Clay Picasso Portraits

5th graders learned about the artist Pablo Picasso through a Power Point presentation with a focus on his Cubism/abstract portaits. Students then went to the website www.picassohead.com. Here they were able to quickly brainstorm ideas for their clay project. I explained to them it was like sketching out and brainstorming their ideas for how they wanted to build their portairt digitally. Once they had some ideas they liked, then they drew out their design on paper. ( I could only get our Chromebook cart for a week, due to testing, hence the drawing out their ideas hard copy). The following two classes were used for reviewing clay attaching techniques and rolling slabs, and building their clay portraits. I usually prefer to glaze with my older grades, but we were in a time crunch with it being the end of the year, and goofy schedules with field trips, concerts, graduations, ect. They still look wonderful painted and glossed with Modge Podge.

Dia de los Muertos Name Skeletons

Roy Lichtenstein's Onomatopoeia

Dragon Eyes

Students learned about the elements and principles of design in preparation of middle school art. We covered all elements through a Smart Board lesson. For their art project we focused on color,  line, shape, value (contrast), and emphasis. We first drew the eyes in chalk pencil and then the students used chalk pastel to add color and value. I always feel like pastels are challenging for students to use because they get so messy and the project can turn south quickly if not given proper guidance and instruction. These 5th graders did a great job for one of their last elementary projects!

Cherry Trees

Jenny Murphy Holiday Trees

Students looked at commercial artist Jenny Murphy's website and artwork online. Murphy isn't a trained artist, she worked in finance for over 20 years. Painting was a hobby she loved, and ended up turning it into a career by opening her store and selling her work. We discussed in class how hobbies we love can often times end up being a career without any formal training, it just takes determination. Murphy uses bright acrylic colors with bold, black outlines. Her work is simple and very stylized. Students first drew out their stylized tree shape, divided it with a zig zag line, and added simple patterns.

Paper Cut Snowflakes

Students learned about the “Snowflake Man” Wilson Bentley. A self educated farmer, Bentley attracted world attention with his pioneering work in the area of photomicrography, most notably his extensive work with snow crystals (commonly known as snowflakes). By adapting a microscope to a bellows camera, and years of trial and error, he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885.

This lesson focused on radial symmetry and craftsmanship. We began by tracing different sized circles and folding them in half three times. Each line became one point of the snowflake.  Students then cut away shapes and once unfolded had a one of a kind snowflake. Learning targets were:

I can use my scissors safely.

I can cut paper with no jagged edges.

I can use correct amount of glue and glue papers flat.

Lesson idea from Dali's Mustache 

http://dalimoustache.blogspot.com

Plushie Angry Birds

5^th graders learned about the artist Claes Oldenburg through a Power Point presentation. Since 1962, Oldenburg has been making soft sculpture based on common objects ranging from household fixtures (such as toilets, fans, and light switches) to even food. Students also reviewed the art movement, POP ART. Pop art can be any every day item, also. Pop Art is short for Popular Art. It is inspired by comic strips, advertising, and popular entertainment…things that you would see in everyday life.

When deciding what students should create for their soft sculptures, I looked to what’s popular in their culture right now- ANGRY BIRDS! Students first created an Angry Bird drawing, they had a choice of 3 templates to trace, but were responsible for adding all the details in the face and body. They outlined in Sharpie, colored in, and cut it out. This would later be used as a guide for when they were adding details to their soft sculptures.

For their sculptures students used their drawing as a tracer, and traced it onto two pieces of felt, then cut it out. Students learned how to sew using two types of stitches in their sculpture- a straight stitch and a whip stitch. When their sculpture was about ¾ of the way sewn shut, they stuffed it with cotton batting to make their sculptures fluffy, like Oldenburg’s sculptures.

Students then cut shapes from felt scraps to create their Angry Birds face, and used tacky glue to glue pieces to the body. All the student’s did a phenomenal job on this project! They were engaged the entire time we were working on this, and I had several students who came in on their own time to work on it. It was great to see them so inspired and working so hard!

**Lesson idea from Art with Mrs. Nguyen**  

http://www.artwithmrsnguyen.com/2012/11/pop-art-plushies-5th.html 

Thank you! my students love this project, I've done it several times now.

Day of the Dead Skulls

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated by many in Mexico and by some Mexican Americans living in the United States. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration where eating and partying are common.

Fifth graders learned about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead through two short videos and a classroom discussion. We drew our skulls from printed handouts. Fifth graders were encouraged to make their skull look festive by creating a hat and adding other details to their drawing.