new city arts

second grade clouds

2012-01-05T17:04:00.012-06:00

The second grade artists have their heads in the clouds!

We finished working on this project which required lots of up close intense observation so it was time to look up in the sky for a change. We have been working on the cloud theme for a couple of months now and started our exploration using Clouds in Art, an interactive website. Partners worked together to identify cloud types in over 20 landscape paintings. Great practice using the interpersonal intelligence!

These felted cloudscapes were made using wool roving and the wet felting process. We used plastic bags, warm/cold soapy water, and lots of energy to work the fibers into fabric in this very bodily-kinesthetic activity. We had some tired arms and very clean art tables by the end of the hour!

The second graders embellished their final textile piece using beads, needle, and thread. They made such beautiful choices! I am also very proud of their perseverance in learning a new skill.

new city softies

2012-01-01T22:26:00.008-06:00

Happy New Year!

These soft sculptures were made during a winter break art class at New City School and are sure to bring you a smile. They were so much fun to make and will look great hanging in the gallery for the Sew Loved art show!

sew loved

2011-12-20T16:58:00.007-06:00

The Sew Loved art show is here!

Where: New City School's Delano Gallery, Saint Louis, Missouri.
When: 2012 Winter-Spring show
Why: Sew Loved will feature artists from around the world who love to make softies. These artists will inspire the New City School children and community to create their own softies in a collaborative way. Create, Inspire, Love!

What are softies? Softies are huggable art! Also called soft sculpture, plush, or textile art, this kind of art is soft to the touch and made from any kind of fabric.

How does it work? Each of the softie artists have created a special little package just for you to help you get started making your own softie. You should have already picked up your package when you signed up for the show before Winter Break, but if not, you are welcome to still participate! Bring your softie to the art room by January 6th and it will by hung in the gallery to complete the art show. I can't wait to see what you create!

I'll also be introducing you to some of the artists featured here in the coming months. More from Sew Loved soon!

war weavings part 3

2011-12-10T09:26:00.008-06:00

It was interesting to see how many of the third grade textile stories were related to war. Boys and girls created epic battle stories with ultimate destruction and rebirth, historical war references, or man versus some destructive element (robots, aliens, fires, etc).

Good versus evil is a part of any good storytelling, but I was struck by the number of stories dealing with death and destruction coming from my lovely third graders! I thought perhaps that this might be a way for some of them to process what they might be hearing or seeing on the news, in the media, etc. I thought of ways to relate these battle story weavings to the way another culture might retell their own battle stories in their textile art. While pondering these thoughts via a little googling, I found some interesting information. Athena is both the Greek goddess of war and weaving. Neith is the Egyptian goddess of war who wove all of existence with her loom. Or how about the Norse story of woman weaving on a warp of human guts and using arrows as a shuttle!

How amazing to think that this war and weaving relationship is so ingrained that it has become an intuitive part of human expression. These third grade war weaving stories are a primal retelling of our human story.

And one more connection to share, I found this video on the Penn Museum website featuring information about its show: Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan.

Notes from Afghanistan: War Rugs from Penn Museum on Vimeo.

third grade weaving part 2

2011-11-20T13:35:00.007-06:00

The third graders have worked so hard on their weavings! I love when we get to take our time with a project- understanding, connections, and creativity are all intensified in a long process. It offers them the chance to persevere, to appreciate the time invested in making something, and to feel pride in a job well done.

I started using podcasts as a way for students to reflect on their art making process rather than just writing an artist statement. The kids LOVE doing this reflection piece! They are highly motivated to articulate their ideas in a meaningful way. Podcasting is a modern storytelling device and the perfect tool to share their textile art! I have some samples here but you can see them all on our vimeo page. Enjoy!

John from Shannah Burton on Vimeo.

third grade weaving part 1

2011-11-13T10:16:00.014-06:00

Our third grade artists have created some beautiful textile pieces using the ancient art of weaving. The words "text" and "textile" come from the same Latin origin meaning, “to weave.” We have discussed how text implies a story or words and how storytelling is very much a part of textiles and weaving. With this in mind, our artists were asked to tell a story using color and pattern in their weavings. The third graders had some wonderful stories to tell!

I love this Doctor Who inspired weaving!

Many students commented on how much they enjoyed the calm and quiet of weaving. This was the perfect project to take outside and enjoy in our school garden.

Shark Attack Ocean Story I'm glad this artist decided not to trim the edges of his weaving. It adds so much energy and movement- and looks like a jelly fish!

This artist did a beautiful job experimenting with the warp and weft.

CRAFT OUTLOUD

2011-11-05T09:18:00.004-05:00

Come and visit us at Craft OutLoud this weekend! New City School is hosting what is set to be an amazing show. Again and again, New City proves itself to be a place where the arts are supported inside and outside of the school. Make sure to stop by and say hello- I'll be there too!

first grade faux bois

2011-10-12T21:04:00.011-05:00

Each student was given a small wooden tree ring in pine, birch, cherry, honey locust, mulberry, or elm. They carefully observed the patterns of the tree rings and then created their own tree ring designs. The results ranged from beautifully abstract to carefully detailed copies of the original.

