Mayor's Art Show 2011

The Mayor's Art Show is an annual event in Nashville!  They break our system up into two shows(because we're just too large of a district to have everyone  at once).  We are allowed to select two works per grade level.  So that means I can only pick 10 pieces of art to represent our school(not easy to do!!!) I personally like to have a variety of work & styles to send to the show.  I feel this year was amazingly diverse, and I'm very proud of my students.  The show is hung at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts.  At opening night, Mayor Dean walks around to see the work & take pictures with the students, and then addresses the students, parents, and teachers.  I must say, this year I was very encouraged by the Mayor Dean & the others that addressed the crowd.  In these times of cutbacks & focusing on test scores...I felt like they understood the value of what we do & will work to protect us & our programs. 

Kindergarten

(didn't realize till I was working on the lables that the girls are identical twins?!?!)

4th Grade

1st Grade

3rd Grade

2nd Grade

The work on display at The Frist!

Annaliese(2nd Grade) beside her amazing robot! 

Her mom  works at my school & gave me permission to place

her photo on my blog.

Reunited & It Feels So Good!

I thought this was pretty amazing....anything is possible!

Two pieces of a torn 660-year-old Chinese painting held by Taiwan and mainland China will be reunited for the first time in centuries at an exhibit at Taiwan's national museum, in a sign of warming ties between the rivals.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110422/ap_en_ot/as_taiwan_china_torn_painting

Tints & Color Mixing with Kindergarten

Kindergarten did the Georgia O'Keeffe lesson I've shared on here in years past.  They start with a dot in the center of the page, and draw six wavey lines coming from the dot.  They then pick a plate of paint that I've already pre-dispensed(I try to have a variety of color combos).  Everyone gets white to create tints.  I showed them how to mix their colors on the paper, and to paint from the center point out to create a "flow".  At the end of class we discussed what tints & shades were, they were given a color & had to tell me what two colors made it, and then just other random color knowledge. 

Anyone Have Some Extra Cash?

It seems one of Andy Warhol's self portraits is up for sale...just thought I'd

let ya'll know if you wanted to buy it(cause we have a lot of extra $ as teachers!!).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110420/ap_en_ot/us_warhol_self_portrait_auction

Weaving Tips - 4th Grade

I love weaving with my students!  Over the years, I've discovered a few things that make the project better/easier for the students. Here are two that I use with the 4th grade weaving project.

Hair picks make wonderful rakes for the yarn!  It really helps to pack the yarn in tightly to get a great looking weave!  I had made some at one point with cardboard, but they just weren't cutting it.   I was able to get them at the dollar store for super cheap! 

When students are pulling their weft string through, they tend to pull a bit too tightly & hourglass their weaving.  This, of coarse, is undesirable.  So, when they are ready to pull the string through...I have them take their pencil and press it down in the "loop" to prevent it from pulling inward.  This seems to work really well for most students.  Though you will always have those that don't follow directions!?!?!

...nothing to worry about...

So I was able to speak to my principal this morning, and it was nothing

to worry about.  She wanted to let me know that our school was offered a part

time position for next year because our numbers are going up...but she turned

it down.  We have 2 Music & 2 P.E. Teachers...so the part time person

would have probably been art.  However, we'd have no say in who the person was

& it would really create a crazy schedule for us.  A few years ago we had a part time art teacher

that we had no say in....it was a rough year!!!

 Plus, we have 25 classes, which fits perfectly into our schedule right now!

She just wanted to let me know what was going on, which I appreciate!

I should really learn not to worry so much?!?! :) ha ha

Things That Make You Go Hmmm????

My principal comes up to me at the end of the day and says..."Ted, I need to talk to you tomorrow about something."  My mind goes down 100 roads at once:

• Are our numbers dropping & I'm going to have to split schools? 
• Are our numbers growing & she wants my thoughts on a part time art teacher? 
• Is she wanting to move someone into my AMAZING WONDERFUL ART ROOM..and send me to a regular size class room without storage or a kiln? 
• Is she going to ask me to head a commity that will take me away from my focus of art & my family?
• Is she going to ask me not to take any student teachers/practicum students for awhile because it doesn't allow me to do the "extra's" they've asked of the other special area teachers?
• etc...etc....etc...

My list could go on and on.  My mind works wacky like this.  I told her she had to tell me a bit more or I'd worry all night long(its what I do).  So she says.."It has to do with next year."  UMMMMM...that doesn't help much?!?!?!!?  Right after morning announcements...I'm going to be in her office so I can find out what's going on!!!!!!!!  So..stay tuned my bloggie friends...so you too can find out THE REST OF THE STORY!

Painted Clay Fish Pinch Pots - 1st Grade

Who's Hungry?

I've seen several people do variations of a food lesson like this over the past few years of blogging, but I had never tired it myself.  I finally found a book that I thought would be a great introduction for kindergarten, and then jumped into the lesson.  I pre-cut the colors the students would be using, but if you wanted them to go to the scrap box, that would work as well(you may get a blue burger though..ha ha).  I really feel like most of my kindergarten students are mastering the use of glue and scissors. 

Spring Collage Go 3-D

This is day one of our 3-D Relief Collage flowers!  I think they are turning out pretty amazing.  The kids LOVE poppin' the flowers up & learning new techniques to create the reliefs.  The challenge of this be a 2 day project is that the students tend to overwork the picture on day 2.  That being said, it is a good challenge for students to face...don't all artists have to find that line of when a piece is "done". 

Out of This World Art - TGE Annual Art Show 2011

This is my 10th year at TGE...and 10th year for having the all school art show, but this is the 1st year they have ever put it on the reader board!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was excited!

So I walked around the driveway this morning during arrival & this afternoon during dismissal advertising the art show.  The parents & kids seemed to enjoy my silliness!

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The pictures that follow are not the greatest...I did not realize till I uploaded the photos.  I also did not take pictures of the WHOLE art show.  We have 25 classes, so this is just about half of the work that is in the show.  All that being said, I hope you enjoy a glimps of the TGE Art Show!!

Fun family pic...next year this time we'll have a 3 yr old & a 9 month old!!!

Art Show Cookies!!

Every year I ask my teachers to bring in a package of cookies for the art show.  Every year they come through for me, and we usually have extra!  As of yesterday I only had 4 packages of cookies.  I was ready to head out after school and buy enough to have for the art show, but I decided to give my teachers till this morning before I started to worry.  Sure enough...the cookies started coming in!!! I now have 19 packages of cookies for tonight's art show!!!  I think we'll have some extra for the teacher's lounge tomorrow. One of my 3rd grade teachers told me that when she check out with only cookies, the cashier asked her what she was planning on doing with them...she told the cashier about the art show.  The cashier said..."Go get another package and I'll buy them for your school art show!"  Isn't that awesome!!!

THE ART SHOW IS ALMOST HERE!!!

I cover all the art when I hang it....and then take it down right before opening night so that there is a bit more excitement!!!  It is extra work..but I like the drama! ha ha