Signs of Spring

Spring has Sprung . . . 

. . . and hopefully you're enjoying your Spring Break! We got one last blast of snow from Ol' Man Winter, and school was closed on  Wednesday as a result. Surely, though, all you kids made the most of it, and built snow people, or spent some quality time Making Art! This week's photo contributions start with Drawing and Printmaking (4th - 6th) in Evergreen. The works featured below were created by Morgan and Nathan, and represent the current projects from both printmaking classes. We started with blocks of styrofoam, which were then altered to make printing blocks. After the initial altering, students made practice prints, and then "tweaked" the blocks several times until they were able to make a print that suited their artistic aesthetic. This was quite a learning process!

Can you believe that the "Artist's Proofs" (A/P) you see above started out with pieces of styrofoam that look like this:

In the 1st - 3rd class, the focus this week was on Drawing, and more specifically, drawing Signs of Spring! We started with a brainstorming session, where students came up with key words that represented Spring. Once the board was covered with descriptive words, young artists set about creating their own visions of Spring . . .

Blue skies, sunshine, rainbows, butterflies . . .

. . . flowers blooming, signs of growth and renewal . . . very happy pictures, indeed!

In Westminster, the Tuesday Fiber Arts class finished their Ojo de Dios weavings, and did a fantastic job! Each one is unique. Students started with two 12" dowels, tied together to make an "X" shape . . .

. . . then they started the weavings from the center  and continued weaving toward the ends of the dowels . . .

. . . once the dowels were fully covered, we tied a length of yarn across the back so that they could be hung at home. Arent' they GORGEOUS?!

Before we learn about your Spring Break web challenges (that's right, there's more than one!), let's take a moment to recognize this week's van Gogh award recipient!

For creating art above and beyond the call of duty, the award goes to Nathan in Evergreen, for his beautifully articulated picture of a turtle, and his work on an ATC that he did at home! Great work, Nathan!

During Spring Break, you'll have a chance to win THREE ATCs! You can choose to do one, two, or all three--it's up to you. Remember that whoever has the most ATCs by the end of the semester will have a chance to win a really cool art prize! To be eligible, though, a student MUST have completed a minimum of FIVE WEB CHALLENGES (that's 5 ATCs from me). You can win THREE by doing all of the challenges below:

1. In lieu of "pajama day" this past week, pick your favorite ILLUSTRATED bedtime story. Find the name of the person who illustrated the book, and do a search* to find out about their art training or background. Bring me the name of the person, the name of the story they illustrated, and a small paragraph about their art training/background. I'd REALLY LOVE it if you also brought in the book, but that's up to you (entirely optional). Remember: this challenge requires 3 bits of information, as outlined above. 

2. Ask your parents about your heritage. Where did your ancestors originate? What country? Many of us have mixed heritages, so you can pick just one. Next, do a search* to find an artist who represents that country. Print out a picture of their work, and also a small paragraph about the artist. This paragraph might include their current country of residence (or origin!), a bit about their training, their chosen medium, and/or where a person might go to see their work in person. Remember: this challenge requires 3 bits of information, as outlined above. 

3. What is your favorite art class? Fiber Arts? Drawing and Painting? Drawing and Printmaking? Portraits? Perhaps it's a class that you took last year at HSC, or have taken privately. Whatever your answer, here's the challenge: Create something in that medium (drawing, painting, weaving, etc). Be sure to do your best work, and give it a title. Write a paragraph describing the work you created: the medium you used, what inspired you, why you like the particular class that you've chosen as your favorite, etc. Be sure to bring both your art, and your written assignment to class. Remember: this challenge requires 2 bits of information, as outlined above. 

You may do one, two, or all three of these challenges to win one, two, or three ATCs. It's up to you! Be sure to follow the directions for each one, and keep in mind that each challenge has several things that you must do! Bring your challenge(s) to me on the first day of school after Spring Break:

April 6, 7, or 8

*Remember: Anytime you're doing an online search, your parent or other responsible adult must be present. No exceptions!

When I receive your completed challenge(s)**, 

you'll receive your ATC(s)!

**Because this is a completely optional, the information for each challenge must be presented to me the week it is due. This keeps things fair for those who work hard to find the answers and turn them in on time. Whoever has the most assignment-related ATCs by the end of the semester will win a REALLY COOL ART PRIZE. A 2nd place prize will also be awarded. There will be a first and second prize for each school day, so get busy! To be eligible for any prize, you MUST have completed a minimum of FIVE (5) web challenges.

Have a fun break! I'll see you in April! :)

One More Week Until Spring Break!

Hey, Kids--
I've been a bit "under the weather" since Thursday, so I won't be posting photos or a web challenge until after the coming week's classes. To make up for this, I'll be sure to give you the opportunity to win more than one ATC during your spring break.


I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend, and doing something fun with all that snow!
See you in ART CLASS!
Miss Robin :)

Wood Sculpture, Oil Pastels, and Bookmarks!

Quite a few students chose to do the web challenge last week! Congratulations go out to Ivy, Hunter, 

Tavia, Parker, Morgan H., 

John-Luc, Joel, and Dillon! 

Thanks, as always, for your dedication to Art Education!

Last week I promised you photos of a wonderful wood sculpture by one of our Evergreen students, River. This took several weeks to finish, and River worked on it during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Do you see the influence? 

