The Eyes say it all...7th grade Close-up Drawing

Long time, no blog!  Holy cats is second semester flying by!  7th graders just finished their close-up, animal eye drawings.  The main focus of this art project was to look closely, and draw what you see and not what you know.  The students worked on enlargement and proportions.  In addition, they tried really hard to blend colors by overlapping colored pencils.  Great work 7th graders!

6th Grade Contour Shoe Drawings

The 6th graders learned about descriptive, contour line drawings.  They practiced drawing their own shoes from life.  They gained a lot of confidence in their drawing abilities by drawing directly what they saw.  Many commented that they didn't know they could draw as well as they did.  They then turned their realistic controur line drawings, into surreal fantasies. 

8th Grade Scratch Art

The 8th graders just finished their cropped, nature-inspired, scratch art projects.  This may be one of the most impressive projects I've seen so far.  I knew the project would be challenging for the kids, because it requires them to think almost backwards.  They are reductively scratching away at black to reveal white.  Prior to starting the project, we worked on cross-hatching and using lines to create value.  We also discussed cropping and it's use in composition.  I am absoloutely blown away by the quality of work the 8th graders created.

8th grade graffiti

The 8th graders once again learned about Urban Street Art and graffiti. As always, we discuss at length the legalities of graffiti, and art versus vandalism. After viewing many examples, the students spent a couple of classes brainstorming and sketching ideas. This year we used the idea of Introduction Labels to be the format for the graffiti names.  Many students thought of new "tagger" names and created a graphic theme for their names.

 I know this lesson can sometimes be viewed as controversial, but their are many positive reasons for the kids to learn about graffiti.  It's an artform that many can relate to (and get really excited about) as it is a solely urban, youth driven art.  We take time to look at color, form, and composition of reputable graffiti artists' work, and it really influences the student's artmaking process.

 

For students interested in learning more about graffiti and Urban Art Mr. Neils hosts a Monday after school club called "Urban Arts", please see him.  Locally, there is an organization I've mentioned before:  Milwaukee's True Skool.  They offer many exciting art enrichment programs, including graffiti classes.  Visit their website here.

8th grade Asymmetrical Folders

For our first project this year, the 8th graders played with the idea of "two sides" to create asymmetrical designs on their Art folders. The variety seen in their work is outstanding! Some students chose nature themes, others humor, while others tackled very deep issues. I'm excited to see what the rest of the semester will produce. There is A LOT of talent in our Panther Artists!

8th Grade Op Art

Eighth graders studied artist Bridget Riley to learn about how Op Art began.  They also viewed a PowerPoint of different optical illusions, some of which they couldn't believe.  They then applied their knowledge to create optical illusion drawings.  Students started with a point anywhere on their paper.  They then made an odd number of lines radiate out from the point to the edges of the paper.  They were shown how to alternate concave and convex curves between thelines, and how to use two colors to do a checkboard pattern.  Lastly, students drew cicles that they turned into spheres by using perpendicular curved lines.  Who knew so much math could be packed into a drawing?

8TH grade GRAFFITI NAMES

We begin this lesson with a PowerPoint and discuss extensively the legal ramifications of vandalism.  The students debate with each other what is vandalism versus art, and if the two cross categories.  I make sure to stress that no matter how cool or beautiful a work is, if it is created on someone else's property and one doesn't have permission, it is vandalism and is illegal. 

The students then spend a few days practicing different fonts and styles for their names before being approved for final paper.  As the students begin to finish, they help sponge paint the paper for the background bricks.  We also held an amazingly positive class critique.  I was so proud of the insightful and encouraging comments I heard the students give one another.  Stellar job 8th grade!

For any students or parents who are interested in an awesome program that teaches graffiti art and builds teen leadership here locally in Milwaukee, please check out TRUE SKOOL.

7th grade Line Drawings

Seventh graders worked hard (and long) at creating these line drawings. They learned about the descriptive quality of lines, light and shade, and analogous colors.  I love how they all look combined together and we've been getting lots of compliments about them. 

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.

6th Grade Silhouettes

 

The more I get to know our new sixth grade students, the more I am impressed with their creativity.  The students spent a couple of weeks creating these identity silhouettes.  I began by tracing each student's silhouette.  They then had to fill the silhouette with symbols, objects, and words about their interests.  They used good marker techniques to make the work look professional.  This was a great beginning project as I got to know a lot about each one of them during the process.  Great work 6th grade!

7th Grade Art Rocks!!! (and Empty Bowls Milwaukee)

The seventh grade art classes have just finished their art guitars, and they do indeed rock!

The students were shown many examples of custom guitars.  They were challenged to create a theme in their guitar that reflected a personal interest.  Students were given the option to use a pre-existing guitar template, or to create a completely new design.  As you can see from the photos below, the students definitely rose to the challenge.  I'm once again blown away by the variety and creativity in our young artist. 

In other art news-- Milwaukee Empty Bowls:

A few of the staff from WMIS have been getting together on Fridays after school to create and glaze ceramic bowls for a fantastic organization.  Empty Bowls is a one day fundraising event.  It pairs artists, schools, and local resteraunts to raise money for local food banks and pantries.  The event will take place this Saturday, October 8th.  Families are encouraged to come and buy a bowl (student made bowls are $10; artist made bowls are $20).  After purchasing a bowl, you can sample dozens of soups made by neighoring resteraunts and enjoy being serenaded by local musicians.  This is a great family friendly event.  If you'd like to learn more about this event or see past events please visit:
http://www.milwaukeeemptybowls.org/

Our talented staff creating bowls (we've decided it might be best to enter them as student-made, hey--we're all life long learners right? :)