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Class Work
International Dot Day- September 15th
"International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009.
The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
And each year on International Dot Day – with the help of people just like you –the inspiration continues. What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do." (www.thedotclub.org)
The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.
And each year on International Dot Day – with the help of people just like you –the inspiration continues. What started as a story in the pages of a book is transforming teaching and learning around the world as people of all ages re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do." (www.thedotclub.org)
OP (optical) art & Cherry Blossoms
We have been exploring OP (Optical Art) as well as nature in art and art in nature.
"Op art, also known as optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions.
Op art works are abstract, with many better known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or of swelling or warping." (wikipedia.org)
To celebrate the springtime, we learned about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. and our very own Poppy Festival at the Wilderness Park Museum. We also learned that everyday objects can be turned into art or tools for art. To make our Cherry Blossom trees, we first color a background scene for springtime and then added in cherry blossom prints using the bottoms of plastic soda bottles. Not only are we making art, be we are recycling and upcycling everday materials!
"Op art, also known as optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions.
Op art works are abstract, with many better known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or of swelling or warping." (wikipedia.org)
To celebrate the springtime, we learned about the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. and our very own Poppy Festival at the Wilderness Park Museum. We also learned that everyday objects can be turned into art or tools for art. To make our Cherry Blossom trees, we first color a background scene for springtime and then added in cherry blossom prints using the bottoms of plastic soda bottles. Not only are we making art, be we are recycling and upcycling everday materials!
pop art collages and stencil prints
We got an introduction to Pop Art from the 1960s and we discussed how Pop Art is still an ongoing art movement as it is any type of art that is paying homage to popular culture such as Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, movie characters, etc. Characters such as Mickey Mouse and actors such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe as well as everyday items like soup cans and soap boxes were used to create art as well. Artists like Andy Warhol was well known for taking these popular items and turning them into many colored pictures. We also looked at collages by Robert Rauschenberg and Paolozzi. Collages are a popular form of arts and crafts and can be anywhere from just putting nice pictures together that follow a theme to make a full picture with those pictures to making a non-verbal statement with the pictures. While we worked on our collages and Pop Art stencils, we listened to popular music of the 1960s such as The Beatles, The Bee Gees, The Hollies, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Ventures, The Rolling Stones, and Simon & Garfunkel to name a few. We noticed that some of the old music is still being played today and has also been covered by newer bands who liked the old music so much, they wanted to make their own version of a song.
Relief Printing- Pumpkin Patches
We explored early printing/copying techniques with our relief printing pumpkin patches. Students drew outlines of pumpkins and then we traced over the lines with glue. We allowed the glue to dry for a week. We then placed white paper over our pumpkins and used crayons to rub over the paper to bring through the outlines of the underlying pumpkins.
Introduction to Abstract Art
We explored the shapelessness of Abstract Art and discussed how it is more about use of shapes and colors that are put together to represent form. We discovered and discussed works by Picasso, Miro, Matisse, and Mondrian while listening to jazz by Dave Brubeck. We then used a specific set of instructions regarding shapes to use, but we were given the freedom to place those shapes wherever we wanted on the paper in whatever color we chose. The results were quite diverse and astounding!