Batik!

This was my favorite project!  We were to create a batik, which is pretty much a controlled dye.  We used squirt bottles filled with a flour/water paste to create lines and then we used tempura paint to fill in with color.  This is how mine turned out (it wasn't supposed to turn grayish, but it did).

Map project with artist statement

This assignment was assigned to us while we were at the University's museum of art.  We were to create a map about ourselves and write an artists statement.  I chose to write random facts about me in different styles on the front and a very condensed timeline of me on the back.  I chose to color each square a different color so as to illustrate how I am random and sometimes unpredictable.

Pots

Ok, I lied.  The pots were my favorite assignment.  We were to create a coil and a pinch pot.  After they were fired once, we glazed them and fired them again.  I put some marbles in the bottom of mine and they turned out awesome!

Sketch-up!

Another style of art is computer art.  We were to create a building using an element from Greek architecture, such as a pediment or columns.  This is how my building turned out.

P.S. Keep in mind that this program was not easy for me and it is a lot better in my head, just ask.

Wire!!

Our assignment was to create a 3D animal from animal.  Sounds easy, right?  Wrong.  There was one catch: everyone had a disability.  Some of my classmates were blind, deaf, motor skill challenged, or ESL (which I was one of).  Our teacher had us go out in the hall while the rest of the class was getting the directions.  After a few minutes, she invited us back in and gave us the instructions in ASL, which were, oh so confusing!  I have to admit, we didn't understand the majority of the directions given so we had to figure out what was going on by watching our classmates.  This is what my "animal" was.  P.S. It's a butterfly in case you can't tell.

Scratch Board

This was my second favorite assignment.  This project took a little bit of preparation.  We were to use heavy paper and color on it rather thickly with crayons any way we wanted.  Then we were to paint over the crayons with black paint with a little bit of dish soap added.  Once it dried, we were to scratch the alphabet in it as well as put texture in it, without lifting up our pencil.

African Masks-My Version

This assignment was perhaps the best assignment all year!  We made masks out of a milk jug and shoe polish.  This is how mine turned out.

African Masks

For one of our class assignments, we were to make African masks from milk jugs.  Here are some examples of masks:

Technology in the classroom

There are a few ways to use technology in the art classroom.  In class, we used Sketchup to create architecture.  There are a few other programs, such as paint, Adobe photoshop, or Illustrator that allow students to create art on the computer.  These programs allow a user to edit photos, create architectural designs, or even create new images. I like what Robert Logan says, "In The Sixth Language, Robert Logan argues that this link between art and technology is vital “to helping our school system make the transition from the industrial age to the Internet age” (Logan, 2000), http://www.ed421.com/?p=377.  

By integrating technology into the visual art classroom, you allow your students to broaden their artistic horizons and gain experience with an artistic medium that will likely take center stage in the future.

Read more: How to Implement Technology Into the Visual Arts Classroom | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6027127_implement-technology-visual-arts-classroom.html#ixzz14TZ62xo6

I have changed my view of art on the computer from these two quotes.  I never thought computer art really counted as art because the art was not created by his or her own hand, rather by a tool to create it for them.

4th Grade Lesson Plan

Our assignment this week is to make a lesson plan for fourth grade and explain why it is age appropriate.  According to the USOE Rainbow Chart under the Refine/Contribute column, fourth graders are able to take simple shapes and make a pattern out of them covering the whole page.  My lesson plan involves such a thing.  It is called the Zillij Pattern (from Crayola.com) and is made by drawing a simple shape in the center of the paper and going out from that using other shapes.  This is an age appropriate activity because although it is made only with crayons and a pencil, it is challenging enough for the students and it can also be tied into a Social Studies lesson (the Zillij Pattern is used in Muslim Mosques' stained windows).  It is also a good thing for this age group because the student does not need to know about complex shapes and it allows for a lot of freedom in creating this.  Color, shapes, patterns, and even size can all be determined by the student.

Art or craft?

