I want to ride MY bicycle....

It is believed by some that one of Leonardo Da Vinci's students in the 1490's made rough drafts of a bicycle. They were found among Da Vinci's writings for the Italian government in 1966 by a group of monks. What is realized with these findings is that in the 1490's all the parts of a bicycle were available to inventors and the public. Inventors were thinking about how to use the parts as well, but didn't think about putting them together.

I am really having trouble narrowing down my images of these.  I could post ALL of them.
Questions we are able to answer:
- How can I find and interesting composition?
- Can I talk about contour lines and show how to draw with them?
- How can I make an object look more 3-D?
- How can we learn from art?
 






 
 

Kandinsky Colors

It is that time of year again. A time to experiment with mixing colors and creating color schemes.
I can't wait to coat the halls with these.  I love the subtle differences in how 2nd graders applied their paint.

Art Critic

Which art do you like best?  Why? How does it make you feel?
Mondrian
 



Pollack
In 2nd grade, we made a reproduction of a Mondrian and a Pollack. We compared and contrasted them discovering that lines share different feelings.
After viewing this famous artwork and others painted by Norman Rockwell, we decided to judge our reproductions. 
We drew a museum space and added our photograph.

Some added a cast shadow.



 
 
 

Romero Britto spreads positive feelings

3rd grade went to town with these.  After watching a slideshow, we brainstormed things that make us happy ... positive things, in the spirit of Britto.  I included a link that will take you to my Prezi (I hope?) slideshow about Romero Britto.   
 








Figurative Sculpture

After drawing gestures sketches of our classmates, we picked our favorite to turn into a sculpture.  The artist Alberto Giacometti influenced us. 

We added shadows to give them more dimension
 

Line Landscapes and More

I always love to start the year focusing on lines because they are AMAZING.  When I see what 5th graders come up with, I am reminded that something so simple can be stretched to create something wonderful. 

At one of my schools we looked at current artist by the name of Virginia Kraljevic, an artist that started her career as a visual designer for the popular store Anthropologie.  She then went out on her own and began trying life as an independent freelance artist. 


Oval Forest

We also looked at the current artist Serge Seidlitz.  He is an artist to claims his art was fueled by growing up watching MTV and flipping through MAD magazine.  He inspires us to doodle away.
 
Take a look at 5th grade's creations.
I love the sense of humor here - referencing the well known nursery rhyme

 
I like how the space is filled so that it looks almost subterranean
I can almost feel how tired this wolf must be.


What can I say?  I smile every time I see this one.
Great contrast

 
At my other school (fyi - I teach at 2 awesome schools), we looked at how different artists and cultures use lines. Again, 5th grade used lines in some incredible ways.
 
Love the use of negative space and complimentary colors
I think these hands look like they are glowwing .... so cool.
This one took the idea of creating texture "there and beyond" - not only does it look like
 texture but run your fingers over the left hand and you will feel it too - bravo.






 

We're BACK

 I figured we needed to grease our "wheels" before diving in and creating some masterpieces. So, we welcomed the new year with a "Line Challenge" activity.
How many lines can you think of?

everyone's sketchbook looked so different

 After brainstomring by ourselves, we collaborated with our table so that we could share some fabulous ideas with the class via a game I like to call Chalk Talk.
 "Chalk" Talk .. using of course an Expo marker

The last line makes way. 
We start our masterpieces soon.  These lines will sure come in handy.