The students got to keep their tree rings and loved being able to hold the history of an entire tree in the palm of their hands!

We used a variety of techniques in colored pencil, collage, and watercolor.

birthday birds

2011-09-29T14:15:00.004-05:00

Say hello to our new batch of birthday birds! The sixth graders do a service project at the beginning of each year. It is their job to sculpt and glaze 300+ little clay birds. Making this many multiples requires a different set of art skills than spending lots of hours on just one piece, so it's a valuable experience.

The birthday birds were inspired by this project and these little birds a few years ago. When a kiddo comes to art on his or her birthday/gotcha day (or as long as it's the same week), he or she gets to pick out a birthday bird. We do summer bdays in June so that everyone will get one by the end of the school year. The kids LOVE choosing a special bird to take home. Well done sixth graders- thanks for working so hard to brighten someone else's day!

welcome

2011-09-04T17:40:00.004-05:00

It has been a wonderful first week back at school. I am so energized and happy to see the art room filled with artists again!

I have this new print from etsy artist Laura Berger hanging on our art room door window- I think it sums up what we do here quite nicely.

The first art day is spent going over the rules and expectations for the year. Here are the three art room rules. We are off to a great start and I look forward to sharing their creativity and discoveries along the way!

summer vacation

2011-07-27T21:14:00.016-05:00

Summer is winding down and we'll be back to school soon! I just got back from an inspiring trip through Tennessee. We took our time to visit the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, Hatch Show Print in Nashville, and Yee Haw Industries in Knoxville!

We choose an art destination each summer to plan our vacation and this year we took a drive through Tennessee to visit the Knoxville Museum of Art to see the first solo show of Ai Weiwei outside of New York in the United States. It was one of the most thought provoking shows I've experienced and well worth the trip.

Ai Weiwei has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government but it still came as a shock to the international community when he was detained and only recently released. Read more about this at www.freeaiweiwei.org. His work as an artist and architect is substantial and I hope that he is allowed (or finds a way) to continue his important work.

Dropping the Urn is the name of the traveling exhibition. It features Ai Weiwei's work from 1993 to the present. The show's namesake is based on this series of larger than life photographs of his performance art in which he calmly drops a Han dynasty vessel onto the ground. It evokes so many questions/ideas about culture, economy, and art. I found the reference to the Cultural Revolution to be especially interesting. Mao Zedong commanded his Red Guards "to smash bourgeois inclinations."

The famous sunflower seeds! A similar pile recently went at auction for over half a million dollars. This one ton pile of sunflower seeds are actually individually sculpted and painted porcelain. It took some serious willpower on my part to not dive my hands into that pile!!! This piece brings together culture, economy, metaphor, and craft so beautifully.

Coca-Cola Vase, along with the colorful pots in the photo above, are what I found to be most provocative. These pots are several thousand years old and are now covered in bright acrylic paint and a beautifully painted coca-cola logo. If you think about it, our coca cola cans and bright plastic containers are the equivalent of what these utilitarian pots were in their day. He brings together the handmade and the mass-produced to make us question the very nature of value on so many levels.

The Pink Palace Museum in Memphis offered some mistakenly identified pieces that had been in its collection. If you read the gallery card you'll see that this was a particularly ironic piece considering the intention of my trip to see Ai Weiwei's show! I love the dichotomy of intention.

Happy Summer! I'd love to hear what you've been up to!

fifth grade photography

2011-06-25T22:43:00.012-05:00

I hope our New City School families are enjoying summer break and the lovely weather we've been having lately. I've been looking forward to sharing the work that the fifth grade photographers did this year.

Last year's photo postcard sale was a big hit and this year the fifth grade photo notecards looked great!

We were inspired by the talented contemporary etsy artist, Joaquima Casas, and her series of whimsical animal photographs. The fifth graders used small plastic animal toys to play with perspective, color, balance, line, and space.

I love these squirrel photos! It's amazing how much character the photographers were able to bring to out of these tiny toys.

Proceeds from the notecard sales went to the World Wildlife Fund.

Check out photojojo for lots of fun photography tips this summer!

Gary Griffin Memorial Sculpture

2011-06-07T13:56:00.005-05:00

The fourth graders have been the stewards of an MI sculpture project on a monumental scale! The sculpture was built to honor the work of Gary Griffin, a New City School friend and neighbor, who recently passed away. He did a lot of great work for the community and this sculpture was a community effort as well.

The year long theme in fourth grade is Citizens Making a Difference. Gary Griffin is a citizen who made a difference and by honoring him in this way, a seed was planted in the hearts of these children. They got to experience the hard work and joy of being part of a community effort.

