PreK-Kindergarten Kente ClothsOn our trip to Africa, we fell in love with the bright colors and patterns on the kente clothes. We used patterns with shape, color and line to create our designs on our cloths. We colored our patterns with crayon and used ink to create a crayon resist. The black ink made our kente cloth colors pop!
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5-6th Grade Mexican HojalataAfter visiting Mexico and viewing all the beautiful art, we decided to make our own Hojalata tin art. First, we talked about using recycled objects to make art and how recycled art benefits the environment. Then we used recycled metals to create our Hojalata. We carved our designs into the metal, colored them, and hung them from string.
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7-8th Grade Guatemalan EmbroideryGuatemalan embroidery is so intricate, delicate, and beautiful. We tried our best to emulate the detail put into their designs while making pillows. When coming up with their designs, students thought about unity. Their pillows displayed unity with repeated stitches, colors, designs, and patterns. This was one of our longest and most rewarding projects. We definitely had a large appreciate for the work put into Guatemalan embroidery once we had finished our pillows!
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3-8th Grade Stained Glass CollaborationOn our trip to Spain, we looked at the stained glass in the Barcelona Cathedral. On our tour, we discussed cathedral architecture such as domes, arches, and columns. Lastly, we talked about collaborative art and each grade's designs were combined to create a beautiful stained glass window!
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PreK-Kindergarten Cunucu HousesOn our trip to Aruba, we were amazed by the different shapes and bright colors of the houses in Cunucu. They were very unique! Using recycled cardboard, we created magnets that resembled the Cunucu houses. First, we practiced drawing different shapes. Then, we decided which shapes we could use to make our houses look as like the ones in Aruba. Lastly, we painted them with bright colors to make then just as unique as the Cunucu houses!
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3-4th Grade Peruvian MobilesWho doesn't like alpacas? On our trip to Peru, we fell in love with them. Two types of art that we loved in Peru, were their mobiles and textiles. Thus, we decided to make kinetic sculptures, or sculptures that move! Of course, we had to include some fluffy alpacas. We also learned a little about weaving and fiber arts when we added our pom-pom and God's eye. Now we just need a place with a little breeze to hang our mobile and make it move!
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1-2nd Grade Moroccan TilesAfter wandering through streets of Morocco, the amazing patterned tile inspired us! We decided to use symmetrical and balanced designs to create our own tiles. We etched our designed into plates and printed them using colors that reminded us of Morocco.
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PreK-Kindergarten Delft TulipsWe traveled to the Netherlands to see the beautiful tulips ,windmills, and eat some Stroopwafel. In the city of Delft, we learned about their famous blue and white pottery. In the same style, we made monochromatic vases to hold our matching tulips. Lastly, we added monochromatic patterns to our vases.
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7-8th Grade Greek PotteryWe went back in time to ancient Greece and made our own pottery. Students studied the shapes of Greek pottery and patterns that they used. They also learned about creatures in Greek mythology. We talked about how overlapping objects in a drawings can create depth. On self-made scratchboard, we carved out images showing overlapping space, mythological creatures, and patterns.
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3-4th Grade Illuminated LettersFor this project we headed back to the Middle Ages in England and Ireland to learn about Illuminated Letters. We talked about calligraphy, the art of writing beautifully, and students practiced writing letters in different ways. In the style of the old manuscripts, we used printmaking methods to create our letters. With a touch of gold, our letters were complete!
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3-4th Grade Chinese LanternsOn our trip to China, we were lucky to arrive in time for the New Years celebration. We saw the beautiful lanterns and decided to make some of our own. We included the traditional Chinese symbol of the dragon, and colored them using value, tints, and shades. After making the lanterns, we included Chinese symbols for words that would bring good luck in the New Year. Lastly, we hung them up to celebrate!
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1-2nd Grade Maneki Neko CatsMany of us had seen the cute Maneki Neko before but did not know where it came from. We learned the history of the Japanese kitties and what they were used for. Our backgrounds were filled with different types of line. Students used shapes and 3D forms to create their cats. We even learned how to do some Japanese writing!
