IN CONCERT: An Artober Mural Created By The Donelson/Hermitage Community

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND??  HERE IS WHAT I DID!

As part of Artober...the Donelson/Hermitage Community is doing a large(building size) mural that represents Nashville.  This is where the kick off will be this year(last year it was at my school).  

Here is what the mural is looking like...little more done now..I nabbed this picture from the facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/dhmuralproject

This is me at 5:15 am in the car after a rough night of toddler-no-sleepy drama & storms.  Why am I up? Oh yes...suffering for the arts!! ha ha

It was still dark when I got there a little before 6am for my 6-7am time slot.  Still amazing..even that early & in the dark!

This was my section..part of the Tulip Grove Mansion (my school is Tulip Grove Elementary).  It is very much like a HUGE paint by numbers! 

Awake...kind of...nothing Sour Patch Kids & a 32 oz Unsweet Tea couldn't fix!

I was only one level up...I asked if it could hold a fat man...they assured me it could.

Painting in progress...3ft x 3ft square. The paint wanted to run because of the morning moisture & rain from the night before.

Laughing my head off because of the other painters...we were having a great time.

Most signed initials...I asked if I could do Mr. E.

Sun is up..and the other painters are busy.

She's a watercolor painter in the community..and SO SWEET!

Everything looks better from a distance.

This was one of the other painters at the very top!

Math Investigation Day In Art?!?!?!?

Art teachers are being asked more & more to support areas in the regular classroom where there are deficits.  Our school has started a math initiative where the whole school participates in a Math Investigation Friday.  I personally did not want to like it...or want to do it.  However, I am a team player...and found a fun way to sneak it into my classroom where it would not take a lot of time away from our curriculum.  All day I had student come back and draw their favorite shape on a post-it note(I used a different color for each grade level & placed K-4 in the corner).  I then placed the post-its on a graph(sort of).  At the end of the class I had students make observations on the results.  I recorded the results, and placed all of into the hall way.  Some of the answers my 4th graders gave me were hysterical!  I know that we naturally have math elements in so much of what we do, but I wanted to do something "extra" for our initiative.  

Dr. Ed's Annual Art Supply Drive

Every year my chiropractor, Dr. Ed of Total Body Health Care, does a supply drive.  We are always so blessed by the drive & how much it helps our art programs!!  The supplies are divided between my school as well as my friend Julie's ( http://artchattermatters.blogspot.com ).  The past few years people have been giving more money/gift cards...which is AWESOME!  This really does allow my budget to stretch farther...and get me through till I can order(which is usually in Nov/Dec). 

THANK YOU DR. ED & ALL THE PEOPLE THAT BROUGHT IN SUPPLIES!!! 

He has recently moved locations, and I have not found the new information online...if you are in the Hermitage/Nashville,TN area...and would like more information...please contact me! 

Red Grooms Inspired Dali Salad: 3rd Grade

So after the struggles with the watercolor & creating good skin tones.....I switched it over to tempera.  This seems like it was a good move!!  Students will a second day, and I'll post more pictures once that happens!

Don't Try This At Home: Restoring a Masterpiece

Did you see this?!!?? Oh my...please..leave the restoring to the professionals.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/23/church-masterpiece-restored-as-mr-bean-would-do-it/

Red Grooms Inspired Dali Salad: 3rd Grade

We looked at the work of Red Grooms & watched a video on Dali Salad. Students created a self portrait (using mirrors), and were allowed to draw any food item they wanted behind/around them.  We used watercolor to paint their portraits.  I allowed them to mix their own skin tones in a small container.  This proved extremely challenging, and I'm going to switch the lesson from watercolor to tempera.  

PD Day Projects: "The Pout Pout Fish" Inspired Craft Wars

Have you seen Craft Wars?!?  I really want to be on it!!  We have decided to do a one hour Craft Wars at the start of each PD Day(we have 5 this year).  We have random supplies laid out...and give the teachers a few objectives that must be accomplished in their creation!  My wife actually gave me this idea!! The teachers that attended our PD Day on Assessment/Grading yesterday created these beautiful works while listening to The Pout Pout Fish.  My friend Janet and I were leading the workshop..and we had to find a way to work that into the day!!! ha ha  Every elementary art teacher should have this book in their classroom library! I did a dramatic reading(really..just how I normally read..ha) while teachers were getting underway with their project.  We only told them that their must be a fish...there must be an environment...and craftsmanship must be excellent!  I know that the images you are looking at do not look like The Pout-Pout Fish.  HOWEVER...I am not really a fan of copying images from other artists.  So this is inspired...not a copy.   This work was later a part of the grading/assessment portion of our day.  

Supply Boxes

I am not here to support Wal-Mart.  I am here to support teachers!  That being said, if you are in need of supply boxes....Wal-Mart has their pencil boxes for 25 cents a piece.  Well...at least in our area they do.  Not sure how that works elsewhere.  Don't send me hate comments...if you think Wal-Mart is the devil...you are for sure welcome to your opinion.  However, I want to find the best deals for myself(and usually that is NOT at Wal-Mart)....and if I can save you some money too...awesome!  

I have one box per table.  Each supply has a different colored lid.  Crayons are green, Markers are blue, Colored Pencils are clear, Scissors are pink, and now....Construction Paper Crayons are black.

Windows In: Red Grooms "ish" Project

As part of our Red Grooms focus here at MNPS...we are pulling from all the cities Grooms created in his work.  The "windows" my 4th graders are creating will be added to building that will be in the hall.  We're creating our buildings from butcher paper, and students will be adding bricks by stamping sponges.