6th Grade Dia de los Muertos Celebrity (or Character) Skeletons! And welcoming Mrs. Styza!

The sixth grade art classes did a fantastic job of making their Dia de los Muertos celebrity skeletons.  They studied the human skeleton and used models to understand how bones moved.  The objective was to create a character that we could identify based on just a few simple details like hair, accessories, clothes, or poses.  I love how different each one turned out.  

In other art news, we have a fantastic addition to our art room.  Mrs. Samantha Styza is a student teacher from UWM.  She will be working with us for the remainder of the semester.  We're very excited to have her here and look forward to some awesome lessons with her.

7th grade Dia de Los Muertos Skulls

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the seventh grade art classes have been studying El Dia de Los Muertos, or as it's known in English, The Day of the Dead.  Students did readings and had discussions about how El Dia de Los Muertos is not Halloween, and compared the differences in how artists have used the symbols of skulls and skeletons for the holiday.  They then applied their knowledge into making a plaster skull.  The classes spent time exploring the shapes of their own skulls and then recreating those.  Each student had to work hard to think of different decorations and themes for their calaca (skull).  The end results are quite stunning.

If any families are interested, Milwaukee has an incredible Dia de Los Muertos parade this Friday (how convenient that the kids are off!).  This could be a great, FREE cultural opportunity.  Please visit the following website for times and locations:

http://diadelosmuertosmilwaukee.yolasite.com/