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3-5th Grade Bolivian Clay VillagesIn Bolivia, we visited the Aymaran clay villages. We learned about shape and form and then designed our houses using similar forms to the Aymarans. While looking at the Bolivian villages we talked about why they were built in the cliffs and why the architectural decisions might have been made.
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1-2nd Grade Chilean ArpillerasIn Chile we studied their traditional quilt making process, Arpilleras. We used imagery common to the Chilean quilts: a landscape with houses and alpacas. Our element of art that we included was texture. We rubbed texture plates to create our mountains, we used bristly brushes to paint our rivers, and sponges to make our grass.
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7-8th Grade Costa Rican FeathercraftIn Costa Rica, we enjoyed learning about the types of birds that live in the Rainforest. We also realized how brightly colored they were and fitting to the tropical environment around them. We used similar colors when making our Costa Rican Feathercraft birds. Feathercraft is an art form that can be found for sale in arts and craft shops and galleries in Central American countries. This led us to discuss the different types of careers there are in the field of visual arts.
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1-2nd Grade Mexican Sugar SkullsWhile visiting Mexico we learned about the holiday celebrated there called Dia de los Muertos. We had a parent come in and show us what types of things you would see at a Day of the Dead celebration. One of the things we learned about was Sugar Skulls. We saw how bright the colors of the Sugar Skulls were and made our own to represent us using primary and secondary colors for contrast. Most of our skulls were happy because we learned that this holiday is a time to remember the good memories of those who have passed.
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3-5th Grade Japanese KimonosWe visited beautiful Japan for this project. We studied the intricate patterns and folding on Japanese kimonos. To make our own kimonos, we used origami. Our trees were made with several types of line. We used ink and blew through straws to create the black lines. Our landscapes were then completed with a clothing line and tissue paper for our cherry blossoms.
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1-2nd Grade Indian PeacocksWe traveled all the way to India! We talked about how peacocks are the national bird of India and that they create many beautiful works of art dedicated to them. While creating our peacock tails, we talked about how line can break up a composition. We used horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines in our tails. To make our tails we used tissue paper bleeds then decorated them with pattern.
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3-5th Grade Australian Cave DrawingsWe made it to our destination of the country and continent Australia. We started the project by talking about collaborative art and how it might be helpful for this project. "Well the rocks are big, so the more people we have in our groups the easier and faster it will be to finish such large drawings. We can also split up the work according to everyone's strengths. Also, we might get to work with people we usually don't get to work with and discover that we are a great team." Once we split up into teams, each group was given an article about a different Australian current event. The teams split up the articles so each person read and recorded notes about a different part. The groups then had to create a sketch that communicated the main idea of the articles without using words. We talked about how our drawings would have to be simplified and could include symbols to educate other Australians about our article subjects. Also, rocks are bumpy, so we could not include alot of detail in our drawings. The Australian rock drawings were primarily done before language existed, so the drawings were a form of language. We would be communicating with pictures instead of words (symbols!). When we moved on to start creating our large rock drawings, each group split up the jobs according to everyone's strengths. A challenge arose when the students learned they could only use chalk that was the color of the Australian rocks, sand, and dirt, because that was what they used long ago. In the end we shared our drawings with the class and they had to guess what our articles were about. If the class had some correct guesses, then we created a successful rock drawing that communicated to other Australians walking past!
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1-2nd Grade Australian Cave DrawingsWe made it to our destination of the country and continent Australia. We started the project by talking about collaborative art and how it might be helpful for this project. "Well the rocks are big, so the more people we have in our groups the easier and faster it will be to finish such large drawings. We can also split up the work according to everyone's strengths. Also, we might get to work with people we usually don't get to work with and discover that we are a great team." Once we split up into teams, each group was given an article about a different Australian animal. The teams split up the articles so that one person read and recorded notes about the animal, another about the diet, and another about the habitat. The groups then had to create a sketch that included all three things. We talked about how our drawings would have to be simplified and could include symbols to educate other Australians about our animals. Rocks are bumpy, so we could not include alot of detail in our drawings. The Australian rock drawings were primarily done before language existed, so the drawings were a form of language. Our drawings would show others walking past our "rocks" what the animals were like, what they ate, and where you might find them. When we moved on to start creating our large rock drawings, each group split up the jobs according to everyone's strengths. A challenge arose when the students learned they could only use chalk that was the color of the Australian rocks, sand, and dirt, because that was what they used long ago. If a group's animal lived near the water, they had to figure out how to draw the water without blue so that it still looked like water, and not a sidewalk or street. In the end we shared our drawings with the class and they had to guess what our animals, diet, and habitats were. If the class had some correct guesses, then we created a successful rock drawing that communicated to other Australians walking past!
