candy crush

Here is a new drawing assignment for 7th grade.  I was inspired by a student who said that Halloween was the celebration of candy.  I thought, "Yeah, that sounds about right!" as visions of pop art candy closeups danced in my head! 

Students took several closeup photos of various candies in wrappers using the square mode of their camera on their iPads. They then used the crop feature in their gallery to further enhance their composition, angling the candy and zooming in even more.

Students enlarged their image to a 12 by 12 black paper.

Using colored pencils, students recreated the candie's signature look, especially trying to copy the fonts of the label correctly.

In addition to working with colored pencil pressure to create color value variations, we also layered white colored pencil on top of or under the colors to get the look of the plastic wrapper with highlights.  Students then created an interesting background effect to complete their composition.

It was great to see how lifelike these turned out to be!!!

fall fun

Margaret Storer-Roche

Here is another attempt at using my Pinterest ideas...the above sample inspired a fun fall sharpie and "watercolor markering" project for 7th grade.

We started by learning how to draw a simple pumpkin.

Students chose whether to put their pumpkin in the middle
or the bottom left or right of their 12 by 12 page.  

We then divided the rest of the page into 8 sections.

We had fun drawing in the various symbols of fall, outlining with black sharpie and marker, then using a wet brush to move the marker color around.  

The "watercolor markering" was way easier to control than traditional watercolor, and even created a bit of a shading effect.  I just love how these turned out!!!

Thanks to Margaret Storer-Roche for the great idea!!!

a tree full of techniques

Patchwork Tree by mydarkenedeyes on tumblr.com

Recently, I have been making an attempt to use some of the ideas that are gathering on my Pinterest account...The above sample inspired a fun fall tree of "markering" and shading techniques for 7th grade.

We started by separating the page into 12 sections.

This grid made it easy to place the tree trunk, limbs, roots, and land lines.

Then we added techniques used for a few of our projects this semester.  

These included shading, hatching, cross hatching, checkerboard, textures, etc.

We also included a few new techniques including 

words, tie dye, plaid, spirals, splotches, etc.

It was neat to see these as they were developing square by square and then to see the final results, looking like a patchwork of learning awesomeness!!!

Mosaic Tessellations

This fall, in an attempt to keep motivating (both students and myself!), there has been a bit of "newness" and experimentation with some of the assignments in the art room.  Mixing the ideas of Tessellations and Mosaics is just one of these new ideas.

These start out the same as a Tessellation assignment, but instead of creating only one creature and coloring them in two different color ways for a checkerboard, students created many different creatures out of the same motif shape and varied the colors.

You can turn the pages in any direction and see new and interesting pictures.  Students also worked on their shading and blending techniques with colored pencils.

I think these turned out pretty fun.  Stay tuned for more fun and exciting new Middle School Art projects to come!

PS...you can find simple Tessellations and Mosaics here.

Day of the Dead

Day(s) of the Dead celebrations were held over the weekend.  Mrs. O'Leary's celebrates every year by having a display or alter (above) dedicated to this.  I thought it needed some "ms art" art so...

Artful Illusions stamped images over dictionary page with
 Graphic 45 paper embellishment and colored pencils.

Somewhat symmetrical collaged stamped images
with Stickles embellishment and glitter paper.

Large tag, pattern stamped, letters cut and added, colored pencil.

Large tag, somewhat symmetrically stamped,
colored pencil and Stickles embellishment.

All the goodies...
to make your own alter, sugar skulls, and decor!

vintage halloween

The best time of year again for art making fun...playing Halloween with some vintage images to create these 12 by 12 scrapbook page samples for Mrs. O'Leary's Art Store.

It was a challenge to turn these sweet
portraits into super Halloween silliness.  

I enjoyed turning the people into characters and then layering up the images, papers, ephemera and stamps.

You can see more 12 by 12s here, here, and here.

You can see more Halloween art here, here, and here.

i can...?

Something recently new to the art
room is the lovely "I CAN" board.

Two "I can" statements are listed per grade level.
These describe what the students will be able
do by the end of the class or current project. 

I just had to use The False Mirror eye from Magritte
and Warhol's Campbell's Soup can for visual reference!
Hopefully taking attention away from
the crazy art teacher handwriting!!!
Good thing I CAN type my blog posts, huh?!?!

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

I had the awesome pleasure of visiting Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art this summer.  This Museum is located in Bentonville, Arkansas in the northwest part of the state.  The collection spans five centuries of American Art!

If you haven't been here yet, you must go!!!
As the sign says "YOU BELONG HERE."

The architecture of the building is amazing, designed by Moshe Safdie, and filled with layers and textures and yumminess, oh, my!

The inside and outside are filled with such wonderful finds, 

you won't believe that they are in the middle of the nation!  

Artful patios, walking trails, sprawling lawns, and beautiful gardens surround the building, making for an all-encompassing art experience!

You will also find a gathering space, an amazing restaurant, named Eleven, perfect for enjoying a full day of fun and a great view!

These are just two of my favorite art pieces in the recent exhibit.  Above, a Mary Cassatt piece, 1877, and below a piece by Will Barnet, 1965, showing one of my beloved pastimes!

Dina-fying it

I had the fortunate opportunity to take a class from the very talented artist
Dina Wakley this summer at My Heart's Fancy in Edmond, Oklahoma.

We learned so many techniques, my head was 
spinning after just a few hours of playing...

...stenciling... masking... portrait drawing...paint dripping...

...using Dina's face stamps...reverse masking...adding dresses and words...

...layering stencils and images, adding white for that extra finish...

...stamping on tags, scribble writing in white...

...more masking...stenciling...stamping using recycled circles...borders...

...texture stamping...positive space stencil masking...

...layers...layers...layers...

...using baby wipes to pull off color or to spread it around...

...collaging with thin stenciled papers...

.... pasteling and then collaging with Tim Holtz Found Relatives cards...
...stamping in a line to lead the eye...

...washi tape awesomeness...

These are just a few of the techniques we learned.

  I also used her book to find even more brilliant ideas for art journaling!

I would highly recommend this book and Dina's workshops too!