Great work, River!

Drawing and Painting students experimented with oil pastels this past week, and learned how much fun it is to blend colors. Anyone with "dirty" fingers was identified as a hard-working artist during class. Sometimes you've got to get a little messy, though, to create great art!

. . . And, is this GREAT ART, or what?

It's fun to see the various styles and color choices . . .

Fiber Arts students are working on projects that are a bit more time-consuming. After several weeks' work, the Tuesday students finished their first loom weaving project: Bookmarks!

Each young fiber artist was excited about taking their bookmark home to use. I got a chance to interview each student to find out what book they were currently reading, and to find out the name of the current (if only temporary!) home for each of these gorgeous new creations. 

Some of the answers:

Rio: Secrets of Droon: Pirates of the Purple Dawn

Natalie: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Tabitha: Mystery of New York

Ike: Club Penguin Star Reporter

Sedona: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Faeya: The Bible

Karina: Junie B. Jones

Acacia: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief

Valencia: The Princess Diaries

There are only two more weeks of classes before Spring Break, and I KNOW these bookmarks will be put to good use during our week away from school!

In fact, these amazing bookmarks make me think of BOOK ART! To be specific, ALTERED BOOKS, which is the subject of the coming week's web challenge!

For the week of March 16th through 18th:

1. Do a search* and learn what Altered Book Art is all about. 

2. Look at images and find your favorite.

3. Print out a picture of your favorite Altered Book.

4. Make sure the artist's name is included on the page.

5. Put YOUR name on the copy.

6. Be prepared to tell me what you like about it!

*Remember: Anytime you're doing an online search, your parent or other responsible adult must be present. No exceptions!

When I receive your completed challenge**, 

you'll receive your ATC!

**Because this is a WEEKLY (and completely optional!) assignment, the information must be presented to me the week it is due. This keeps things fair for those who work hard to find the answers and turn them in on time. Whoever has the most assignment-related ATCs by the end of the semester will win a REALLY COOL ART PRIZE. A 2nd place prize will also be awarded. There will be a first and second prize for each school day, so get busy!  

Portraits, Wood Sculpture, and Experimenting with Oil Pastels!

I'd like to thank all the students who chose to learn about one of my favorite potters, Maria Martinez! 

Great work, and "high five" to: 

Morgan (Evergreen), Ivy, Hunter, Joel, Dillon, Morgan (Westminster), John-Luc, Tavia, and Parker!

Things are really ramping up in Portraits class! This past week, we opened up our fresh new boxes of "multicultural" crayons, and set to work on practicing shadows and highlights on the face . . . 

. . . clearly, we have a number of very talented portrait artists in our class! One great thing about doing portraits is that, as long as you have a mirror, you have a subject to draw! With this kind of talent at HSC, I strongly encourage all the portrait students to practice self-portraits in their spare time! 

Fantastic work, Everyone!

Students in Explorations in Art (both I and II) spent the past two weeks discovering wood sculpture. After discussing several famous sculptural works, the artists set about making their own sculptures out of wood. There was one caveat, though: They had to work with existing materials! This is sometimes easier said than done . . . 

. . . but not for this group! River (Exp. in Art II) put together the above Dragonfly very quickly, after putting the finishing touches on his current work in progress (photos of THAT next week, I promise!) . . .

. . . And while a number of (Exp. in Art I) students were out sick, the ones who did come to class wasted no time putting together a variety of works! 

KloeAnna, Kaylyn, and Chole, 

you did an amazing job! Great work!

In Drawing and Printmaking class (I and II), students explored the use of oil pastels to create vibrant, colorful works. Above are a couple of 

gorgeous pastoral scenes by 

Morgan and Nathan.

And in Drawing and Painting class, we used the class time to play "catch up," and finish up works in progress. Students who were already done with their works picked the medium of their choice to do new work. For instance, Stefan made the very whimsical mixed media drawing (above) of an underwater snowman! What a great imagination!

This week's van Gogh award is shared by 

Kaylyn (Evergreen,below left) and Parker (Westminster, below right), for doing art above and beyond the call of duty! Each artist brought in artwork to share with the class. Thanks so much to both of you for your dedication!

And speaking of van Gogh . . . this week's web challenge is all about the artist, himself! Do a search on 

Vincent van Gogh* and look for a picture that really appeals to you. He was one of the most prolific artists in art history, so this search will be incredibly easy! During the week of March 9th through 11th, 

if you want to earn an ATC, bring in:

1. The title of the work you like best

2. a print out (it doesn't have to be in color), or YOUR drawn version of the work (this does require color!)

3. Your name MUST be on the assignment, please!

4. Be prepared to tell me what you like about it!

Vincent van Gogh's works almost always have a very heavy impasto, so try to search for large images to see the wonderful, delicious texture of his work!

*Remember: Anytime you're doing an online search, your parent or other responsible adult must be present. No exceptions!

When I receive your completed challenge**, 

you'll receive your ATC!

**Because this is a WEEKLY (and completely optional!) assignment, the information must be presented to me the week it is due. This keeps things fair for those who work hard to find the answers and turn them in on time. Whoever has the most assignment-related ATCs by the end of the semester will win a REALLY COOL ART PRIZE. A 2nd place prize will also be awarded. There will be a first and second prize for each school day, so get busy!