The Monster Game

Using the whiteboards is a real blessing in many ways. Temporary drawings do not become precious and kids don't mind erasing them in order to draw something new. We used the SMART Board to play drawing games during which they learn the concept of columns and rows. Kids come up and roll the virtual die and explain to the class which column and row they will draw. Looking at the white board results gives me an immediate take on whether the child understood the cell they were to draw. (See Animoto below)

Salon Des Enfants 2013

This was my last Salon Show because by this time I had decided to retire. I had such a great time with my junior high elective classes and watching them improve their skills. I was so proud of the work they did for the show. I will certainly miss that part of teaching, where I can mentor students who are exploring their personal creativity in art. (See Animoto below)

6th Grade Radial Designs

Radial symmetry is such a beautiful and simple design principle from a daisy or sun to a very complex design. Students created these designs without bothering with compasses or protractors in order to improve their skills at "eyeballing" the symmetry of the details.
Students watched a great video about radial symmetry on the SMART Board before we began. These students learned radial symmetry using sticky squares when they were younger so they had prior knowledge of the concept. (See Animoto below)

Using Whiteboards to Learn About Line

First and Second Graders are learning about the art element of line. They worked with a SMART Board activity and personal whiteboards to show understanding and their recognition of various types of lines. We have already looked at the types of lines used by artists Miro and Mondrian, so we are building on that knowledge. (See Animoto below)

Tessellation Transformation

As part of our math concept integration in art class, 4th graders explored tessellations. We looked at Tessellation Exploration by Tom Snyder and they looked at a few samples by M.C. Escher. They learned about adjacent sides, slide translations, and transformation. After creating a slide translation template, students were to sketch a few ideas in their sketchbooks that would transform the slide into something imaginative. After tracing their template to cover a piece of paper, they were to add all the details and color in a checkerboard pattern. Coloring was to include one of the neon colors and students were to use good craftsmanship in their work. (See Animoto below)

From Ordinary to Extraordinary Drawing

One of the things an art teacher tries to do is have students look at things from a different perspective. It may be a different viewpoint or just to put things together that they didn't think of. Students were handed a brand new #2 pencil to study and then were able to choose a bird that would be made out of pencils. These are the work of my Holy Family students from Whitefish Bay, WI. 

6th Grade Block Printing

6th grade classes have been working on block prints. Some of the students had to carve a fairly hard linoleum, but most got to work on the easy cut carving material. They had to draw either a bird, flower, fish, or butterfly from book resources. None of the drawings was traced because the books and the carving materials were not the same size. Students transferred their drawings by rubbing the graphite onto the carving material. They then used sharp gouges to carve away the negative spaces and leave behind the positive. Each carved plate was printed using a brayer to roll the ink onto the plate and then rubbing the paper covered inked plate with a barren. The best carving can be ruined by using too little or too much ink, so the students practiced a few test prints before using the marbleized papers.

"Elf" Yourself!

After simple cartooning exercises using a SMART Board game, I decided that it would be fun to do something inspired by a current holiday movie with really cute elves. As an early literacy connection for very young kids, I had them turn a simple block capital letter into an elf. Later I put them together into holiday greetings so they could see how they could be used.

Character Counts Zentangle

This assignment was a tie to the Character Counts curriculum which was implemented to instill positive character traits into the students. Kids chose a short word and carefully lettered it onto a large piece of paper. Then they divided the letters into sections they could add zentangle patterns to. Watercolor washes were added for an added element of color.

Drawing Ishly

Second graders read the book ISH by Peter Reynolds and then drew their own vase of flowers. No one was afraid to start because we did it on whiteboards so they knew they could wipe it off and not waste crumpled up paper like Ramon did in the book. The whiteboards are a good way to practice drawing "ishly."