Jr Iron Chef Competition

 The Hartland Hash Slingers have just returned from the Jr Iron Chef Competition, which was held at the Essex Fairgrounds in Essex, VT again this year.  Returning team members Daisy and Anyata, and new member Ileana, showed culinary prowess in developing, cooking, and presenting their recipe of Potato Beet Pancakes.  Ms. Bernstein and I were there to lend moral support and join the fun- as the adult coaches, we were not allowed to touch anything during the competition!

We spent all day yesterday at the middle school and high school competition, which is run by VT FEED and the Farm to School Programs.  These programs promote healthy eating in our schools.  Seventy-five teams competed, so it was a busy place!

This picture gives you an idea of the atmosphere of industriousness in the huge room.  These boys, assigned to the space next to us, are from Charlotte.  They won Best in Show!

Potato Beet Pancakes frying.  The beets gave them their lovely color.

Exquisite Presentation

Waving the green flag to let the judges know they are finished

Judges comments:  Wonderful taste, and great presentation

Collages Inspired by Eric Carle

Kindergarten – 2^nd Grade Collages Inspired by the work of picture book artist Eric Carle

“I begin with plain tissue paper and paint it with different colors, using acrylics. Sometimes I paint with a wide brush, sometimes with a narrow brush. Sometimes my strokes are straight, and sometimes they’re wavy. Sometimes I paint with my fingers. Or I paint on a piece of carpet, sponge, or burlap and then use that like a stamp on my tissue papers to create different textures.
These papers are my palette and after they have dried I store them in color-coded drawers. Let’s say I want to create a caterpillar: I cut out a circle for the head from a red tissue paper and many ovals for the body from green tissue papers; and then I paste them with wallpaper glue onto an illustration board to make the picture.”  - Eric Carle

Our students explored painting paper using many techniques:

Scratching texture through paint with combs
Sponge painting
Textured sponge paint rollers
Sprinkling salt on wet paint
Painting on wet paper
Paper Marbling

Saran wrap, bubble wrap on wet paint
 Straw painting
Splatter painting
Crayon rubbings and resist painting
Monoprints

Students chose papers to represent sky and ground.  Then they cut out shapes from other papers to show animals and other details for their pictures.

Welcome Snow!

Kindergarten Snowy Owl

Leaf Season

At the beginning of the school year, I usually read the book  I am an Artist, by Pat Lowery Collins, to our youngest students.  The author explains that we are ALL artists when we stop to really look at the world around us.  Who has not been awed by the unexpected red eft on the woodpile, or the dragonfly that suddenly perches on dad's baseball cap while we're out fishing?  Thus begins our art exploration.

We have been observing nature in almost all art classes.  (The exception is 6th grade; in that class, we are exploring color and identity through our own sneakers!)

Here are some examples, along with photos of some finished projects:

Kindergarten:  Ceramic leaf dishes
Art Concepts:  texture, contour line, exploring clay
       
  

First & Second Grade:  Leaf drawing/painting
Art concepts:  contour line, drawing from observation, overlapping, movement, "art magic" of oil pastel resisting watercolor paint

Third & Fourth Grade:  Watercolor Leaf Prints & Incredible Insect drawing
Art concepts:  "art magic" of watercolor leaf printing, insect morphology, line patterns, drawing from imagination to create unique "incredible" yet realistic insects

Fifth Grade: Leaf Monoprints
Art Concepts:  printmaking exploration, contrast, balance

Seventh Grade:  Digital Photography
Students are exploring with digital cameras.  They have been learning to look creatively at the world around them through finding textures and unique perspectives during photo scavenger hunts around the school.  They've been exploring photo editing using alteration and cropping tools.  Each student is zeroing in on one item, shape, texture or theme to create a photomontage.

Look for examples of student art at the HES gallery on Artsonia.

Hartland Art at the Tunbridge World's Fair

3rd Grade Group Project

Congratulations to Hartland 3rd graders for winning first prize on their towering 10 foot high group project showing massive sunflowers.  Student artists learned about blending colors with oil pastels on the flower petals, and created real texture in the sunflower centers using coffee grounds, wheat berries, cornmeal, and red lentils.

I also saved some other farm-related artwork done by HES students completed last year to enter in the fair.  See those examples above.

Art is.....by HES 7th grade students

Welcome Back!

 

 

 

The Artsonia website www.artsonia.com, where you may view Hartland Elementary School student artwork,  is up and running again this year. If parents want to start a Fan Club for their children on Artsonia, or have their children receive comments about their artwork on the website, you'll need your child's Screen Name and password.  I do have all those screen names and passwords in a file.  Just email me if you need them:  Jcathey@wsesu.net