second grade texture tiles

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

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...

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.