5th Grade Wesrward Expansion (peak at some new finished figurines)

For being only about 5-7 inches these figurines are amazingly filled with character.

Hair, Hair Everywhere

3rd Grade puppets waiting for their hair to set. Next week we will dress and add eyes, nose, mouths to these puppets. These "Persephone" puppets already have their unique personality and they are not yet done. Check back later to see them become real.

These are made from plastic cups, rolled up magazine paper rolled into balls, acrylic silver paint, yarn.

Kids began by adding rows of hair at the bottom of the back of the head and adding new rows above each row.

Check out these locks! Parents have donated all this yarn and we need more for after vacation when the rest of the 3rd graders add hair to their puppets. I could go and buy yarn. But the donated yarn is always much more varied and interesting. Thanks Murch parents!

MOST needed Recycled "TRASH TO TREASURE" Items for the NEW YEAR

** Newspapers

** Lids of any kind

** Toilet paper tubes

** Paper Towel Tubes

** Magazines

** Empty tape rolls of any kind (masking, clear tape, etc)

** shoe boxes (any kind)

** ribbons

** YARN of any kind (I am all out)

** board books

** old canvases

** fake plants

** broke toy pieces

** yogurt cups

** Meat trays

Update on After School Art Series

The next art series which will NOT begin until Mid-March of 2011 (not January as posted in the newsletter) will be all about storytelling and making simple stories come alive through acting and puppetry and general play-based-performances (Open to Kindergarten and 1^st graders). Registration for that will not be available until about mid-February and it will be online registration only. In order to be fair to all families who have not yet had a chance to participate in the after school art program it will again be purely through a system of 'first-come-first-served' basis. So please sign up (look to your left) to get e-mail reminders whenever I post on the art blog so that you get the news the minute it’s posted in February. I wish I could close myself and serve the entire community, but 20 slots per session, once a week for the whole year is all I can offer right now while my kiddies are young.

A note to all parents who want their kids in the next after school art session that begins Mid-March 2011. I have been receiving dozens of requests for space reservations for the next afterschool art program in March 2011. Although I feel incredibly humbled and deeply honored to see such interest in me and my programs, I am not able to reserve any spots at this time. I would like to keep this program open to as many families as possible and I believe that keeping it a truly democratic process is the only way to approach the process. I am working on coming up with some 1-time unique workshops for the near future as well as setting up possible for-profit art intensives for this summer. The best way to be informed of such opportunities is to sign up through my blog to get e-mail updates everytime I post.

Clay Creations (Not YET Done) by Ms. McCoy's Class

Can't wait to see the final images of these gingerbread clay creations by Ms. McCoy's class. The houses are not yet painted and will be done and ready to go home next week. You too can do gingerbread homes from home by using self-drying clay, a butter knife, acrylic paint and a small detail brush.

5th Graders Explore Creating with Clay

Check out these mouth-watering clay creations by Ms. Otten's class. You too can do this at home with self-drying clay, acrylic paint, and a small detail brush.

Kindergarten Persephone Puppets Samples

These are samples of out Persephone puppets. I will try come in the classes next week or after vacation and retell the story using their puppets.

Westward Expansion 5" Tall Figurines

These are some of the finished figures of the important figures in the Westward Expansion. A few will be on display next week in the sculpture case in the lobby.

Warm colors used to create our landscapes

I must say...I LOOOVE my ELMO. using this amazing projector I was able to project myself mixing colors in the color wheel using only the 3 primaries. The ELMO was brought exclusively for the art department at Murch through funds from the HSA.

This is a picture of the projected images I shared with the kids.

Here are kids using only red, white and yellow to create a very intense warm-colored sky.

The trees were added a class later. Kids looked at real images of bare trees and noticed the varying widths in the lines they say in these trees.
Here is a close-up of my color wheel. I used my ELMO to demonstrate live how these colors are created using cray pas. I also used white to show how children could create lighter versions of their warm colors.
Children using cray pas to create their landscapes.

A peak in the everchanging art studio at Murch

I LOVE my huge shelf. Everything has its place.

My latest amazing new tools is my new ELMO. I can project images in books, as well as detailed enlarged views of my explorations in paints, clay and other media.

I love boxes. This box hold 24 almost-done Persephone puppets. They are waiting to have their eyes glued on, and their noses, mouths and shoes colored in with markers. During our last class we added hair, so during the next class the puppets will either get their hair trimmed or braided.
In this box you find half-way done puppets created by 3rd graders. These need to be dressed and detailed. For this play children are going to writing their own words based on a Greek Myth they heard in class.

2nd finished 2nd grade quilt-Stephens (2nd Grade)

You can view this new quilt in the lobby of the school. Kids in Ms. Stephen's class traced, cut, decorated and glued the diamonds on this sheet. A huge thank you to parents who donated varied fabrics to make this quilt especially beautiful and colorful.

Humble beginnings of our Kindergarten puppets

Kindergarteners were introduced to the story of Persephone. Children then discussed the characters in the story and chose one character to depict for their puppet. Puppets begin will rolled paper that will then be painted, dressed and detailed. Please check back in a week to see how this project progresses.

Children began painting their puppets this week. We discussed the unifying affect of painting the entire the puppet one color.
Without the kind donations of magazines by the parents this project would not be possible.

2nd Grade Quilts

2nd graders (and the 1/2 combo class) have been working on creating a quilt. Children first used paper diamonds to explore different ways in which diamonds can come together to make an interesting design. Children then used patterns to trace and then cut out fabric diamonds. Next, children used sharpies to individualize each diamond. During the last class in this lesson, children glued their diamonds in the chosen design.

