Welcome Back to the ART Room!

Oh, the Places we'll go!

I'm so excited to start a new school year! 
     With the introduction of ConnectEd, we are sure to discover fun ways to incorporate our new devices into art-making.  My focus will be on ensuring hands-on experiences with art and creating while using the devices for support, reference, and possible digital portfolios!
     I hope to use this blog as a window into the art room.  New and past projects are posted as well as fun, interactive websites that will be fun to explore.

See you in the Art Room!
-Mrs. Stricklin :)

Let your Imagination Fly!

Wow!  I haven't updated this blog in some time!
I wanted Mathew's students and parents to know about the upcoming PTA Reflections Program.  It is a great opportunity to showcase our creative kiddos.  Remember, visual arts is just one category!  Students can write, perform, dance, compose music, write, produce films, and take photographs based on the theme.
This year's theme is a good one...

Go to  www.MOPTA.org for more information!

  Deadline to enter is November 12, 2015.

Winter is here!

We have started making all sorts of wonderful art inspired by the cold weather!  We have been learning about color, highlights and shadows, drawing complex shapes, so many wonderful concepts!  I will break them down when I get some extra time.  But for now, I wanted to post some pictures so you could enjoy them!  Bundle up and ENJOY!!

Sunset Silhouettes

Third grade students now understand that a silhouette is a dark image against a light-colored background.  To create these wonderful fall pictures, students explored a wet-on-wet watercolor technique called a drip painting.  They first wet the paper and then dripped on the sunset colors.  Watching the colors drip down the paper created a lot of excitement in the art room!  The colors blended nicely into each other, creating our light colored background.  For the dark image, students used india ink and painted things they might see outside.  We practiced painting trees, and most choose to include one in their final picture. 

Beautiful Butterflys

Here comes the SUN!

Clay Penguins

1st graders had a blast...an arctic blast..creating these fun penguins. Students learned clay techniques such as pinching and pulling, and scratch to attach.

"In the garden"

Out of this world shapes!

Students used geometric shapes to create one of a kind robots and rockets. They are designed to help kids out. Here are some of the ideas the students had..."my robot is mad because people are polluting the water!" "I designed my robot to play basketball and I love it. And I thought it would look cool." "My robot diver dived and saved somebody. He is a water police."
Very CREATIVE second and third graders!!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Students have been thinking about their grandparents and grandfriends in art. When asked what they will be like when they are a grandparent the kids responded in some very thoughtful ways.
Here are some quotes from some of our students:

When I am a grandparent I will....

"wait for them at the stoplight. Hold their hand across the street. Put them right next to me."-second grader

"I will cook"-kindergartener

"I will try to buy a moter scoter. I'll use it to visit my grandkids. I hope I'll be as good as you are! -second grader

"if i were a grandparent I would want to live next to grandkids. I would like to play with them. I would have them over every chance I had." -second grader

"When I am a grandma I will help my grandchildren be better in school. And love them."-first grader

"I will do anything for my grandchildren. -Second grader

Here are some funnies...on the 100th day of school I asked some 1st graders what they would look like when they are 100 years old. Here is what they said:

American Gothic Grandparents

click on the picture for more info

American Gothic Grandparents

In celebration of Grandparent's Day, 4th graders created a parody of the famous portrait "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. The famous pair is replaced with the students grandparents. Look for "clues" that tell you about these special people.

Snowy Cityscapes

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Happy snow days everyone! I hope you are staying warm and cozy and enjoying the first beautiful Ozark snowfall of the year. These cityscapes were created by 3rd grade students using a crayon resist painting technique. We finished them by using toothbrushes to "flick" the falling snow...what fun that was!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!
Enjoy your time with friends and family! I'll see you in the art room next year!!

Basket Weaving

Baskets woven from materials found in the environment, such as grasses, vines, leaves, and bark have been used by almost every culture in the world. They help make work easier and great for storage, but they are also a form of artistic expression. 3rd graders learned the parts of a weaving while creating these colorful baskets.

Clay owls

This was an extension to the Owl drawings we did previously. Second graders were learning how to use lines to create implied texture. When working with the clay, we rolled slabs of clay to build the body then used different objects/tools to impress into the clay to create actual (real) texture. Students then learned about the firing process and the glazing process. What a great learning experience!

Indian Shields

Students chose an animal that has a characteristic that they would like to have...such as the strength of a bear, or the eyes of a hawk. The feathers represent something about the artist. Three feathers could represent three siblings the student has or the three teeth they lost last week! Lacing is a skill that builds good eye-hand coordination along with those fine-motor skills. Great job 1st Graders!

Plains Indian Tepee

Kindergartners loved creating a Native American picture inspired by the book "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush". It was fun to learn how Native Americans told stories using pictures (pictograph) instead of words. Blending warm colors of yellow, orange, and red made a beautiful sunset sky!

"Frightening Facades"

4th grade had a spooktacular time creating the front view (facade) of a house. After viewing different architectural elements they choose the style of roof, form of house, window and door shapes, and setting for their house. We looked at sample houses and discovered that they were drawn using just basic shapes like squares, triangles, and rectangles. Looking for basic shapes in sample house allowed them to see how combining basic shapes allows you to create a more complex shape such as a house. We drew our houses on black paper and then outlined our lines with glue! Day 2 we learned some cool chalk techniques such as blending and layering to create a spooky feel to our art. The results were frightenly fantastic not to mention frameable!!!