In 6th grade we started with Jackson Pollock. Many have seen his paintings and probably thought "I can do that". Well, you're right, but he did it first. We looked at a Jackson Pollock and shared our opinions on his art. Afterwards I showed the students a small clip from the movie Pollock. We watched a scene that unfolded on January 1947. We see Jackson wake up and proceed to his barn/ studio. He paints on large canvases on the floor in this clip. While pausing to decide what and where to paint, a drizzle of paint falls off of his brush and lands in an interesting pattern on the floor. He takes notice...then BAM! Abstract expressionism is born! The clip is inspiring because we get to witness the exact moment of an accidental discovery.
We discuss this in class and prepare our canvas. Once we do actually paint, we use brushes, spoons, squeeze bottles and eye droppers to apply the paint to our paper canvases. We also do this to music just to help inspire the paint lines. Afterwards we add a creative title and our signature. Poems are written to summarize the experience. Here are some examples...

Our first 4th Grade project is called Mystery seeds. It's a large format watercolor painting. The process begins when I hand out seeds that look a little different than ones we are used to. They have various colors and patterns on them. Students are asked to recreate the image underneath a set horizontal line on their paper.

Once the seed is finished in crayon we draw some roots that work towards the line we drew. We take a class and practice watercolor techniques including, crayon resist, wet on dry, wet on wet, dry brush and a cool effect with kosher salt. When we return to the painting I tell the students that I've never seen these seeds before and I have no idea what grows out of them. That becomes the conceptual problem for them to solve. My only criteria is that it must be solid color and the plant must touch the remaining three sides. Once finished we hang them like in the picture above creating a garden. Even though the solutions are all very different, they come together as a unit or garden. Here are some close ups.

Welcome! A new Year and new posts. Well, here's a look at the art room. A few years ago it was painted the bright green to give the feel of a creative space. This is a very active room that can go from neat to controlled chaos. There's really no place I'd rather spend my day.