Paper Sculptures

Here are a few pictures of the 1st/2nd grade class creating their paper sculptures. After a brief discussion about abstract art and 3-D art, students were shown how to roll strips of scrapbook paper around their pencil to make a tight curl. Keeping it rolled, they dipped one end of the curl in white glue and held it to their background paper for 10-20 seconds. They glued 10-20 paper curls on their background paper to create their abstract paper sculptures. I have to say, this was definitely one of the most frustrating projects for the students, because a lot of the time the paper strips came uncurled or wouldn't stay glued to the background paper. They persevered! It was a good lesson in patience and delayed gratification :)

Rose Windows

The 3rd-6th graders created Rose Windows, inspired by the old, beautiful stained glass windows of medieval churches of Europe. Here are the 5th/6th graders' rose windows hanging in their classroom. Gorgeous!

Mona Lisa parodies - February/March

 All grade levels participated in this project. We started with a brief history of Leonardo da Vinci and his most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. We also talked about parodies, especially how to change a few things in your artwork to make it humorous and yet still see the inspiration of the original idea (the Mona Lisa). Pictured here are the K/1st grade class and a few examples of their Mona Lisas. 

 Below are photos of the 5th/6th grade class working on their Mona Lisas. Their project was different in that they drew a realistic portrayal of Mona Lisa and changed the background to something different, as if she stepped into a time machine. They did an amazing job!

Silent Art Auction pieces

Just a few photos of the pieces submitted to the Silent Art Auction. Now to brainstorm some other cool collaborative project ideas...

Year-round art classes - Boulder

Is your child interested in art? I came across some year-round art classes offered by Sunflower Kids Art Studio in Boulder for ages 3.5 to 15. They are located at 5345 Arapahoe Avenue. Call Lika Maldutis at (720) 939-7545 or e-mail lmaldutis@gmail.com or click on the link above to visit their site. 

Clementine Studio in Boulder also offers a variety of art classes and camps for kids. Check them out! 

February 5 - Watercolor Elephants - 1st/2nd graders

We learned how to draw elephants today! I based this lesson on one found on this AMAZING website, Art Projects for Kids. If you're ever looking for fun project ideas with tutorials for your kids, I highly recommend this site. 

These elephants turned out beautiful. The class enjoyed learning the steps of how to draw an elephant as well as seeing how crayon resists watercolor paints. 

Below are some photos from today's lesson:

Thomas and Jerrick

Zoie and Cooper

Matt

Back: Madeleine, Ben and Andy

Front: Kayva and Malachi

January 25 - Field Trip to the Museum of Natural History - CU Boulder

On Friday, the 3rd-6th graders participated in an art field trip to the Museum of Natural History on the CU Boulder campus. It was exciting to go to a college campus and mingle amongst students and faculty. We participated in a hands-on workshop about pottery of the Southwest. Our tour guide, Jim, helped us learn the steps of ancient pottery making and examine prehistory pottery designs and shapes. We ended our short gallery tour with a hands-on activity: creating our own coil pot out of air-dry clay to take home. Here are a few photos from our day: