Collaborative Mural in Rockville

CBG Building Company, which is constructing the Brightview Rockville Town Center senior apartment project at 285 N. Washington Street, has an art program that puts works by local students on display at their construction sites.

With a month remaining in school, CBG asked me if I would be interested in participating in this program.  Even with the tight deadline, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity for my students. I challenged my students to think of creative ways to illustrate what they do for fun in their neighborhoods, and the results were amazing!  Unfortunately, only 40 of my students got to see their individual designs come to fruition, but all of the 3rd-5th graders participated in collaborating with each other to meet our deadline! Have a look…

AND THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS.....

 Hopefully, the flyers created by selected 4th and 5th grade students made it home, and you've had the opportunity to talk with your child about visiting the art opening. On May 31st the work of your children will be on display! Now is your chance to see America's great future artists! At least one artwork from every student in the school will be exhibited. The Art Show opening will be held from 5-7 PM, and on display in the hallways near the art room. If you cannot make it the shows opening, it will be hanging until June 8th. Please stop by to see their amazing work!

Terrific Trash

 

I challenged the 1st and 4th graders to use their imagination to turn their trash into treasure by taking something ordinary and transforming it into something extraordinary! I spent a week "dumpster diving" around the school collecting (and cleaning) recyclables to use for our terrific trash sculptures. I also encouraged the 4th grades to bring in their own recyclables, old boxes, broken electronics, and broken toys to use for their projects. Prior to building their sculptures, students sketched ideas of what they could build with the materials they had access to. "If you know you eat a box of Fruit Loops a week, then your sketch should have a cereal box in it...If you drink a chocolate milk every morning for breakfast, then you should do a sketch using 5 chocolate milk containers."

Both grade levels created memorable sculptures that I am proud to
share with the world! Take a look...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is an inspirational news clip about terrific trash I found on Youtube and shared with my kids.

Fresh Impressions: Cute Video

This video was emailed to me a few months back, and I thought I should share it. Having a background in graphic design, this video made my day!

Can you recognize all of the logos?

Digital Pop Art Portraits

 

For this assignment, the 4th graders were introduced to a program called Image Blender. We used Image Blender to create digital Pop Art portraits of famous historical portraits.  Image Blender is similar to Photoshop, but accessible to elementary age children. After examining Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe print and Campbell's Soup Cans prints, I demonstrated the creation of a digital Pop Art portraits.

 

It was awesome witnessing this young generation of students so excited to be learning about digital art and utilizing technology to create their own art. Students who were more familiar with technology were eager to help those students who weren't as tech savvy. The project was a huge success and my students seemed to thoroughly enjoy holding art class outside of our art room. Check out their work below!

 

   

Students who finished their pieces early were challenged to create a second digital art piece utilizing other filters found in Image Blender.

White Flint Art Show

 

If you didn't get an opportunity to see the White Flint Art Show in person, here are some photos from the show. The students work looked amazing! I am so proud of them all. Two of my second graders received stickers, and their pieces will be in future MCPS art exhibits.

Congratulations to all of the students who's work was selected, and thank you for allowing me to display your fabulous art!

 
 

 

   

 

(Note: Parents of students who participated, keep an eye out for their "Certificate of Appreciation."

Animations: Thaumatropes & Zoetropes

 

As a child, I would be up with the sun watching cartoons every Saturday morning. Scooby-Doo, The Flinstones, Ducktales, Looney Tunes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the ThunderCats were among my favorites. I loved Walt Disney movies too. Today's generation of kids are growing up watching cartoons like I did, but may not recognize the artistry behind their beloved animated cartoons.

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions to create an illusion of movement. Animators typically draw 12 frames/pictures for each second of animation. For 60 seconds of animation, the animator(s) draw 720 pictures! That is a lot of drawing.

Students in 3rd and 4th grade were introduced to the animation unit by creating thaumatropes, which were popular toys in Victorian times. Thaumatropes are 2 images that effectively create the illusion of movement.  After successfully creating thaumatropes, students created Zoetropes, which were invented in 180 AD. For their Zoetrope, students drew 11 frames for their animations. Below are examples of the students' zoetropes that I scanned and animated on my computer. There are also links for tutorials on creating both types of
animations

DIY:  Students can make a spinner for their animations at home with a small plastic take-out container lid, tape, and black construction paper.  Enjoy!