The hallway display of our Anasazi-inspired vessels

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Anasazi vessels drying in the halls

Our Anasazi-inspired vessels are set out to dry

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Finberg's class design their Anasazi-inpired vessels

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4th grade paint their Anasazi-inspired vessels (Finberg)

Children in 4th grade class have been studying Anasazi vessels. The Anasazi are the ancestors of the Pueblo People. These vessels will be decorated with geometric lines inspired by Anasazi designs next week. Check back for details.

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.

Creating Varied Cones In Preparation for Totem Poles

As a skill building activity in preparation to making our paper sculpture totem poles, children used regular copy paper to create varied cones. They were given the basics of creating a cone and then asked to tweak the formula in various ways and explore how their cones were then different.

These cone making skills will be helpful when making their totem poles. A cone could be used to make their animal eyes, ears, nozzle or beaks. Next week, children will explore various ways to manipulate paper to create fur, feathers or scales. All these skills will help children in the end create a highly skilled animal totem sculpture.

4th Grade students cut their patterns

We used measuring tape to measure our waist 1/2 circumference. We also made choice on how long to make our vests.

We used sharpies to trace our pattern onto fabric. By the way.....we need fabric for 25 more kids...have any we could use. Drop them by the art room....thanks!

Ready to be cut!!

Watercolor Paintings of Flowers by Ms. Finberg's class

Children in 4th grade are exploring working in watercolors. Painting in watercolor has its own techniques. Read the captions below to learn a little about what we are doing.

This artist first painted the yellow shape and the background. During a class a week later, the child used a much smaller brush to add the details.

Children also used their "detail" brushes to further define their petals.

Here, the artist used the detail brushes to add the fine detailing on the petals.....

This artist used wet-on-wet technique to make the background seem further back. Wet-on-wet technique is when one color is added to another color that has not yet dried on the paper.

Children also learned that when working in watercolors when you paint the same color over another color that has already dried, it intensifies that color...Above, see areas where the black color was used more than once....can you see a difference?

Children learned to make some aspects of the background come "forward" by making some of the background foliage more detailed than others.

These 2 flowers are brought forward and in focus by the fact that the front subjects are detailed and the background objects are blurry.