Drawing for a Co-Worker..

A co-worker this year at Wilson Middle School asked me to do a portrait of her friends baby. The baby unfortunately had passed away from SIDs. This made me especially emotional about doing a good job on this piece for the family. I began working on this around conferences in October and finished it around Thanksgiving. She intended to give it as a christmas gift to the family. I later recieved the nicest thank you card from the family telling me that they loved the drawing and thought I captured his face perfectly. This made me feel so good, and I was happy to do it for them, and even happier that they loved it! 

1 Point Perspective Rooms- 7th Grade

Students learned about One Point Perspective this week. We started out simple with basic squares using a vanishing point and horizon line. Each day I showed them a more complicated step to get them familiar with using the vanishing point. The final steps of this unit was to design their own bedroom. The results were fantastic! I believe they show a great understanding of one point perspective.

Finished Mural at Black Creek School

Really proud of how my first mural turned out! The students did a great job, and the finished product will be displayed at the school for many years to come! It will serve as a daily reminder of how compassion is used every day. 

Sharpie Tie Dye!

 

For my summer school "Field Day" activity we needed a quick project the kids could do in 15 minutes. We did fabric squares with sharpie tie dye! This project was a favorite so far of the summer school artists! The only materials you need are plastic cups, rubber bands, colorful sharpies, rubbing alcohol, and for the fabric I used Muslin because it was cheap and easy to cut. This project could easily be done on a T-shirt or a bandana. We cut 6 by 6 inch squares for the activity today. The students started by drawing on the fabric, we pulled the fabric tight around the cup by doubling up the rubber band. When the students are finished we dropped a few drops of rubbing alcohol and watched the magic happen! The design slowly starts to spread out and blend together, mimicking the look of actual tie dye. After the center design dried, we took the design off of the cup and some students added more designs on the edges. This was a great summer art project!

Progress on the Art Mural..

 With the help of a few of my art helpers we began the beginning process of assembling our first mural at Black Creek. A few years ago I was inspired by a large school community art project that was being done in Appleton School District. It was called the "Compassion Project". Over 10,000 students in Appleton depicted the word "compassion" on a single tile. It was amazing to see in person.

In the beginning of this school year I received some donation money and decided this would be a perfect use for it. I ordered 350 tiles for the students at Black Creek. Each grade had a different media to use for their tile--some are done in sharpie, colored pencil, glaze, paint, pastel ect. The mural will be displayed near the office and should be up before next school year. Take a look at how it is coming together!

Summer School Aboriginal Dream Paintings

What an awesome Dragon!

Aboriginal artists from Australia often make art that depicts some of their dreams. Using a limited color palate, and small dots they would create patterns that are almost "map-like". For this project you need brown paper, a few bold colors of paint, and Q-Tips. We drew out our designs lightly before getting messy with the paint. These students were really excited about this project and had excellent patience when it came to dabbing with the paint.




 

Summer School Clay Projects

 

Pinch Pot Fish, Pinch pot animals, and Gnomes..Oh my!

 

First week of summer school was a blast! I always start right away with a small clay project so it gives me the week to allow them to dry. I showed the students a few examples of pinch pot projects and they were allowed to choose their own idea. I just get a kick out of the fish with the big open mouths!