When you think of art, what do you think of?  Do you think of a painting, a drawing, a sketch?  Or do you think of a "Welcome" sign on a front door, a cute decorative pumpkin, or even a wooden Easter bunny?  Well, the difference is the style of how they were made as well as the obvious end results.  According Dictionary.com, Art is defined as: "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance."  In Art Emphasis, art uses variety, repetition, emphasis, and domination-subordination in the pieces.  In other words, art uses principles and specific techniques to create things that are visually appealing.  On the other hand, a craft is defined as "making objects in a skilled way".  There is no set technique or style to make a craft correctly.  In my opinion, crafts usually take less skill and don't require an extensive background knowledge.  They are generally more hands on and have a 3D shape.  A lot of art is something that is in a frame and therefore cannot be picked up or felt.  

In today's classrooms, I believe more crafts are being done than actual art.  There are less techniques taught and there is more "paste and glue" type activities.

What Motivates Me

As a student, what motivates me to learn is, first, a caring and energetic teacher.  My first grade teacher was that type of teacher.  She always had fun lessons and genuinely cared about each of us.  It didn't matter what we were learning, she always made it fun and entertaining.
Another thing that motivates me to learn was the fact that I wanted to be a better person and increase my knowledge.  When I was in Elementary School, I wanted to be able to come home and tell my parents, "Look what I learned in school today!".  I always wanted my parents to be proud of me and I didn't want to let them down.
The last thing that motivates me to learn is to be able to teach what I have learned to others.  I want to be able to master the materials as best as I can so I can eventually teach it to students.  I believe teaching is a wonderful thing that is almost like a "calling" in life.  To me, those that are excellent teachers are also excellent motivators.

Van Gogh Painting

This assignment was created by oil pastels and a watercolor wash.  We were supposed to visualize what it looked like outside our window and draw that with oil pastels.  This is how mine came out:

Prints

This assignment was pretty fun to do.  We were to pick an image from our visual culture-anything we wanted.  I chose to do an iPod speaker dock.  We were to then use cross hatching and dots as well as indents in the styrofoam to create our visual image.  I don't think I quite got the concept of cross hatching, but this is how it turned out.

Color Wheel

This assignment was supposed to give us practice mixing colors and putting them in order according to a color wheel.  We were to note the primary colors as well as the complimentary, warm, and cool colors.  This is how mine turned out.

Teaching Artist Statements

Artist statements can be hard to teach to children.  An artist statement basically tells what the artist was thinking or feeling as well as explaining the piece of art at the same time.  Some of the questions that might be answered in an artists statement is:

• Why do you like to make art?
• What subjects do you prefer? Why?
• What processes and techniques do you use? Why?
• How is your work different from others?
• What do you see in your artwork?
• What do other people say they see?
• What are your goals and aspirations as an artist?
• Who or what inspires you?

(Nita Leland, Writing An Artist's Statement, 2000)


These statements are generally found near the piece when it is hanging in an exhibit.  Teaching children about artist statements can be a tricky thing to do without having them actually doing it, so I think the best way to teach an artist's statement is to actually have the students' write one.

Contour Drawings

For this assignment, we were to use a viewfinder and draw what we see.  This is what I saw.

Food party!

This assignment was probably my favorite assignment we have done all year!  We were to eat something and use watercolors to paint the textures, colors, and taste.  If you can tell what each square is, you will win a prize.

Chinese Paintings

For this assignment, we did Chinese bamboo paintings with rice paper.  Mine did not turn out as professional as some of the other ones, but this is as good as it got!  We were also supposed to make a stamp using our initials and put it on the painting.

Collographs

For this assignment, we were to create a bug and do 3 collographs out of crayons and 1 out of paint.  The crayon rubbings were pretty cool because you could do any color you wanted.  The paint one turned out awesome because it was metallic.  This is how my metallic one turned out:

Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative and Summative are two different kinds of assessments that a teacher can use to evaluate how well a student has learned the subject, in this case, meaning how well a student has learned art.  According to the book,  Emphasis Art, summative evaluations can be assessed through asking:

• Did you learn any new words or art ideas this year?  What?
• What was good about art this year?
• What did you learn this year about how to make art?