All of the students at New City School had a hand in making the tiles but fourth grade took the bulk of responsibility for the project. They rolled out over 600 pounds of clay to cut out over 950 tiles in perfect shapes for the rest of the school to design. They also designed nearly half of those tiles in the Multiple Intelligence theme and then glazed and packaged all 950 tiles. This was obviously a huge responsibility and they took it on with gusto!

This was a really special opportunity to participate in art making that was part of a community effort, part of a long process, and something that will be with New City for a long time to come. Congratulations dear fourth graders on a job well done!

Here is a little ladybug found wandering on the greenware tiles bringing some good luck our way. Each tile was lovingly designed by our k-6 students using one of the multiple intelligences for inspiration.

Carol Fleming is a local artist who served as our expert advisor. She let us use her special recipes for the strong clay and unique glazes. Her guidance, kind nature, and positive attitude helped to make this a fun and successful process.

The sculpture was designed by New City School parent, Jeff Ryan from HOK, and his tireless efforts really brought this entire project to life!

Pictured here: Jeff Ryan, Dr. Tom Hoerr, myself, and Carol Fleming. Special thanks to Tom for helping to make the arts a valued part of our school.

It is inspiring to think of how many people volunteered to help in this community effort. In addition to those mentioned above, I would like to thank: Evan Wykes for making the full scale model, Vince Schell for donating the time to make the laser cut templates, Tim Trotter for the fabrication of the steel formwork, helping to pour the foundation, and installing the blocks, Confluence Fabrication for casting the blocks, Glenn Steiner for the foundation work and installation, the many New City parents for helping to plan and install the blocks and tiles, and to the CWA Association for donating the funds to honor our friend and neighbor.

Thank you for allowing the students to honor Gary Griffin, a citizen who made a difference, and for giving them the opportunity to make a meaningful and long lasting contribution to their community!

kindergarten snails

2011-05-22T11:35:00.001-05:00

We watched a short Art:21 interview with Korean artist Doh Ho Suh who described the feeling of missing his home (watch the video here).

He said that he wished he could pack up his home and take it with him wherever he traveled just like a snail. The kinderartists shared their stories about missing home and then imagined what kind of homes their own snails would carry.

The use of line and special use of color give these imaginative drawings a strong sense of design.

kindergarten building a better world

2011-05-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who came to the art opening to support our kindergarten artists! There were lots of proud smiles, noshing on snacks, and compliments galore! This show represented months of art work from the kindergarten artists on the theme of Architecture: Building a Better World.

Each class has its own poster collection of architecture prints. Part of the proceeds from the sale of these keepsakes will be donated to ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY. This organization works to bring design, construction, and development services to communities in need. This is a wonderful opportunity for our kindergarten artists to use the power of art to help make a difference!

Here are some installation photos in case you aren't able to come visit the show before it closes on May 27th!

Here are some of their Beverly Buchanan inspired art. Beverly is an artist who is inspired by the rural architecture that she grew up around. Her shack inspired art is an homage to the ingenuity and creativity of these homes. Beverly uses bright color and pattern to imbue her paintings and sculptures with the same energy and strength that she finds in the architecture around her. Beverly inspired the kinderartists to use paint and oil pastels to create color and pattern to build their own amazing homes!

Photos of one of my favorite kindergarten projects- the bird nests. Animals are architects too! The kinderartists pretended to be mama and papa birds that needed to build a strong and safe nest for their eggs. We spent time outside in the nature walk area looking for good nest building materials. Each nest demonstrates ingenuity and turned out beautifully.

This artist is talking about the many different kinds of cityscapes in art. Joy’s kindergarten class played an art game using examples of cityscapes in art history. This is a fun way to introduce the kindergarten artists to art criticism. Each student had 5 tokens to place near their choices. They did a nice job of using their interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences as they made brave personal choices and discussed their choices with their peers.

Heart = their favorite piece of art
House = the city they would most want to live in
Happy face = art made them feel happy
Sad face = art made them feel sad
Cloud= art made them think differently about cities

These two little guys are looking at their geodesic dome inspired sculptures. We talked about the life of the architect Buckminster Fuller and the geodesic dome. We have a great example of a geodesic dome right here in Saint Louis at the Botanical Gardens! The kindergarten architects know that the triangle is a very strong shape and combined their logical-mathematical and spatial intelligences to make tetrahedron sculptures.

This young artist forgot to sign his name so he asked his mom for a pencil to fix that! At first I thought he was adding some last minute details. I know this is a long post so I'll post more on these sweet little snails next time.

second grade bird sculptures

2011-04-22T21:43:00.009-05:00

The second grade artists have finished up their bird watercolors and are now working on creating bird sculptures! Each bird actually started out using the pinch pot method in clay. The features of the birds were carefully pulled out and texture was added using various tools. The artists chose a piece of wood as the sculpture base and had to decide how their bird would balance. The clay birds were kiln fired, glazed, fired again, and then carefully perched. It was fun to see what kind of wood the children were drawn to- some organic and rough others smooth and geometric.

