FOCUSED FOURTH GRADE

VLM students continue to floor me with their skill, enthusiasm, and willingness to tackle difficult tasks, as with these 4th grade Vincent VanGogh inspired self portraits.

Students looked a series of Van Gogh's artwork--- portraits and then landscapes---then put the two elements together (as VanGogh never did, that I know of) in their own original work.

Students strived to draw a face IN PROPORTION, and also to create a believable Virginia landscape that showed one of a specific regions with the right geographical characteristics.

One challenge (and source of excitement) was to work to master the use of dry pastels: rubbing, smearing, smoothing, mixing and controlling color.

VLM graders continue to study the big design idea of how artist consider PROPORTION, which begun with our dream house facade collages below.

More stunning  self portraits will soon be on display at our school. Congratulations to  ALL fourth graders, for this gorgeous body of work.

**There is currently a Van Gogh exhibit in DC through January. For more info look here.

(Virginia Self-portrait/landscapes top to bottom by Junxhi, Kirsten, Taquaria, Francis, & Cole; Untrimmed Dream House Collograph-Prints by Matthew, Olivia)

TAKING TIME: Aaron Douglas inspired Shells by 5th graders

One of my goals in teaching art is to encourage students to take time.  Especially my oldest students. This often includes a step by step approach, asking students to focus on one task per day and interact with artwork over 3 or more class periods. Students often look forward to next steps and see their work differently after a break from it.

These 5th grade 'Stand-out Shells' are no exception. Students spent upwards of 5 classes: first sketching, then outlining and planning, and finally painting in tints and shades, in the loose style of African American artist Aaron Douglass (1899-1979). The big idea was for  students to purposefully use a strong design + color to create a point of EMPHASIS---a place where the viewer's eye goes first.

Douglas is a great artist with which to begin 5th grade because he created multiple points of EMPHASIS in his most famous works, by purposefully organizing lines, shapes, colors, textures, and/or forms. Creating emphasis is one way artists make work look good, and this is the unifying design theme for fifth graders at VLM.

Image by Aaron Douglas

(Student Images top to bottom: Catherine, Rowan, Gigi, Karen, Ashontii)

CAN YOU FIND THE POINTS OF EMPHASIS IN EACH STUDENT'S WORK?

Note to VLM 5th grade families: I keep work for the first half of year  for fifth graders in preparation for out Final fifth grade art-show in the spring. Students will eventually bring all work home!

O'KEEFFE INSPIRED LEAVES, by 3rd graders

 Third graders looked at the up close and personal painting of American Artist Georgia O'keeffe as  inspiration for their Fall leaf project.


                                         

In addition to practicing contour drawing from observation, and using watercolors effectively, the BIG IDEA was how do artist create UNITY between an object in an artwork and the background?

O'keeffe sometimes used similar colors and or similar lines to make connections between these two different parts of her images. And so did VLM students.

A collection of student work is one display in our Library. 

stop in and enjoy!

A STRONG FOUNDATION

For kindergardeners and first graders, the priority in Art Education at VLM is to create a strong foundation for creativity, care, and good design.

Kinders are exploring the design theme of VARIETY  learning, for example, how artists use VARIOUS kinds of lines---curved, zigzagged, straight, thin---as one way to make artwork look good. (Just as a strong writing has a large vocabulary to choice from.)

In their second project,  kinders used lines to draw self portraits, like these.

Meanwhile, in first grade art, students are thinking about BALANCE, how lines (and shapes, and colors) on one part of a painting might mirror lines on the other in a way that is pleasing.

In their Big Bug Discovery Project, students worked to create symmetry in collages that described an imaged insect.  Students enjoyed considering the world through a bug's eye view while watching  clips from the film 'Microcosmos.'

In the subsequent project,  'Spiderwebs and Spider-lilies' these same first graders are in the process of creating super-symmetry or 'radial symmetry'---an image or design that mirrors itself in 4 or more directions, like the face of a flower or a compass rose.

What do you think is most important to start with in becoming an artist?

STEP-LADDER LEARNING

Step-ladder learning in art, like elsewhere, is a purposeful building upon earlier skills and concepts to increase understanding.

From 2nd to 3rd grade,  VLM art students move from the relatively familiar idea of using PATTERN, (like in the circle-filled birthday portrait above), to the more complex concept of creating UNITY.

Below, in the project HIDE & SEEK, 3rd grader were challenged to connect lines and repeat similar shapes to create UNITY between a scrap of a magazine image and their own pastel drawings. The goal was to  hide the magazine image so expertly that a viewer might not all at once notice it is there.

Can you think of an example of UNITY in your home? Somewhere your family has matched similar colors---think light blue and dark blue---or  the same kind of objects to create a cohesive-looking (or functioning) space?

*More HIDE & SEEK work by Mrs. Purviance's 3rd graders is currently on display in our cafeteria foyer!

GOOD DESIGN

Every school year at VLM, students are reminded of the big idea that ARTISTS BUILD VISUAL STORIES out of the elements of art--- Line, Shape, Color, Texture, and Form---organizing these elements with the Principles of Design.

As humans, we naturally gravitate toward good design, but as artists we must pay more careful attention. So as part of VLM's art program, each grade level focuses on a particular Design Principle as a way to create continuity and meaning throughout the year. 

For example, second graders look at the Design Principle of repetition and PATTERN: how artist repeat lines, shapes, colors & the other elements of art to make all kinds of work look good.  

Can you how 2nd grade students created PATTERN by repeating lines, shapes, or colors, in the student pictures above?

How about in this traditional Adinkra Cloth from Ghana below? 

Where do you notice pattern in your home or on your belongings? 

STARRY, STARRY START

Murray students started the school year by peering at Vincent Van Gogh's famous Starry Night, and pondering the question, 'Why do artists create?' Then students crafted small sparkly 'star' sculptures that will, eventually, hang somewhere in our school. Each star was unique, reminding our school-wide community of artists that we each bring different skills and ideas to each project we tackle.

As Murray's art teacher, I always try to keep in mind purpose, too. For example, why do we create here at our own small public school? What makes art education worthwhile to students, and how can I craft experiences that let them think and wonder and surprise and challenge themselves? 

How can I create projects that are both meaningful and accessible to each child?

Here are a few examples of our 'stars' crafted from glitter foam, cardboard, and colored pencil.

DID YOU KNOW:
Recently, 120 years after the Artist's death, a new Van Gogh
Painting was discovered!
Check it out here.



In this blog, I hope to share images and ideas with Murray families. Feel free to share your family friendly thoughts & comments. 

Yours in art,
Jocelyn Johnson