50th Anniversary Mosaic Preview

Progress: We. Are. Almost. Done. 

Our 50th Anniversary exterior mosaic which consists of five, 3'x4' ceramic panels depicting events since 1962 has been a labor of love. Every single tile was handcrafted by my talented students in all grades including preschool and kindergarten. 

The artsy staff at Bear Tavern have poured support into the project in so many way. Not only did they make their own fabulous tiles but have been there to offer advice, extra time filling in holes and general positive spirits.

Our Artist-in-Residence, Jessica Liddell, is pulling together all of the pieces. I am coordinating installation as you read this entry. She will return to grout when spring arrives. 

Check back for updates on the final install and finished panels or stop by the main entrance to Bear Tavern sometime soon!

Update: April 16, 2013

There she is...Jessica Gorlin-Liddell our Artist-in-Residence installing tiles to fill in the spaces. 

Here are the panels that the awesome HVRSD Facilities guys installed last week.

3rd Grade: Art Meets Rocks in our Parade of Artists Assembly

Some projects are meant to be. My most recent Parade of Artists assembly was definitely in the stars.

Talking with Mr. Kirwan, our wonderful School Counselor, about random artsy things, he mentioned a Photographer named Jonathon Wells that he met a while back.

This Photographer is quite extraordinary for a few reasons....
1. He is a very good photographer....
2. He is also a Geologist....
3. He has a studio near Hopewell....
4. He creates unique photo collages depicting landscapes (cities, rolling hills, etc.) and the layers of rock beneath... exposing the beauty that lies underneath.

Jonathon Wells and students

Well, guess what, I reached out and got an answer back that he would be willing to talk to our 3rd graders about Art and Rocks! 3rd grade is currently studying rocks and minerals in science so what a perfect time to match up Art and Science.

We set up Mr. Wells' photographs on tables in the the All Purpose Room. The longest photograph stretches 7 feet! The kids "gallery walked" the table which were set up in a large "U" shape admiring the dozen or so images.
Each photograph is as impressive in the visible photography skills of Mr. Wells as much so as the amazing accuracy in the layers of rocks that he has photographed underneath Boston, New York City and numerous places around the U.S.
Just imagine how difficult that is to photograph layers of rock and to arrange those layers beautiful as a collage under an equally beautiful landscape photograph....

The Third graders asked Mr. Wells really great questions that reflect how much they are learning in science and how interested they are in learning about rocks and minerals.

Students at the start of the U shaped viewing line

I always feel proud to work for my school district (and BT in particular), but felt a new sense of pride in being able to connect two areas of interest for our kids and with the perfect guest speaker.

Grade 1: Cats, Birds and Sketchbooks

I just adore my 1st graders. On Friday, with Mrs. Weidman's class,  we had such a nice conversation about a new project we started. The kids really liked looking at Swiss painter Paul Klee's "Cat with Bird". We talked about how silly it is that the cat has a bird on it's forehead, among other things relating to the painting and life as a cat.

 The kids asked if they could draw a bird on their cats forehead or on top of it's head. My answer: OF COURSE YOU CAN...but draw it in pencil first to make sure you're happy with it :-)

I had some really nice scraps of paper left over and decided to make each of the kids a sketchbook to take home. 

Mariella's sketchbook and Aaron's day 1 cat w/ bird

Paul Klee "Cat and Bird"

Logged 20 pages of reading in for March Reading Challenge

Grade 2: Cubist Self-Portraits

Second grade has started to finish their Cubist style self-portraits. This project was very successful in several ways.
1. The kids told me really enjoyed this lesson
2. They came out looking great
3. I have a new appreciation for marker.
-I am naturally drawn to more messy art materials. This project was so clean and neat and dare I say REFRESHING!
Kids can always benefit from learning and re-learning how to apply marker to paper in a neat way...it's a great skill to have.
I have a ton of "messy, high maintenance" projects going on right now so it was nice to not add into the mess more.
4. They seem to remember Picasso's name....I'll quiz again next week!

Celebrate Art!

March is YOUTH ART MONTH!

Being an art educator is the best job in the world! This month, will be filled with lots of art, as usual, but with an emphasis on exploring art materials. 

Green Screen Art Project

This is the last you will hear about my Great Wave project that I have been in love with. My 4th graders painted an awesome rendition of the famous painting and then we took it a step further by doing a technology project in which the kids added a photo of themselves into a copy of the original painting using computers.

Here is Will in front of the green screen and then super imposed into The Great Wave. What fun we had!

                             

Thank you to Tricia Fuglestadt for guiding me to the right answers for this project!!