Last year I made a fun trip to the workshop of NCS family Willard Woodrights to collect pieces of scrap wood for the art room. They have a passionate interest in using reclaimed, locally harvested urban hardwood whenever possible and we are very fortunate to have these gorgeous pieces to use for our art projects. I love their philosophy and you can read more about what they do here.

second grade has gone to the birds!

2011-04-06T12:21:00.009-05:00

The second grade artists worked so hard to create these beautiful detailed watercolor renderings of birds with a focus on line and color. They also learned about the artist/naturalist John James Audubon in The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davis.

This lovely book tells the story of John James Audubon as a young boy who diligently studies the habits of birds and discovers the secrets of small bird migration. Did you know that scientists used to think that small birds migrated to the moon, transformed into larger birds, or hibernated under water during the winter?!

We learned that John James Audubon had to shoot and stuff the birds in order to draw them so accurately. Fortunately no birds were harmed in the making of these watercolors! The second grade artists used photography to help them study the birds so closely.

John James Audubon was the first person in North America to band a bird in 1804 and the second graders were excited to make the connection to the Lewis and Clark expedition also starting that year!

We spent a lot of time talking about the visual characteristics of birds and played bird inspired Pictionary (which I used as a pre-assessment tool). They end up drawing well over 20 types of birds by the end of the hour! They did a great job using their spatial and interpersonal intelligences here.

first grade insect mobiles

2011-04-03T09:32:00.005-05:00

Our first grade theme this year is Art & Nature- How can we find beauty in the everyday? How does recognizing patterns help us learn new things?

Nature is a wonderful source for curiosity and creativity. The first graders observed insects from my collection or from photographs and carefully made contour drawings from their observations.

I read this beautifully illustrated book to the first graders. We learned that Maria Merian was an artist/naturalist who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them. She was particularly interested in metamorphosis and her art helped to dispel the common belief that insects were evil creatures. Maria worked in a scientific field during a time when options for women were very limited. She traveled all over the world to study insects in their natural environment.

Her art has inspired the first graders to make their own carefully detailed drawings of insects- some are based on real insects and some imagined.

The first grade artists painted their contour drawings with metallic watercolors and carefully cut them out. We used small twigs from our school garden to hang these colorful bugs. Each mobile is a wonderful lesson in color, line, and balance. If you visit the art room you can see them on display right now! The bug mobiles gently flit around and are so much fun to look at (and also hard to photograph!).

My own kiddos collect cicada shells for fun so I brought in a box full of cicada shells to share! We had a good time talking about cicadas and many students left the art room with a cicada shell clung to their shoulder. Read more about cicadas here. Check out the sound clip of the cicada song and the time lapse video of a cicada molting!

Pandora's Box: Opening at a theater near you!

2011-03-13T22:17:00.005-05:00

I shared this movie trailer with Anne's fourth grade class (greek mythology experts) and I thought you might like to see it too!

pandora's box from on Vimeo.

So I guess you know that I was just having some fun with imovie now. Anne's fourth grade class did love seeing their art on the "big screen" and it was a great way to start off a group discussion/reflection about the project.

fourth grade pandora's box

2011-03-12T17:32:00.015-06:00

The story of Pandora's Box is a rich source for visual interpretation. The students were asked to create their own Pandora's Box from clay using a slab construction technique. This was a wonderful opportunity for independent study and each student developed their own ideas through sketches and discussion. The results are highly original and creative interpretations of an ancient myth.

The fourth graders were asked to write artist statements. They could write about their creative process, write an original story or poem, or retell the myth referencing details from their boxes. For the first time this year, we used garageband to make a multimedia artist statement. They loved doing this part and did a great job using the art room macs! For example, here is a play on Pandora Radio from clever Willa:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

Allison did a beautiful job describing the artmaking process:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

And Fran gives us a dramatic retelling of the original myth:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

See all of the fourth grade Pandora's Boxes here!

second grade full moon rattles

2011-03-05T16:18:00.016-06:00

May is the Flower Moon

Can you guess how the second grade artists made these ceramic rattles? They used a special technique using two pinch pots to make a round rattle inspired by the full moon. We read some full moon poems from the book, When The Moon Is Full by Mary Azarian. The titles of the poems are from Native American names for each full moon. The second grade artists chose a poem to inspire their own full moon rattle design.

June is the Strawberry Moon

Each rattle has a unique sound depending on the size and number of beads inside. Lisa's second grade class worked with our amazing perfoming arts specialist, Ben Griffiths, to record these unique sounds using garageband (how cool is that?!). Originally, we had just wanted to make a recording of the rattles but our very creative students thought it would be even better to include the poems too!
Listen to all of their beautiful work here.

