Sample Finished Puppets (3rd Grade)

Finished mixed media puppets created with cardboard, clay, cloth, yarn. Please ask your children to tell you the myth of Persephone. They loved watching me retell the story using their own puppets and retelling it with a modern twist.....These are just great puppets.

Below is a child trimming his puppet's hair very carefully.

1st graders play with organic and geometric shape to create a unity based collage

This is an image of a work created by Victor Brauner. We used our amazing HSA-funded ELMO to look closely at this art. Brauner was a Romanian Surrealist Painter who lived from 1903-1966. This work has abstract images of human beings in which geometric and organic shapes are used.

The great benefit with using the ELMO allows us to really get up close to the work, no matter how tiny they look printed in a book. The children loved all these depictions of humans and animals.

Below is the kids' rendition inspired by Victor Brauner.

Children used colored construction paper, and varied fancy scissors to create both geometric and organic shapes to create a human being. The artist below is cutting out his person on the second day of this project.

The 2 types of shapes. Children were shown various shapes and they had to tell me where it went.
Below is the work completed. Looks very much inspired by the Brauner work we looked at.
A wonderful Murch parent donated these amazing set of wavy scissors. The kids enjoyed making organic shapes from these scissors.

Printmaking Frenzy (2nd grade and 1/2 combo class)

2nd Graders have been working on winter inspired prints.
This artist is rolling on the ink onto his printing plate.
These are the winter prints created by the 2nd Grade artists.
A child pull a print......THE most exciting part of this whole process.
Wow...this looks great!!
Look at all these beautiful colors!!

5th Graders Explore Roy Lichtenstein's Work

Students in 5th grade are studying the art of Roy Lichtenstein. We will be creating our own 'small moment' paintings inspired by his style. We have been discussing a lot how artists often inspire each other and that it's not called or considered copying.

2nd Grade Explore symmetrical designs (Lipshie)

2nd Graders (and the 1/2 combo class) are exploring symmetry using mirrors. We looked at various ancient containers that had symmetry in their design. Then they were given jar-shaped papers to design. The children became utterly fascinated by the mirrors (as you can see from the pictures).

Once done, children made other unplanned discoveries. They learned that many mirrors facing each other give you an amazing set of repetitions.
hey! a 360 degree mirror!!
What do you see?
This child even made a symmetrical image of her own name!

Kindergarteners Create boxes

Boxes, boxes, boxes. Kindergarteners have been making boxes for this coming unit. Next, children will use their box-making skills to make houses.

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.