Drawing Wood Models

All year long, my second graders have been asking when they get to do an artwork using the wood models.  Today was the day!

I started out drawing one on the white board for them. I showed them how to create the shapes, how to move the models and how the shapes of the wood models are not all the same sizes.

They chose a colored sheet of paper, grabbed black papers and got to work!

I love how they have this fun, abstract look to them and that each artwork is completely different!

Aquariums

Today second graders began a project in which the concept of printmaking was introduced. We began by painting in a background with colorful, glittery paint (which they went CRAZY for!).

Styrofoam was handed out and students worked on drawing four different ideas to press into their styrofoam for next week.

This week students worked on choosing two fish designs from what they drew last week. They traced/pressed them onto their styrofoam squares.

The printmaking came next. We used markers to create prints. Students colored in their fish, sprayed water on a square of paper and pressed the paper on top of their fish to make a print. There were many varying degrees of success with the kids. Overall, they were a bit frustrated. I showed them the "bad" prints that I"d made and told them we'd keep working on them. This is a project that is more about the process then the product!

This week students worked on creating the inside of their aquariums. I love the variety in what they created!

Second graders finished up their aquariums today. They worked on making new prints of fish if needed, cut out and glued on their fish and added final touches to their aquarium.

These sure turned out creative and while this project was frustrating to some, it was a good introduction to printmaking. I think they did a great job!

Laurel Burch Cats

Laurel Burch Cats

Today Second Graders began learning about the artist Laurel Burch, who is famous for her colorful, patterned cats.  We looked at some of her art and then drew a cat. We reviewed lines, shapes and patterns for the artwork. Students then made designs in their cats.

This week students worked on coloring in their cats with oil pastels. Some chose a color scheme, and some just used all colors freely.

This week students finished up their cats. They worked on coloring the cats, then outlined them with black oil pastels.

The cat was glued onto a colored background. The kids also reflected on their art by filling out a sheet with two things they liked about their cat and one thing they would have changed. This sheet was glued onto the back of their artwork.

I love how colorful these turned out!

Broadway Stars

Second graders have a concert coming up. The theme of the concert is songs on Broadway. For this project, I wanted to give as little instruction as possible. I put out paper, pastels, and crayons. The kids traced a giant star and started creating!

This week, students punched holes around the edges of their background. Next week they will be "sewing" the edges with yarn.

They finished the background by painting in white lines however they chose to.

Second graders finished up their stars this week. They cut out and glued on their star to their background. Colored yarn was chosen and they sewed their edges to add some decoration. The art is all ready to be put up for the concert

Ready for the concert!

!

Winter Cardinal

It's time for winter themed artworks in our school. Second grade is learning about value and drawing from life.  We started out painting a value-colored background using black, white and blue.

Even though the kids thought it was tricky, we sketched cardinals from still lives set up at their table.

This week, students worked on gluing on a frame, adding branches and pine needles onto their artwork.

They also continued to work on drawing cardinals.

Today students worked on gluing on a black frame, finishing their background and creating their cardinal. The kids were given choices on how they could color their cardinal. I had out crayons, colored pencils, oil pastels, sharpies and watercolors. 

It was fun to see the variety of mediums used. After the cardinal was colored, students cut it out and glued it onto their background.