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.