What a great turn out we had for our first Art Faculty show! For those who did come to the show, thank you so much for supporting your Art teachers:) Don't worry if you couldn't come out, there will be one this Fall as well! Above you can see the Art Faculty. My Art piece was a Crayola colored pencil drawing created to look like a children's book illustration. Each teacher also showed a pice of Artwork from the age level they teach. My second piece of Artwork was a plaster mask that was created when I was in first grade. Check out the image below, this is me next to my framed Artwork and mask. If you would like to see the Art teacher poster click here.
Each year there is an IAEA (Illinois Art Education Association) Conference. This year the Yorkville Art Teachers presented two sessions at the conference. Ms. Rizio also won the 2014 Carolyn and James Hewlett Scholarship Award. What a fun two days to teach, learn, and share with Art teachers from the entire state of Illinois.
Over our winter break the Art teacher was able to check off a bucket list item: to see the Blue Rider collection! The Blue Riders were a group of Artists who met in Munich, Germany and made beautiful abstract Artwork from 1911-1914. They used animals and abstract shapes to represent the tension that eventually led to WWI. Kandinsky also painted to music. Some of his paintings can even be enjoyed today while listening to the same music he painted to. First grade learned about Kandinsky and painted beautiful abstract paintings. The painting below is an example of a First grade project. What a joy to see my First grade students using one of my favorite Artists as inspiration! Do you see the painting of the blue horse above...looks like Franz Marc will be an inspiration for a future project as well. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to learn something totally new! While creating/ learning about Art- is my life, I was able to take a glassblowing class recently. I took this class with one of my best friends (who also happens to be an Art teacher). We were both laughing and talking over the teacher! It made me feel like my students mixing primary colors for the first time. While I don't think our principal needs to worry about molten glass in a second grade classroom, the joy of a new Artistic outlet will be brought back to my classroom. Everyone can always learn something new!
What is it like to make a piece of Artwork for a show? Well, it depends on the show. On Jan. 29th there was a faculty show. I teach elementary aged students. The Artwork I presented needed to reflect two things: my esthetic and my job. For these reasons I chose to make a Crayola colored pencil drawing. My hopes were to a simple layout (as my favorite things in life are the simple pleasures) and I wanted it to look like a children's book illustration. Below is a partially finished drawing. It is taped off to create a boarder.
As third grade has been working on their Giacometti paper mache sculptures, we want to keep in mind that they are based upon Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculptures. Giacometti was a 20th century sculpture who showed in both Paris and New York. We are so lucky that the Art Institute of Chicago has several of these sculptures in its permeant collection. Ms. Rizio went to do some research (and drink some coffee from Intelligentsia) while the third grade was working on this project. For size reference, your Art teacher is 5'4". Below are some finished paper mache sculptures in the hallway for comparison. My students sure did a great job!
Everyone needs to practice!
While I was at an Art museum, I took this picture of a man sketching in his sketchbook. I am often told by students, “I am not as good at drawing as you, I’m just not that good.” This just means you haven’t PRACTICED as long as I have! No one would ever run a race without practicing, so how can you draw without practice? Every time we make a sketch before a project in class, you get better at drawing. Every time you doodle at home, you are getting better at drawing! Use this photo up above as inspiration. If this man can still practice in his sketchbook…so can you! While visiting my cousin over the long weekend, I was able to visit the National Gallery. The National Gallery is an Art museum in Washington DC. While there are many famous Art museums in countries all over the world, the National Gallery has some priceless Art treasures! Two of my favorites were the Van Gogh self-portrait and Monet’s Bridge. Van Gogh even has a paint pallet in his hand! Looks like the Art teacher may need to do a ‘Where did Van Gogh, Go?’ too!
Also, after visiting the gift shop I have many new resources for the classroom! I hope all you enjoyed your long weekend as well! This question comes up so often in the Art Room! Believe it or not, outside of the Art classroom, I tend to make Art and go to Art museums. Even vacations are planned around Art exhibits. Some students laugh when I tell them that I pretty much spend my life learning about Art. This summer I was able to visit the Tate Modern. The Tate Modern, is a modern Art museum in London. This summer there was a wonderful exhibit of Henri Matisse’s paper cut outs. Henri Matisse was a famous artist who found it too difficult to paint when he became confined to a wheel chair. So, he began to paint with scissors and made some incredible artwork using cut paper! What joy it was to see these amazing cut paper masterpieces!
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