/3s Make Pop-Ups

 Here's a lion taking shape

Working on a mouse in the grass

A finished dog

The 2/3s learned about cutting and folding paper to make areas pop out. They created animals with opening mouths and something inside them!

Middle School Helps Out

 Sign production

An origami lesson

The middle school students helped paint green arrows for trail markers for the upcoming 5K Trail Run and they made origami lilies for the May auction.