September 29, 2011

Bottle Cap Mural: COMPLETE!!!!!!




I arrived at school before 7 this morning so I could "install" the mural before the Mayor came.  My amazing friend who cut & base coated the wood also drilled holes along the sides of each board.  I was able to wire the panels together once I leveled them out in the mulch.  The response to the project was AMAZING & IMMEDIATE !!  As I was wiring it together.... people slowed down & yelled out their car windows telling me how awesome it looked.  I had students & parents coming to take pictures before I was even finished! Our school secretary snap a picture with her iPhone and uploaded it to Facebook before she stepped foot in the school.   I hope that it can stand up to the weather & children(I have a fear of kids picking the lids off!).  I have plans for bottle cap murals inside the school too....but it is going to be awhile before I can replenish the supply!

Dino Babies Have Hatched At Tulip Grove: 4th Grade





September 28, 2011

BRUSHES & BEVERAGES: TGE TEACHER ART NIGHT


There were 20 teachers/staff in the art room by 3:30 today...ready for our first ever Brushes & Beverages!   My principal had asked me if I'd be willing to organize this event for our faculty.  I was not realizing it was going to be in the midst of a very crazy week for me, but I AM SO GLAD WE DID IT!!!  What a wonderful thing to come together & create....leaving the worries of our job/life behind (if only for a couple hours).  At the area painting places...the instructor usually has a very scripted teaching style & the art work tends to look exactly the same.  I am not that type of teacher.  THANK GOODNESS!!  Take a look at the paintings & check out how different & wonderful they are.  Amazing how the personalities came out on many of them.  My instruction was to create a sunflower(ish). Stencils were provided for the fearful. Before every arrived, I plated basic flower colors for everyone, but had other colors.  I presented options but left it open for people to create their own original work  My role was to help, encourage, and answer questions.









September 27, 2011

Fall Prints : 2nd Grade








My student teacher, Ms. Piper, deserves a lot of props for this project!  She spent an amazing amount of time collecting leaves so the students had an interesting variety to use.  I love the results.  I have to be honest, I had never tried this with my students before.  I'm amazed by the detail that actually come out!!!  We used tempera paint to print with.   

September 23, 2011

Bottle Cap Mural : In Progress



This 1st panel is complete for the most part.  We are leaving the gray capless.  It is an exterior house paint(about three coats to protect the board)...and I like the look of it with the bright colorful caps. 

The 2nd board is well underway, but I've got an issue.  There are not a lot of purple caps out there!!!  I had a large bag full of purple from all the caps my students had been bringing in since the start of the school year & my dumpster diving at the recycling drop off near my school.  However, what I wasn't realizing was I was only getting a few purples here and there.  So now I am left with a large purple section that is uncovered.  I went dumpster diving last night...and only found 4.  So now I am thinking I'll use fun foam & cut circles from that to finish off the purple section.  Cheating...maybe...but I really want to have this complete by the time the mayor comes next week!!

September 22, 2011

ARTOBER IS COMING!

Tulip Grove is the offical site for the ARTOBER kickoff!!!!   A week from today, the mayor(with Nashville's news community..paper/tv in tow) will come to Tulip Grove Elementary to participate in music & art classes...and to make the formal announcement for the first ever ARTOBER for our city!  This is an amazing honor & I've been busy getting everything in tip top shape!  I'll put up pictures once everything is completed & report to you how the day went! 

WHAT IS ARTOBER?

Americans for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts have designated October 2011 as National Arts and Humanities Month. In recognition of this month-long celebration, the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and Now Playing Nashville will host Artober Nashville to inform and inspire the community’s awareness of and participation in an array of arts and cultural activities throughout Nashville.

The goal of Artober Nashville is for every Nashvillian to experience the arts during the month of October. The Metro Nashville Arts Commission is partnering with dozens of arts and cultural organizations to highlight the depth and breadth of arts activities with official Artober Nashville events. Activities include visual and performing arts, music, craft, film and commercial businesses presenting arts activities (such as restaurants that curate art exhibits).

TO LEARN MORE & FIND OUT ABOUT ARTS ACTIVITIES, CHECK OUT THE ARTOBER NASHVILLE WEB SITE!

September 21, 2011

Watercolor Fish : Kindergarten





Kindergarten has been working on an underwater unit with my student teacher(something I usually do at the start of the school year).  We've been mainly looking at fish and the shapes used to create them.  We've worked in marker, crayon, collage, and watercolor.  They did do a crayon resist first, but letting them explore watercolor was the primary objective.