Watercolor Fish: Kindergarten

 Continuing on in the world of "fishdom"...we used watercolor for the first time.  This group of kindergarten students did an AMAZING job!!!  Not all the groups were so successful.  I used the big pan/biggie/4 color sets...and everything else was the same as how I paint with the older students.  We really focused on painting inside your lines..complete coverage..and keeping it watery.  LOVE THEM!!!! 

 

CNN: ART & NEUROSCIENCE

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/health/art-brain-mind/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

The article is interesting, for sure, but I found the comments pretty amazing.  I've copied & pasted a few of them below!  ENJOY!

"Van Gogh's paintings are some of the most beloved in all of art history.  It's not coincidental that they are some of the most emotionally evocative paintings ever made, evocative through his intuitive use of color, line, distortion and even subject matter. Someone once said, and I quote roughly, "people will forget most everything you ever said to them in your life, but they'll never forget the way you made them feel".  And so long lives Van Gogh."

"Thank you for your wise and heartfelt words.  But isn't understanding the emotional expression of our soul valid even if it uses the meat in our scull as a medium of communication? For those people who do not realize they have a soul, art in its various forms may one day be the instrument of their awakening."

"I highly doubt Da Vinci or any artist was thinking about the synapses in the brain while painting, sculpting, etc.  Artists do as artists are born to do... they just do.  Too much thought stifles the artistic process."

Fish Collage: Kindergarten

I do a fish unit at the beginning of almost every year for Kindergarten. I feel that the simple shapes are great to reinforce, using the same object/theme for your beginning lessons allows you to focus on introducing new media...which is very important for kindergarten, students gain a level of confidence & success when working within the same theme, and I have an amazing selection of fish themed books to kick off each lesson(ha ha).  Here are some of the fish collage pictures created under my student teacher's supervision.

Picasso Portraits: 2nd Grade

With the required curriculum for our district complete, I told my student teacher to have fun in creating lessons that she'd like to "try out" in the safety of student teaching.  I like how she went about this lesson..different than I usually do.   I may be "borrowing" her version of this lesson!!!! ha ha  Just another reason I love having student teachers...it is a win-win situation(if they are good!).

More Miro Inspired Robots: 3rd Grade

Here are some more Miro inspired robots created by 3rd grade under my student teacher's supervision.  

Miro Inspired Robots: 3rd Grade

My student teacher taught this super fun Miro inspired lesson!  The kids were really excited about their creations.  They took much longer than either of us expected on the collage portion, but once they received the paint...they picked up the pace.

If You Need A Good Laugh or Pick-Me-Up....

This is my son Eli ...and he is laughing at me swatting flies with a towel.  Love this little guy and the pure joy that he is!  I hope this brings a smile to your face!!!!  - Mr. E

Homemade Tempera Cakes?

In my mind...anything is possible!  However, when it comes to figuring it out....things don't always come to fruition.  I am trying to make my own tempera cakes.  TRYING being the word!  I've tried letting them air dry. I've tried baking them.  I've tried adding dish soap.  I've tried adding extra powdered tempera to the liquid tempera.  So far, nothing has worked.  I tried Googling it, but found nothing.  Anyone out there tried to make their own tempera cakes?  How did it work? What did you do? 

It does look cool...but not what I wanted!!!!!!!!

Product Testing: Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plates

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail asking if I'd be interested in reviewing Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plates.  I love trying new products(or new to me products)...so I told them to send them my way!  Today I felt like a kid at Christmas when I found the package in my mail box at school.  I pulled out the product & read through the directions (always important).  Seemed easy enough to use.  I'll provide links so you can view some demo's & obtain further information on the product.  I first tested tempera paint.  It did want to pull/ball up because of the gel plate, but I still feel I obtained a nice monoprint off of it(the basket weave on the left).  This was the 8x10 size gel plate.  I then tried acrylic paint.  The picture I took is not the best, but I thought the results were very cool.  I have been wanting to try a monoprint landscape like this for some time with my students.  This was the smaller 6x6 size.  Clean up was a snap!  I really do like this product, and will keep my eyes open for it in our district approved suppliers!!!  I know BLICK carries it presently!  

THANKS GELLI ARTS FOR LETTING ME TRY YOUR WONDERFUL PRODUCT!!

LINKS FOR THIS PRODUCT

http://gelliarts.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/GelliArts

Landscape Paintings: 4th Grade

The start of a short unit on Landscapes....on day one we drew our landscapes focusing on creating a foreground, middle ground, and background.  On day two we moved to painting.  We really worked on using the proper brush, and keeping watercolor watery.  We may spend a short stint on "finishing" the landscapes using colored pencil.

Red Grooms Inspired: Dali Salad 3rd Grade

Here are several of the portraits after the second day of painting!  

Question for You: Advertising

(me playin' with befunky.com again)

I have been approached by another company asking me if I'd be willing to "advertise" for them.  I have thought about it...but never felt it was the right fit.  Today I was contacted by an online art supply company.  This seems like a pretty good fit, but I'm still not sure.  How do you all feel about those that advertise on their blog?  Do you ever visit those sites?  Do you find it annoying that bloggers advertise??  

What are your thoughts?