February is the Snow Moon

October is the Hunter’s Moon

August is the Green Corn Moon

January is the Wolf Moon

July is the Buck Moon

December is the Long Night Moon

March is the Sap Moon

April is the Frog Moon

We finished this project a couple of months ago to coincide with this rare cosmic event. We'll have to wait until the year 2094 to see that happen again but you can always see the next full moon on March 19th!

first grade leaf sculptures

2011-02-13T19:49:00.010-06:00

We had our first taste of Spring weather this weekend in Saint Louis after many snowy and icy days! This reminded me of a project we did in first grade soon after this printmaking project.

The first graders used real leaves and large rubber leaf stamps to press the leaf texture on the clay. They carefully cut them out and assembled them using the score and slip method onto a base. The sculptures were fired in the kiln and painted using metallic watercolors. I am so impressed with these young artists! Their work is a beautiful reminder that our cold winter trees will soon have leaves again.

I love the little armadillo!

third grade rocks!

2011-01-22T14:47:00.013-06:00

Art in different cultures around the world is a reflection of environment, land, and home. In relation to the third grade “Keepers of the Earth” theme, the students explore how artists make and use art as an expression of their place in the world.

We started with the cold landscape of the Inuit and looked at how material, size, function, and subject matter of Inuit art directly relates to their environment.

An inuksuk is a balanced based stone sculpture traditionally built by the Inuit. These sculptures were used as hunting and navigation aids, coordination points, message centers, and as spiritual markers. The third grade artists expressed their thoughts and ideas by choosing and arranging rocks, stones, and pebbles; these pieces of earth formed by ancient forces long before our time.

We read this beautiful book to help get us started. Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor presents 10 wonderful rules for finding just the right rock. I challenged the third grade artists to come up with an 11th rule. This is a great way to get them thinking about aesthetics. Here are some of the rules they created:

Keep your rock in a special spot. -Catherine
Make sure it matches your personality. -Lily
Be gentle with your rock. -Emma
Keep your rock at the right temperature. -Sophie
Find another friend for you rock. -Rohan
Don't let you rock fall into the wrong hands! -Steven
Find round rocks that look like a robin's egg. -Gavin
Look for one that has a white line going all the way around. -Mila
Don't misplace your rock. -Julia
Take your time finding the perfect rock. -Meg
Keep your rock close to you. -Ruby
Find a rock that suits you. -Mason
Respect the personality of your rock. -Allie
Name your rock. -Russell
Enjoy your rock while you have it. -Tre
Put it against your cheek to really feel it. -Maya

sixth grade unlikely pairs

2011-01-02T10:39:00.009-06:00

We started off with talking about the concept of juxtaposition and I introduced the work of Fred Wilson. He is a master at curating and arranging objects to make powerful juxtapositions especially dealing with racism. Here is a clip of him working in his studio.

We also take a look at Unlikely Pairs by Bob Raczka to help inspire them to make their own juxtapositions.

I've done this project many times and am always surprised and impressed with the creative combinations- I've never seen the same pair twice! I have hundeds of art postcards I've collected over the years. Their task is to find a combination of images that when put together changes the context and meaning in an interesting and creative way. They each need to find their own pairs but they do a great job of collaborating and the conversations are rich. This is also a great way to work with art history! Here are a few examples of their unlikely pairs:

hyperbolic crochet coral reef project

2010-12-20T21:00:00.009-06:00

Our after school Talents class participated in an international project that combines math, craft, and environmentalism!

This was the first time using crochet for most of the students (grades 2-6) and they ended up doing an amazing job! I am super proud of them for a beautiful display of craftivism.

The Institute For Figuring first used the hyperbolic crochet technique to curate an exhibit, The Crochet Coral Reef Project, to bring attention to our coral reefs under environmental stress. Since then the small project has grown to an international collaborative project. There is currently an exhibit at the Smithsonian and we got special permission from the IFF to have our own display at New City School!

Hyperbolic crochet is made using a simple algorithm of increasing stitches to create the shapes you see here. These forms mimic what you might find in nature: lettuce, sea slugs, anemones, or coral.

first grade pumpkin blanket

2010-12-10T10:10:00.008-06:00

These lovely little pumpkins and colorful quilts are inspired by the The Pumpkin Blanket by Deborah Turney Zagwyn. This is a really beautiful story about a brave young girl, Clee, who gives up her quilt bit by bit to help protect the pumpkins in her garden from the frost.

I was so impressed by the heartfelt reaction of the first graders as I read this story. They were really moved by Clee’s choice and pointed out how kind she was. We talked about the special quilts, blankets, and stuffed animals we all have and shared our stories.