Formative evaluations are done at the moment or at the end of the lesson, whereas a summative evaluation is done at the end of the year.  According to Catherine Garrison & Michael Ehringhaus of NMSA, formative evaluations can be assessed by:

• criteria and goal setting
• observations
• questioning strategies
• self and peer assessment
• student record keeping

I like what Laura Greenstein says about formative assessments: "Formative assessment is also a systematic way for teachers and students to gather evidence of learning, engage students in assessment, and use data to improve teaching and learning. " (from What Teachers Need To Know About Formative Assessment).

Reflection #3: Art Criticism

Art criticism is the part of art that gives the piece meaning and importance.  Art criticism has various parts to it, such as depth, texture, color, and even evoke emotion.  According to Emphasis Art, "skill in art criticism can also be assessed by asking students to identify how art suggests feelings" (p. 54).
When doing art criticism in an elementary school, the teacher should not let the students' criticize their peers art, because they are at an age where they take everything seriously.  The best thing to do in this case is to showcase a piece by a famous artist, such as Picasso or Van Gogh.  They discuss the piece as a class, with you, as the teacher asking questions about the expressive qualities, balance, repetition, or unity in the piece (Colleen Madonna Williams, Art Criticism Lesson Ideas for Assemblage Sculpture Project).
Another thing that can be done to "criticize art" is to write about it.  Before fifth grade, most teachers just have their students talk about the piece.  Talking about the piece isn't necessarily bad, it's just that the student needs to learn how to write about as if they are art critics themselves (http://www1.cbsd.org/curriculum/art/pages/elementaryart.aspx).

Self Portrait

For our self portrait assignment, we were to take an 8" x 10" head shot of ourselves.  The first picture (top left) is one drawn from memory, without looking at the head shot.  The second picture (top right) was drawn with the picture.  The last picture was the most real life and dramatic of the three.  We were to create a grid on both our picture and our sketch paper.  We were to fill in each box with what was in the coordinating box in the picture.  These are how my self portraits turned out.

Texture/Picasso Head Assignment

Picasso Head Portrait


For this assignment, we were to use the 8 texture/color squares and fill in our Picasso Head.  Our  Picasso head was created by doing a blind contour drawing.  We were to look at our partner and draw them without looking or lifting up our pencils.  This is how mine came out!

Why Teach Art?

Art can sometimes leave people wondering, "Why teach art? It's a waste of time. I don't need someone to teach me how to do that, my two-year old could do that".  All of these reasons may be said at some point, but art is one of those areas that people turn to when they are stressed, need vent frustrations, or say things in picture rather vocally.  According to Emphasis Art, art is one of the only subjects, quite possibly throughout the entire world, that can be understood by everyone, such as an international language.  There is no need for an interpreter because there are no words and the pictures generally get the message across.
In the book What Arts Teach and How it Shows, it mentions something that I think is important for students to know.  I briefly mentioned it before, but it mentions how we can use art to show feeling.  Again, if something cannot be said verbally, art may be another option for saying something.  Many artists in the past have used art as a way to make a statement.  Think about the African American slaves in the 1800's.  They were not allowed to verbally express their feelings, but there is art created by the slaves that expresses their unhappiness.
On the website www.artally.com, it tells a story of an autistic boy who creates masterpieces of art.  This young boy has trouble speaking and talking, so he creates art as a way to express himself.  That is one more reason why teaching about art is a positive thing.

Mandala

A Mandala is a piece of art that has radial symmetry.  For this assignment, we were required to experiment with markers, use the whole page, and tell about ourselves.  This is what I came up with:

What is art?

Art is a tricky word to define.  To every person, art has a different meaning.  To some it might be a way to express emotions, thoughts, feelings, or even as a way to say things that cannot be said vocally.  However, every form of art has three main things: line, shape, and color.  Not every artist uses these three things in ways that are pleasing to every person who views their art.  Sometimes art is not pleasing both visually as well as emotionally, and by definition, it doesn't have to be.  Art can be anything!  A skein of yarn thrown around a room, for example, can be considered art.  To me, art is something visual or tactile that expresses an emotion, whether it be happiness, fear, anger, distress, sorrow, or even pain.  It doesn't necessarily have to look like something or even resemble anything, it just needs to be visual and have some form of color, shape, and line incorporated into the piece.