Miss Bierne's Art Room

This was another peer taught lesson on 3D art. We talked about the difference between 2D and 3D art and we also learned about the sculpture Claes Oldenburg. We created 3D fish out of construction paper for our project. We folded and cut the construction paper to create our fish. We cut slits in the construction paper and glued the folded areas to make the fish 3D. Then we cut out eyes, fins, and a tail to finish off our fish. As an extension activity the students could research and create their own 3D animals from different types of the world. They could then present them to the class and talk about what they learned about their animals. We can also use the 3D animals to talk about different habitats and the animals in them.

This was another peer taught lesson that integrated Social Studies and Language Arts into art. We learned about the symbols of America such as the flag, bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Bell. In class we created an agamograph that included two different American symbols. As a class we drew an American flag and then we each picked our second symbol, I chose the United States Seal. An extension activity that the students could do would be to draw images that are antonyms.As a class we can do one word together and the students would draw an antonym for that word. This would be a great way to teach antonyms and opposites.

For this project we learned about the history of weaving and how different cultures and countries use weaving. We each got a cardboard loom and a needle to make our own coasters. We weaved the needle with the yarn over and under on the loom. Once the project was finished we took the coaster off the loom and tied the ends. This was a fun, relaxing project that I really enjoyed creating. As an extension activity the students could research the various cultures that utilize weaving. They can create classroom presentations and work together to make the different types of weaving that the people create.

Another peer taught lesson was on the use of clay. We learned about Georgia O'Keefe, she was known for her paintings of large flowers. We started by kneading and rolling out the clay, then we used a process called subtracting to create our flowers. Then we placed our flowers in a bowl to make it easier to paint. We used a self drying clay so we didn't have to use a kiln. An extension activity that students could do would be to trace their hand on the clay. They could then use the process of addition to add things that represent themselves. This would be a good way for students to introduce themselves.

This was a lesson I taught to the class on mosaics. I taught about the history of mosaics starting with the Greeks and Romans. We talked about subject matters for mosaics and how to create the artwork. To start I had the students  brainstorm what ideas would make the best mosaics related to the theme of summer. I then had the students draw their designs on a plain piece of card stock, the glue didn't soak through the card stock as easily as plain printer paper. The students then began gluing construction paper on their design to create their mosaics. The students could create a mosaic of their names as an extension activity. This would be a good project for younger students or at the beginning of the year when students are still getting to know each other. They could use their favorite colors and use it as an introduction tool.

For this project we experimented with a form of printmaking called mono-printing. We used gelli plates, brayer, stencils, and acrylic paints to create our prints. We also learned about two different printmaking artists, Andy Warhol and Helen Frankenthaler. For my prints I used stamps and then printed over my originals with a stencil. It was fun to try new designs and techniques to make unique prints. As an extension activity students could go on a nature walk and look for different types of leaves. The students could then create prints with the leaves. This would be a nice way for students to learn about leaf types and integrate the printmaking.

This was another peer taught lesson on painting. We studied the artist Jackson Pollock and his works with action painting. We experimented with different materials to paint with such as sticks, marbles, yarn, toy cars, pipe cleaners, and tooth brushes. After trying out different techniques we were able to create our own action painting. I used yarn, marbles, toy cars, and the stick and a variety of warm and cool colors to create my action painting which I titled "Excitement". As an extension activity the students could create a classroom action painting. They could bring in items from their house or nature to paint with and the class could collaborate on a classroom mural. The students could then compare the patterns and designs that the items made with the paint.

This was another peer taught lesson using oil pastels. We learned about Wassily Kandinsky and read the book "The Noisy Paint Box" by Barb Rosenstock. We used warm and cool colored pastels to create our concentric circles that were similar to Kandinsky's abstract art. There was also music playing while we were working, because Kandinsky often associated music with his abstract paintings. We then had to associate our circles with a mood and write that on the back of our artwork. As an extension activity the students could measure the area and circumference of their circles. We could also use it to introduce and talk about shapes.

This was a peer taught lesson on drawing. We each had to grab two adjectives and a noun and then draw the noun and adjectives. My adjectives that I drew were hot and tired and the noun was boy. I then drew a boy who was just finishing football practice and made him seem tired and hot. We used colored pencils to draw our picture and then framed it on construction paper. I thought this was a great lesson to help teach students adjectives and nouns, I can definitely see myself using this in my future classroom. An extension activity would be to have the students take one of their peer's drawings and write a short story about the picture. The students will be able to do some creative writing as well as see if their drawing correctly conveys the adjectives and noun.

To start this project we listened to a book read out loud called The Dot by Peter Reynolds. We then used coffee filters and various materials to create our own dots. We were able to experiment with oil pastels, crayons, markers, and watercolors to see what would mix and blend and what would not; for instance the oil pastels and crayons would not bleed and would show through the watercolors. An extension activity would be to have the students make many different coffee filters with various numbers. The students would then make filers with different mathematical signs and use the numbers to practice math facts.

This was a project designed around the artist Vincent Van Gogh. We began by covering a black piece of construction paper with tissue paper. We had many different shapes and colors to cover the construction paper. We then used oil pastels to draw different types of lines and shapes over our tissue paper. After our background was done we designed a landscape to place at the bottom of our paper. An extension activity could be to have the students research their landscape they designed. They could look for various facts and then share them with the class and discuss similarities and differences between the landscapes.

In this project we drew a animal from a safari in cool colors and then used warm colors to draw various designs over the animal. We used repetition of the patterns to "hide" our safari animal. Then we used a red material to make film glasses that "blocked" out the warm colors and allowed the safari animal to be seen. As an extension activity the students could write vocabulary words in a cool color and then "hide" the word with the warm colors. Each word could be hung around the room with the definition printed beside the word and the students would need to identify the word and then use their glasses to see if they were correct.