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3-5th Grade Egyptian MasksOur next stop was Egypt, Africa! Students compared (similarities) and contrasted (differences) between Pharaoh masks and imagery of Egyptian gods. They combined elements from the Pharaoh masks and Egyptian gods to create an entirely new Egyptian mask. We also learned that when you compare and contrast your own art with others art you can see new things to add that might improve your own art. Students learned how to add contrast within their masks by adding different shapes, sizes, types of line, and lights and darks. In addition, we created a list of differences between drawing and painting. Then we talked about process and why we might start with pencil before moving on to paint or permanent marker.
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1-2nd Grade Mali Party MasksOur next stop was Mali, Africa! Students compared (similarities) and contrasted (differences) between African animal and human masks. They combined elements from the animal and human masks to create an entirely new African Party mask. We also learned that when you compare and contrast your own art with others art you can see new things to add that might improve your own art. Students also learned how to add contrast within their masks by adding different shapes, sizes, types of line, and lights and darks. In addition, we created a list of differences between drawing and painting. Then we talked about process and why we might start with pencil before moving on to paint or permanent marker.
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1-2nd Grade Japanese Soup SpoonsWe traveled to Japan to see how they eat! Students learned about Utilitarian art (art that you can USE). They designed their spoons to be wide so that they hold more liquid. The students made their bowls smooth because we talked about texture. They also included patterns and made their bowls match the spoons.
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3-5th Grade German Cuckoo ClocksWe traveled to Germany to see the traditional Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks! Students had to be designers and make German Cuckoo Clocks for stores. They learned that Germany has many forests, so they made their clocks out of wood. While making the clocks they had to think about what the "customer" would want. We used value, tints, and shades to make our clocks look more realistic. We added cute details so that they would standout on the shelves in stores, so customers would buy them. We used traditional etching techniques to replicate a style that was created in Germany. Ms. Lee traveled to Germany over Christmas break and brought us back German Gummy Bears (because they were invented in Germany!).
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1-2nd Grade Russian Nesting DollsOff to Russia! Students had to be designers and make Russian Nesting Dolls for stores. While making the toys they had to think about what the "customer" would want. We used warm and cool colors because they would attract our customers, who we decided were children, to buy our products.
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3-5th Guiana King CakesWe went to party in Guiana! Students learned about how people in Guiana celebrate Carnival. We did still life drawings of Galette des Rois (king cake) which is eaten during Carnival. To make our drawings, we used horizontal lines, vertical lines, diagonal lines, shapes, and symmetry.
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1-2nd Grade Peruvian Lentil SoupTime to celebrate in Peru! Students learned about traditions in Peru for New Years Eve. We did still life drawings of Peruvian dinner on New Years Eve: lentil soup and thirteen grapes. To make our drawings, we used horizontal lines, vertical lines, diagonal lines, and shapes. The soup was made of real lentils that we glued down in our bowls!
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1-2nd Grade Native American Dreamcatchers
Off to America! Students learned about Native Americans and the story of the Dreamcatcher. They drew a picture of a bad dream they have had inside the Dreamcatcher "web." Then they made the hoop out of four twisted pipe cleaners. Lastly we added our decorative beads and feathers (we learned to tie knots!). We had our first art critique about a Dreamcatcher and they learned that we 1) Describe what we see, 2) Analyze how it was made, 3) Interpret why the art was made, 4) Judge whether we like it or not and why. After we made our Dreamcatchers, we shared our bad dreams that we drew inside the web with each other. Some of us had the same bad dreams in common. Hopefully, these bad dreams will be stuck in the Dreamcatchers from now on!
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