Interactive Multi Media Mural

Talk about a beast of a project! The Interactive Multi Media mural is nearing completion.
The mural will have 4 iPads load with student created digital books uploaded into them. My part was to create the display for these iPads. Here is part of the IMM mural team (my Principal, the media specialists and choral music teachers, Sam Berk and Ashley Garguilo TCNJ Art Students are not present)
There is a lot more to add to the display but we are glad to have things moving along towards our May 31 unveiling :-)

L-R: Teresa Nakra (TCNJ), Donna Costanzo(BT), John Kuiphoff(TCNJ), me, Ken, Neville, Ron (HVRSD Facilities)

My Special Visitor's...for the Third Time :-)

The art room was graced with the presence of the kindergarten classes today. Since I only teach 1-5 grade, I like to meet the KG students at least once before they are in first grade. Today they came to the art room to complete a painting project that also involved printmaking.

What a joy. The KG students have been to the art room two other times this year for projects. 

The paintings were based on Monet's Poppy Hill.

I really loved having the kids in the room and seeing the younger siblings of my 1-5 graders. Some of the faces are close to identical!

Grade 1: For the Love of Nevelson

Every artist has a process that they go through to create art and materials that they are drawn to. My process, unfortunately, deals with collecting, using difficult materials, bulk and committing my studio environment to the materials in the art making process. Anyone that knows me well knows that I love green art and recyclables, installation art and have a passion for mosaics. 

Codeword=mess.

So I was grumbling to myself as I took out these bulky materials to let my 1st graders dig through and explore to create a found objects sculpture after we discussed Louise Nevelson's work. I knew as I pulled all of these assorted supplies out that they had the potential to end up all over the place and unsorted but that it was all for the love of Nevelson (and a deeper love for my students).

See exhibit A. 

Exhibit A: Messy table

Louise Nevelson is one of my favorite female artists and one of my very favorite sculptors. I love her use of found objects and the use of monochromatic color. The first art lesson that I ever saw taught on Nevelson was by Donna Cariola, art teacher extraordinaire at our local middle school. She teaches her lesson using a shoebox that the kids build in. Makes sense. Nevelson's sculptures tend to be built inside of square and rectangular structures.

 See exhibit B and C

Exhibit B

Exhibit C... love, love, love.

I wanted to capture just a little of Nevelson without using too much of Mrs. Cariola's project so I decided to have the kids search for objects, mostly all wooden and build with those objects on a piece of small cardboard. Here we are after about 35 minutes of building. The kids had a lot of fun. Next week they will continue to add pieces and then they will select a single color to paint their work. Check back next weekend for results. You will be amazed at how much more the kids add and how a single color unifies the piece.

And the first grade cell phones. 

 A few kids managed to sneak in these cell phones. Little flip phones. My gosh, they were so excited by this simple paper with the little numbers they added to them. 

When I was in 1st grade cell phones didn't even exist. When I was in high school they were just being introduced. Well, as long as they are happy creating!

Art, Innovation and Ideas!

Sunday, June 2, 2013 1:00-3:00pm (this is the new time) is the opening for this new exhibit at TCNJ that two lessons/student work that I submitted will be featured in. So honored to be apart of this. Click here for the direct link 

Artist FAITH RINGOLD will be there!

Grade 4: Annual Grounds for Sculpture Trip

We had a great time this week visiting Grounds for Sculpture for our annual trip. Below are pictures from my trip with Mrs. Miller's class. My other two 4th grade groups will go in a few weeks.

Teacher Appreciation Week: She Made My Day

My students frequently draw me things and I am always touched by this. It's Teacher Appreciation week and I was especially grateful to receive this special note and drawing from a 3rd grader named Lily. She just finished doing a fantastic job on a complicated project. At the start of the period, she did not agree with my compliment of how she rendered the background in her painting. She went back and made adjustments to her liking and was really happy with her results. Perhaps just talking about the background was the support she needed to change it to her liking? I don't know but I was very happy to receive such a thoughtful note from her.

Grouting Rockstars and the Mosaic is Finished!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE PARENTS WHO CAME OUT YESTERDAY MORNING AND GROUTED THE MOSAIC PANELS. THE 50th ANNIVERSARY MOSAIC IS NOW COMPLETE!!!

I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL TIME GROUTING, I SURE DID!!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO JESSICA FOR BEING THE AMAZING ARTIST THAT SHE IS! WHAT A JOY!

GROUTING PROS

Each of the five panels has a timeline feel. The middle band of the timeline carries information that pertains to Bear Tavern.... activities, events, all of the wonderful things unique to our school over 50 years!

1960's panel

1970's panel

1980's panel

1990's panel

2000s panel

5 panels

TEAM ROCKSTAR

Grade 5 Art Enrichment

My Art Enrichment class has been working hard all year...coming in before the normal school day for an extra period of art.
I gave them a few weeks to explore a free choice project. They are not quite done but here are a few of their works in progress

Jacquelene

Kelly

Sophie

Natalia

Justin L.

Grade 5: Firebird

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) asked the art and music teachers to participate in a contest this year to design program art for their production of Stravinsky's famous Firebird.

The 5th graders listened to the Firebird Suite during Art and I read them Jane Yolen's book "Firebird". Hey, even 5th graders can set aside 10 minutes for story time!! They also had a lesson presented on Stavinsky's music during music with Mrs. Dominick. The resulting drawings, inspired by the music and story were quite beautiful. 

The PSO received well over 100 entries of art for this contest from elementary schools in HV, Princeton and Trenton. They selected 20 or so finalists of which Paige T. and Zuhayrah S. of Bear Tavern were chosen. Their work was hung at JaZam's in Princeton last month.

Of the 20 wonderful selections, 4 were chosen to be published in the PSO program for Firebird. I am honored to say that Zuhayrah's was chosen and is shining beautifully with other winning entries from area schools. See below:

Front cover. Princeton Schools. How beautiful

Zuhayrah on page 2!

Students from Princeton and Trenton. Really nice job

Zuhayrah S.

Paige T.

Entries from BT. 

2013 Doodle 4 Google

You'll never win if you do not try. No finalists this year for the annual Doodle for Google contest but I still think my kids are awesome. 

Below are a few of the BT entries and information on how to vote for the finalists selected.

It's fun to view and vote for other students and imagine how glad they must feel to have been chosen this year.

View and vote for others by clicking HERE

You have until May 11.

My 3rd grade daughter's entry