The first grade artists looked at real miniature pumpkins to model their own clay pumpkins from. They observed wabi sabi elements of their pumpkins and tried to include the imperfect and natural details that make the pumpkins so interesting to look at. After the clay was fired, they carefully collaged tissue paper in layers to make a vibrant colorful pumpkin!

Our pumpkins needed a blanket next. They used fabric squares backed with a special lining that sticks to the base fabric once ironed. The first graders used pattern, color, and storytelling to create original quilt designs. Each one is so creative and a beautiful reminder of the pumpkin blanket story of giving.

Please Vote!

2010-12-07T17:56:00.003-06:00

I was so excited to discover that the newcityarts blog has been nominated for the 2010 edublog awards in the best new blog category! Thank you to Craig Roland of The Art Teacher's Guide To The Internet for the nomination and show of support:)

Please vote for newcityarts here and check out some of the other great educator blogs and internet resources. I love sharing what we do here at New City School with the world and appreciate the inspiration that comes from discovering what others are creating too!

kindergarten autumn leaves

2010-11-19T13:19:00.021-06:00

More autumn leaves fluttering in the breeze! We are continuing our study of nature and color theory in kindergarten.

The kindergarten artists made leaf rubbings using multiple layers of warm crayon colors. These leaves were cut out and thoughtfully arranged on a painted abstract background of warm or cool colors.

I love how this leaf was meant to look like it's getting ready to blow right off of the paper!

We thought of the art of Alma Thomas but looked to other stories for inspiration as well. We read a beautiful fall/winter story, The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger.

Our very own leaf man! We read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert for inspiration too.

Find more kindergarten art here!

kindergarten autumn leaves fluttering in the breeze

2010-11-16T20:25:00.012-06:00

Alma Thomas was an amazing artist! I really admire her work and enjoy sharing her as a mentor artist. She was the first African American woman at her university to earn a degree in fine arts in 1924 and continued painting until she died in 1978. Alma excelled in math and science and was inspired by the stars and the natural world around us.

Alma gave her art work some really exciting titles! My favorite is Red Azaleas Singing and Dancing Rock and Roll Music. The kindergarteners enjoyed a game (a little exercise in art criticism) to match the following titles to the correct paintings:

Grassy Melodic Chant
Delightful Song by Red Dahlia
Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze
Starry Night With Astronaut

(The above images are from the Smithsonian Art Museum Alma Thomas biography.)

Thomas frequently talked about “watching the leaves and flowers tossing in the wind as though they were singing and dancing.” Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze is the title that inspired our kindergarten artists to make their own abstract art using warm and cool colors, pattern, and movement. And our November weather is the perfect time to share these!

first grade autumn leaves

2010-11-04T14:57:00.009-05:00

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
-Albert Camus

The first grade artists have been using beautiful fall leaves from our school garden to make art! Each leaf was inked with white paint using a brayer and then printed on black paper. Students made multiple prints on a page to create an interesting composition making sure to include a ghost print (a second print made without inking the same leaf again). Once the paint dried, bright colors were layered with colored pencil to create a vivid autumnal display.

marshmallows and creativity

2010-10-20T20:37:00.008-05:00

Our sixth graders took the Marshmallow Challenge and learned some valuable lessons on teamwork, collaboration, innovation, and creativity! The Marshmallow Challenge is a design challenge in which each team is given 20 spaghetti sticks, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. They have 18 minutes to build the tallest marshmallow holding structure.

After their first attempts we took a break to watch this:

Our sixth graders relished the challenge and congrats to Abe, Henry, Luke, and Oona! Their design was 24" high and Julien, Natalie, and Reggie came in at a close second with 23" high.

Adrianna and Morgan had a really creative way of using the yarn as a marshmallow holder!

Special thanks to NCS mom Linda King who found vegan marshmallows for me! I'll definitely be using them next year:)

second grade garden contours

2010-10-07T19:28:00.020-05:00

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. -Rachel Carson

The second graders found natural objects in the garden to use as inspiration for an observation based drawing. Each leaf, flower, or twig was carefully observed and recreated using only contour lines (the most important lines of an object that give it shape). The piece was finished with a special watercolor technique and white gel pen details. It is always such a pleasure to see these young artists take the time to study the smallest details.

how does our garden grow?

2010-09-23T11:39:00.008-05:00

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." -Frank Lloyd Wright

Our theme in Art this year combines the spatial and naturalist intelligences as we explore Art in Nature. Artists love to create but they also observe. The first grade artists spent time outside sketching and observing many different tree branches and how those branches diverge. Nature is a wonderful source for curiosity and creativity as the first grade artists create and discover!

