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Triangle Collage on Canvas for School Auction

Triangle Collage on Canvas for School Auction

Every year, my 5th/6th grade class carves rubber stamps with symbols they have designed.  This year, we stamped extra prints on tissue paper with acrylic paint to make collaborative artworks.  To stamp, simply use a foam brush to lightly paint acrylic paint on the stamp. Then, the tissue papers were decoupaged (with hard-finish Mod-Podge) on these fun triangular canvases called Squangles.  These are going to be put in our school auction at the end of the year.  We made three … Read more…

Radial Name Designs: 5th & 6th Grade

Radial Name Designs:  5th & 6th Grade

These gorgeous radial designs were made by fifth and sixth graders by using their name.  You can see all the steps to make these in a previous blog post.  The only difference is that now we use light tables (or hold it up to a window) to trace the design over and over again.   We focus on learning about the characteristics and history of Islamic art, which connects with their studies in Social Studies class. We love using the … Read more…

Carving Rubber Stamps with 5th and 6th Graders

Before I left for my maternity/medical leave, my 5th and 6th graders were carving rubber stamps.  They were turning out so well and I can’t wait to see all of the finished projects. Here are some of our stamps from previous years.  We looked at African Adinkra symbol stamps and the students created their own personal symbols. We print our stamps by applying acrylic paints with a foam brush.  A light touch is best. Students can also test their stamps … Read more…

Have You Ever Drawn Flowers with Watercolor Pencils?

Have You Ever Drawn Flowers with Watercolor Pencils?

The week after winter break was up in the air.  Due to construction, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to use our art room and we didn’t know if we would have easy access to supplies.  I planned for most of my classes to complete observational drawings during that week period, since they all could use the same supplies and learning to observe the edges and shapes of objects is great training for the eye. It … Read more…

Faux Stained Glass Paintings on Transparency Sheets

Faux Stained Glass Paintings on Transparency Sheets

In the “better late than never” category, last Spring we made these super fun faux stained glass paintings in the 5th/6th grade class. For this project, you will need clear transparency sheets, Sharpie markers, Gallery Glass Paint (the kind used to paint suncatchers), regular acrylic paints (optional) and cardstock picture frames (also optional).  I had a bunch of transparency sheets in my classroom already and I got the glass paint FREE from an art re-swap, so I knew I wanted … Read more…

15 Favorite Posts from 2013

  Another year is rapidly coming to a close, so I thought I would spend some time reviewing my favorite projects and blog posts from this year.  Here are my favorite posts, in no particular order! 15.  How to Paint Gorgeous Clouds with Watercolor 14.  Clay Castles 13.  Postage Stamp Art Project 12.  Heart Photography Project with 3rd Grade 11.  25 Amazing Books for Teaching About Art 10.  Editorial cartoons are a unit I teach every year.  We even were … Read more…

Poppy Posters for Veteran’s Day

Monday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day in America. My 5th and 6th graders had the privilege of a visit from a lady from our local senior center whose husband is a veteran. She talked to the students about the symbolism of the poppy and read to the students the poem “In Flanders Fields.” The students were invited to create a small artwork that honors all of the veterans. They also had the opportunity to write a poem in response to … Read more…