Van Gogh Inspired Paintings

The next project we tackled in my 8th grade painting class was a Vincent van Gogh inspired acrylic painting done on canvas panels. Before they began to paint we read a biography about him watched his biography on. Then we analyzed "A Starry Night", "The Sunflowers" and "Self Portrait".  After analyzing his work,  the student came up with a list of the elements that had to be included in this artwork that would allow the viewer to tell that the work was inspired by Van Gogh. They decided that line, movement, value and texture were necessary in a Van Gogh inspired piece. In addition to their requirements, I required that their artwork had to be either a landscape, still life self portrait or scene from everyday life. Once the students were finished they had to write a reflection and self critique. Then, we had a class critique. 

The class critique had three parts: 

1. I numbered each artwork and each student chose a number from a hat and had to complete a written constructive critique. They had to explain what they liked about the artwork, what they thought the artist was trying to convey to the viewer and give suggestions for the artist to use to improve their artwork. If they didn't like the artwork personally. they had to give the artist positive feedback.

2. They had to give an oral presentation of their work to an audience of their peers (some of their homeroom teachers attend the critique too). During this critique they had to present their work by explain their technique, inspiration and likes and dislikes. They were also required to answer audience questions (the audience also gave comments and feedback). 

3.The audience members had to write a written response to the work and include constructive and tangible feedback, I think it pretty was not good enough. 

I believe that the critique was a good learning experience for everyone involved in the process. I believe that it solidified the fact that my classroom is a safe place for sharing. It helped the students work on their oral presentation skills and it was yet another avenue for embedding cross-curricular learning. 

Sign Language

I don't know about you,  but getting my students to communicate their ideas and thoughts without using words has been a challenge. So I introduced my 6th graders to sign language. My lesson required then to write their names as creatively as they choose in sign language. I the lesson came out well but,  as you can see in the image below the still decided to write in the letters of their names. 

Pop Art Inspired Paintings

In my 8th grade painting class we moved from color mixing and the color wheel to learning about color schemes. I introduced my students to the work of Andy Warhol and the artistic style of Pop Art. They had to choose four color schemes and draw an image of their choice to replicate for times. Then, using tempera paint, they had to paint each image using a different color scheme. 

A Starry Night.....Remixed!

In my 6th and 7th grade art elective class I challenged my students to create their own interpretation of Vincent Van Gogh's "A Starry Night".

One Point Perspective

With the help of http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/index.html, and my promethean board, I taught my 8th grade students how to draw a room in one-point perspective. Once we went through all of the steps they were challenged to draw their dream bedroom on their own. For my 6th and 7th grade elective class, I simplified the process and they had to create a hallway and these are the results.

Edible Color Wheel

I began my 8th grade painting class by teaching color theory. My students were challenged to create the secondary and tertiary colors from primary colored frosting.

100 Toothpicks

I challenged the students in my 8th grade multimedia class to create a sculpture they felt illustrated movement using 100 toothpicks. These are the results. 

Majorettes

In addition to teaching art, for the past five years I have also coached the Majorette Squad. 

The Majorette Squad consists of girls in grades 2-8. 

We met Attorney General Eric Holder in 2011. 

 The 2011-2012 Squad