The artists used their nature sketches to help inspire them to make an imagined treescape silhouette and chose an analogous color scheme to fill in the background using oil pastel. We love the rich color and intensity of these expressionist treescapes!

hello there

2010-08-31T15:44:00.007-05:00

Welcome back to the art room! It has been a great start to the new school year already and I'm looking forward to sharing the creativity of our young artists with you.

what I did on my summer vacation

2010-08-07T16:20:00.019-05:00

I am so excited to share what I have been working on over the summer with my students and can't wait to hear what they have been up to! I started making a new body of art inspired by a snowy landscape photograph of my great grandfather's. While it was 110 degrees outside, my mind was in the deep of German winters. I also sent a few cabinet of curiosities inspired textile pieces to a gallery exhibition in Berlin. You could say that I had worked with my naturalist intelligence just as much as spatial intelligence this summer!

My family also hiked up a mountain (3800ft) in Virginia along the Appalachian Trail. While the view at the top was stunning, I also enjoyed the tiny wonders along the way, like this miniature forest of moss sporophytes.

We went to Virginia for a week so that I could participate in a philosophy workshop called Little Big Minds. I explored some wonderful ways to use philosophy in the classroom using art, music, poetry, and discussion from the author of Little Big Minds, Marietta McCarty and am so excited to bring this to the art room this year. The philosophy workshop and our mountain hike inspired me to reread a few naturalist books from my bookshelf when I got back. I highly suggest reading these together!

Please share your summer adventures!

art and diversity

2010-07-30T22:57:00.005-05:00

You probably have noticed school supplies on sale everywhere and it's nearly time for me to order supplies for the art room! This reminded me of something surprising I came across with the last batch of art supplies that still resonates with me. I ordered Sax Paint for our 6th grade diversity project and discovered that unfortunately the paint labeled flesh wasn't the flesh color for many of my students.

We discussed this quite a bit and decided to write the manufacturer/seller a letter and document the process. You can read a portion of our letter and the response we got below. Meanwhile, the students became expert skin tone paint mixers!

I bought the Sax acrylic paint sets this year for my students to use for self portraits. Included in the set is a paint tube color labeled flesh. The problem is that it's not actually the flesh color for all of our students. We enjoy a diverse population of students at our school and my students were curious why this would be labeled as a flesh color when it isn't the flesh color for so many of us. The students thought that perhaps a more appropriate name for the paint might be peach!

Thank you for your consideration. I know my students would love to get a response back soon before the school year ends.

Response:
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I can promise you we meant no disrespect. I am contacting our supplier to see if we can have the name changed on our next production run and I will be updating our digitized catalog and website.

This upcoming year we are very fortunate to be working with some high quality Golden Open acrylic paint (love this stuff!) generously donated by Artmart, a Saint Louis art supply store. Check them out if you haven't made a visit yet, they do wonderful community work and shopping there will make you feel like a kid in a candy store!

second grade fireworks

2010-07-05T10:20:00.013-05:00

We had a lovely time at our neighborhood 4th of July celebration last night and it reminded me of a fireworks inspired project from our second grade artists earlier in the year.

We took a look at the art of Cai Guo-Qiang, a contemporary artist from China. His signature art is based on “explosion events” that use gun powder as a drawing tool. The second graders observed that he is interested in things that are both beautiful and ugly/dangerous at the same time.

Cai is the artist that choreographed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony fireworks show. His art inspired the second grade artists to make their own fireworks using the design elements of line and color. They made a mark of their choice and then repeated it concentrically while overlapping designs. I always enjoy watching them approach this algorithm in their own unique way. Enjoy the fireworks!

fifth grade photography

2010-06-07T19:55:00.011-05:00

The fifth grade sponsored an art sale featuring their photography on some beautifully printed post cards from MOO at the school picnic. Our first art sale was such a success we nearly sold out of art post cards! The money raised from the sale of over 400 art cards will go to help offset the cost of printing but most importantly this sale helped our young photographers see that their art is valued and appreciated. Thank you to everyone who came by to support the fifth grade artists!

The fifth grade artists were asked how they might use photography to reflect their place in the world. Photography relates in many ways to the 5th grade theme of Perspectives and was used to help them observe, reflect, and communicate, with a focus on visual literacy. This was the first year I taught digital photography to fifth grade and I couldn't be more impressed with their work but what I loved seeing most was the intimacy and respect fostered through the use photography.

Special thanks to NCS parent and artist Jen Schmidt for her book recommendation that set me on the right path: I Wanna Take Me a Picture by Wendy Ewald.

second grade texture tiles

2010-05-25T21:15:00.007-05:00

The second grade artists spent some lovely spring mornings outside exploring textures. They used their naturalist and spatial intelligences to find natural objects that would make an interesting texture to print in the wet clay. They made two tiles each, one with an imprinted texture from a natural object and one built up texture inspired by nature. The clay pieces were kiln fired and then a special glazing technique was used to make the textures really stand out.