You can view 2 of the 4 quilts in the lobby of the school. Enjoy.
This project was made possible by the generous donations of varied fabrics from parents. Thanks parents.

And yet another ART contest for our little artists!!! (You can win $1000 dollars)

I will not be collecting these entries at school, but if you are interested in helping your child enter this contest please keep reading.

Not everyone is into art contests. This post is for those who are:

Play With Your Pears Kids' Art Contest

Win a $1,000 Gift Certificate From SmileMaker's® , Inc.

Kids 5-18—Here's your chance to play with your food and win big. The Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service is sponsoring a contest to encourage kids to "Play With Your Pears" by decorating a canned pear (or downloadable pear outline) for a chance to win a $1,000 SmileMaker's, Inc. gift certificate for art and educational supplies. See the contest website for full details.

http://eatcannedpea rs.com/playwithy ourpears/

The Play With Your Pears kids' art contest is sponsored by Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service and runs from October 1, 2010 through December 15, 2010.

Open to legal residents of the United States and District of Columbia, entrants must be between 5-12 and 13-18 years of age in their state of residence at the date of entry. Void where prohibited. (Odds of winning depend on number of entries.? Is this statement necessary?) We respect the privacy of minors and operate this contest in compliance with COPPA rules and regulations. All entries from minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian's approval. See full rules and regulations.

Grand Prize: Two $1,000 SmileMakers, Inc., Gift Certificates: one gift certificate for each age category (5-12 and 13-18). See official rules for complete prize details.

No purchase necessary.

Official rules at http://eatcannedpea rs.com/playwithy ourpears/ official- rules/

Pacific Northwest Canned Pearsin a $1000 certificate for art and school supplies fromp Smilemakers, Inc
Cynthia Traina
cynthia@trainapr. com
415/775-3330
m: 415/310-1442

DCPS Food Art Contest....All students can apply (deadline November 20th)

Assignment:

Create a flat artwork on paper from home that includes fruit and vegetables using any medium. Place your name, teacher's name, grade and age in the back of the work and drop off in the classroom.

In Depth Information for Parents:

Over the past five years, the Zenith Community Arts Foundation’s (ZCAF) annual Food Glorious Food program has helped support the Capital Area Food Bank to feed the hungry in our community. ZCAF would like to invite Murch school and other DCP Schools to participate in our first Food Glorious School Food Art Contest to support and promote our Sustainable theme. We invite your students to produce a work of art made with fruits & vegetables, we will encourage your students to have creative fun and think healthy. The winning student artist/s will have their art work turned into a painted mural at their school. Any student or team of students can submit an entry. The work can be done at home or in school but it must be professionally photographed in-school by CityYear and submitted by the art teacher before Nov 22nd. Also, taking candid photos of the creative process will be wonderful too. Once again, the photographs of the art pieces will have to be submitted on or before Nov 20th, 2010 to Ms. Cutelis for review and judging by ZCAF. The winner, first & second runners up will be announced Monday, November 28, 2010. (balloons) All schools submitting will receive Calendar acknowledgment and a special prize. The top three entries will receive invitations and 10 tickets each to the Calendar Gala Event and their photographs displayed with the other artists works at 7:00PM Dec 1, 2010, where the winner will be announced. The winner will have a large mural of their fruit and veggie creation painted in the room of their choice. First and Second runner up will receive trophies and all submitting school will receive a special

prize.

Food Glorious Food, themed Sustainable & Scrumptious, will open at the Embassy Suites Hotel at Chevy Chase Pavilion on Wednesday, December 1, with our Calendar Launch Event and silent auction, emceed by WUSA 9 news anchor Andrea Roane. The art and calendars will remain on display and sale through December.

URGENT REQUEST: Need Oatmeal cannisters (updated November 16th)

We STILL need many, many more oatmeal containers. Both large and smaller size cannisters will do. Even cardboard TANG canisters will serve the purpose.

The 4th Grade classes will be making totem poles and studying paper sculpting. Can you please save and drop off any and all oatmeal containers you may have at home to the art room. Thanks in advance. You can contact me at Miriam.Cutelis@yahoo.com if you have any questions.

Calendars are here!

Calendars are here and they look beautiful! Please come by the art room between 8:45am and 9:15am daily Or after school any day but Monday and Friday. Make sure I personally give you your copy and if I'm not in my room you will have to come at a better time. If you text me before then, I will make sure to be in my room.

I have had tons of people ask me if they could order calendars. Yes and no. If you still want to get a calendar please e-mail me and I will send you a link to the project on Shutterfly and you can order it individually. The price will be higher than $18 and this will be a personal purchase by you from Shutterfly.

Great characters....a gallery walk of all mixed-media 4th Grade portraits

I am so very proud to present the 4th grade portraits for this year. They are mixed media works done using watercolor, crayons, cray pas, and pencils. The began by drawing proportionate faces, then practicing specific features using mirrors. They then brainstormed specific personal characteristics they would like to portrait in their portraits. They then studied color theories and specifically looked at Van Gogh's use of compliments. This is the culmination of weeks of skill building and it shows!

To see in-process images and posts of this project, just click on 4th grade on the search list on your left and you will see a whole gallery of the entire unit.

If your child's portrait is not here they have not yet finished them and need to set up time with me aside from class time to finish it.

Children used mirrors to see where their skin appeared darker and lighter.

Using Cray pas on our hair allowed them to appear textured.



We discovered that our upper lips appear darker than our bottom lips. Why is that you think?










Inspired by Va Gogh's work using strong complements we too used equal amount of complements as a way to draw in the viewer.