5th grade origami boxes

The 5th grade artists have recently completed their origami boxes. After learning about the history of origami, students learned how to fold a box. Then we discussed how artists use different ways to call a viewers attention to a specific place on their artwork. This is know as Emphasis. Students then decided on a symbol that they would want to use as a decoration on their box. They drew and then painted their design using water color paint making sure that they emphasized their symbol. A few of the finished boxes are below. They turned out great.

Starry Night

The second and third grade artists have recently created a Vincent Van Gogh inspired cityscape. We learned how to use overlapping to make buildings look like they are behind or in front of each other. This helps show depth and the illusion of space on a two dimensional piece of paper. We then learned about Vincent Van Gogh and used his Starry Night painting to inspire the night sky we created.

Organic Shaped Monsters

The kindergarten and first grade artists have just finished creating an organic shaped monster. During this lesson we discussed the difference between human created geometric shapes and natural occurring shapes, called organic shapes. Students have learned that geometric shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles) were created by mathematicians using geometry and organic shapes occur in nature.

Origami boxes

The fifth graders are starting their next lesson which is to fold and decorate an origami box. Here is a link to the instructions that I created on Prezi. There is also the video that I created and put on YouTube. Come to the art room if you need origami paper to practice with. Remember my two tips for origami success. 1. Make your folds a precise as possible because it will lead to a nice square box. 2. After you fold it once use your fingernail to go over it again to make it a really crisp fold.

5th grade self-portraits - Amedeo Modigliani style

The 5th grade artists created self-portraits in the style of the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. He created portraits that often had stretched out heads, necks, and noses. They used oil pastels to create their artwork and despite being all stretched out they turned out beautiful.

 

4th grade self-portraits

The 4th grade artists have been working hard on creating the most realistic self-portraits they can. They learned about the rules of facial proportion that helps them put all of the features of their face in the right location. The also learned how to use colored pencils to create smooth skin and hair that looks realistic. After weeks of hard work they are finally finished and as you can see they turned out amazing.

Self-portraits

All of the artists at NHE have been working on self-portraits. The 1st grade and Kindergarten ones are finished and you can see some of them in person outside the Library or Art room. We began by drawing them and then traced over the drawing with black glue. We use black glue because it helps the features of their face stand out and also creates a physical barrier which helps a lot of young artists to stay within the lines. We finished the portraits by coloring the skin with crayons and painting the rest of the picture with watercolor paint.