These are beautiful tokens of texture that will always remind us of our school garden.

guest writer for art:21

2010-05-20T16:32:00.007-05:00

Art:21 is an amazing PBS series that brings contemporary art to a large audience through books, television, and the internet. Contemporary artists are presented in themes: compassion, humor, power, memory, and play among many others. As an art educator, Art:21 is my favorite place for information and inspiration, so I was very excited to be asked to write on the current topic of Art and Experience for the Art:21 blog! This blog covers contemporary issues in the art world and beyond and is always thought provoking. I feel really honored to be included with the talented writers, curators, artists, and critics from all over the world. Please take a look at the post, Multiple Intelligence: Art and Experience, and feel free to leave a comment!

I dreamed I was a butterfly...

2010-05-08T13:46:00.015-05:00

I couldn't resist sharing more art from the first grade show! There was a large crowd of friends and family on opening day and a wonderful time was had by all. It was such a pleasure to see the first grade artists beaming with pride. Thank you to everyone who came out to support these young artists! This was such a success that we will continue to highlight a different grade each year in the Delano gallery. If you haven't had a chance to visit, the show will be up for another week so don't miss it!

Maria Sibylla Merian was a German artist and naturalist who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them. She was particularly interested in metamorphosis and her art helped to dispel the common belief that insects were evil creatures. Maria worked in a scientific field during a time when options for women were very limited. She traveled all over the world to study insects in their natural environment. Her art has inspired the first graders to make their own carefully detailed drawings of insects- some are based on real insects and some imagined.

I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? Chuang Tzu

Symmetrical Name Bugs: The first grade artists know that symmetry is found in nature and an important feature in insects. Each bug design is made from the student’s name using mirror symmetry. Line, pattern, and color completed their typographical bug.

first grade garden friends

2010-04-26T20:54:00.009-05:00

The first graders took a look at the art of Elsa Mora and were inspired by her book Blossom Buddies. We spent some lovely Spring mornings last week in the school garden using our naturalist and spatial intelligences. The first grade artists used natural materials to make their own imaginative characters and the results are sure to make you smile!

first grade spring flowers

2010-04-12T20:15:00.012-05:00

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." Frank Lloyd Wright

Our theme in first grade Art this year combined the spatial and naturalist intelligences as we explored Art in Nature. Artists love to create but they also observe. The first grade artists sharpened their observation skills as they sketched branches, counted tree rings and flower petals, and found beautiful imperfections in natural objects. Nature is a wonderful source for curiosity and creativity as the first grade artists create and discover.

The first grade artists had a wonderful time learning to draw BIG! Our mentor artist was Georgia O'Keeffe and she helped to inspire us to make even the smallest details feel powerful. See more first grade flowers on newcityart's flickr!

fourth grade craft alliance field trip

2010-04-02T19:03:00.008-05:00

The fourth graders recently had a wonderful opportunity to create and learn with artists from Craft Alliance. They used new materials and techniques that they might not get to experience in our art room at school. Check out the blow torches in glass making!

The fourth grade artists also worked with metals to make a textured cuff. They had to file, hammer, anneal, shape, stamp, and patina! Lots of hard work but the end results looked amazing.

And finally a group of artists worked in the textile studio. They did silk painting and even the messy paper towels ended up looking like art! This process is a magical one full of gorgeous color.

We spent an intensive and creative afternoon at Craft Alliance that I know will expand their experience, understanding, and appreciation of the arts.

fifth grade blind contour portraits

2010-03-24T23:34:00.003-05:00

I have a fifth grade advisory every morning with a small group of wonderful students. Each morning is spent cultivating our interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. While the advisory class itself is not an art class, we take full advantage of the art room! For example, we recently did a blind contour drawing portrait project. It was really lovely to see each of them handle the intimacy of drawing their classmate- staring and drawing/following every contour line of their facial features!

Because these are blind contour drawings it took the pressure off of trying to make their portrait look realistic and we had so much fun with the expressive and free lines. The rules are: no looking at the paper, do not lift the pencil and try to use one continuous line, follow the contour lines of your subject slowly as you draw along, and have no fear!

second grade NOTAN

2010-03-24T23:22:00.007-05:00

NOTAN
Light and dark at play
Japanese design concept
Balance, shape, and space

kinder pinecone weavings

2010-03-18T22:41:00.009-05:00

The kindergarten artists have been creating textile art! These pinecone weavings are a wonderful way to introduce the ancient art of weaving.

We talked about the spiral pattern found in the pinecone and how to use our "naturalist intelligence" in art. I showed them examples of weavings and talked about the warp and weft found in most of our clothes. They did a very simple up and down, over and under movement through the pinecone with their choice of different yarn plies and colors.

This was also a great way to observe each student's natural inclination to help me better understand what kind of artist they are- some pinecone weavings ended up being very technical, some wild and crazy, and all of them beautiful!

Becky of sweetiepie press introduced me to an amazing artist who uses a similar wrapping technique in her art. Take a look at the heart breaking beautiful art of Judith Scott and read more about her in this New York Times article.