K/1s Learn About the Art of Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses painted winter landscapes in Hoosick Falls, right near us! The K/1s learned about this extraordinary artist who began painting at age 70 and continued to work for the next 30 years! Her story and her artwork are very accessible to 5 and 6 year olds who appreciate the story like quality of her early farm life and later success. In her style, they are painting winter landscapes with a background, middleground and foreground and hopefully lots of details.

Sketching first ideas

Beginning the drawing

Just beginning to paint

Careful beginnings

K/1s Paint Snowmen with a 3/4 View

With a nod to Vincent van Gogh, the K/1s learned about portraits that can be painted from a frontal, profile or 3/4 view. They then drew very large snowmen, too big to entirely fit on their paper, and made it look like a 3/4 view portrait with the carrot nose protruding sideways between the two eyes. Hats and scarves were added, and snow was painted in the background.

Painting the snowman

Completed drawing

Finished work

Another finished

2/3s Explore Aboriginal Art

When one of our 2/3 students returned from an autumn spent in New Zealand and Australia we decided to learn about the art from that part of the world. We read several Aboriginal folk tales about Dreamtime and Walkabouts and then began paintings reminiscent of their unique style of art. Swirls and dots were incorporated into designs formed around a central image of a plant or animal. 

Initial sketch

Gathering ideas

Painting with lots of detail

The dots are being added

Koala!

Working on the whole composition

Middle School Students Paint Egyptian Tomb Paintings

After studying Ancient Egypt in Social Studies class and before a February trip to the Albany Institute of History and Art to view the Egyptian mummies, the 6/7/8th graders learned about the unique and extremely proscribed style of painting that the ancient Egyptians created to ensure their safe travels to and in the afterlife. Using a grid to achieve correct proportions, the students carefully drew the different parts of the body in the strangely correct profile and frontal view. They added a name cartouche and items specifically relating to them that they would like to have in the Afterlife! These drawings will be projected and enlarged and then painted and put up in the hall to resemble the decorative walls of an Egyptian tomb.

Working on the grid paper

Just getting going

Transferring to velum

Enlarging using a projected image

Painting the figure

Beginning to paint the enlarged image

Meticulous detail on this figure!

Some finishing touches with gold paint

Painting a canopic jar where the organs of the embalmed body were guarded

Ushabtis that the middle school students made at the albany Institute. Ushabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife.

Middle School Students Try Their Hand at Cartooning

After completing the epic van Gogh group project, the middle schoolers began working on a smaller endeavor. Each student developed a cartoon character and created a short, six panel comic taking that character through some adventure or interaction.

On the third panel

Lots of detail on this one

Working from a specific image

Finishing touches

4/5s Paint Scenery for Their Plays

Small groups of 4/5 students have written short plays based on Native American myths and legends that they've been studying in their class. The common background is a wooded scene 16 ' long x 6' tall. They did an amazing job figuring out what to represent and how to have all 16 students working together. This will be a minor masterpiece when completed!

Discussing and painting

A large pine tree takes shape

Off to a great start!

A play with the backdrop

The finished scene ready for the plays to begin!

K/1s Sculpt Animals

After drawing, painting, and collaging the animal they are studying in class, the k/1s moved to the third dimension and sculpted their animal out of clay. They worked with great focus and determination. The next step is building animal habitats and placing the animals in the appropriate one.

Checking out the deer

Trying to pull out the legs and head

Another deer forming

Painting a mouse

Getting the skunk's stripe

Painting tree branches for the habitat

Painting the tree

Cutting grass for the habitat

Long grasses

                                                       

                                                                Painting a cardboard squirrel

Cardboard animals in the tree

The animals in the forest

Sharing the habitat with buddies

The finished habitat, forest, field and stream waiting for the animals arrival