6th grade has been working long an hard their Chuck Close inspired grid drawings! We finally finished and the product was a success. Students were to choose an image that describes them the best. They had to use a grid to map out the drawing by numbering each square on their small scale picture and their large scale grid. The background was supposed to contain at least 3 colors in each square. Then, the actual image was to be colored in using value and shading. Some students added a lot of detail in their background and then some chose to add the detail in their image.

 

Enjoy!

4th Grade Collage Self Portraits!

 Our fourth graders are exploring connections through art. Our first unit was identity, so we talked about how we can express ourselves through art and explored many different techniques when doing so. First, the students looked through magazines and found pictures, designs, colors, words, and basically anything that described them and cut it out. 

Next, they drew a self portrait, learning the proportions of our face and how interesting our heads/faces are. We learned that our eyes line up with the tops of our ears and are also in the very middle of our head! The students incorporated writing by writing in words that described themselves. I absolutely loved reading all of the positive things they had to say. They then filled their background in with their magazine clippings and colored their picture in to finish!

I wish I could post all of our student's work because everyone did an awesome job on their self portraits! I was very excited to see everyone discovering the proportions of their face. Self-portraits/portraits are the hardest subject to draw, this is why we have to practice, practice, practice! If you can draw a person, you can draw anything.

 

 

 

We are moving on to environmental art where we will weave with plastic bags!! I am really excited about teaching weaving and incorporating recycled objects in our art!

 

*Remember to bring in more colored plastic bags :)

1st Grade: Sketching like M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher's Drawing Hands

 

First grade took a look at the photo above and talked about techniques of sketching. We related sketching to real life by looking at jobs that may use sketching. For example, we looked at cartoonists, architects, and fashion designers to understand that drawing is used in places besides the art room. I must say that we have some amazing artists here at SCA!

 

We learned how to draw real trees and stayed far away from those lollipop trees!

Check out our sketches:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten: Line Project!

Kindergarten has been learning about all different kinds of lines! We have made straight lines, curvy lines, crazy lines, zigzag lines, curly lines...you get the picture. We started out doing 2-d projects and ended our line unit with a 3-d project! The students have used a lot of color (our unit for October) and creativity and most of all, learned that EVERYTHING is made up of lines!!

 

Take a look:

 

We also got to use sissors and glue!

Moral Focus Art Contest!

Parents! Every student at SCA has the opportunity to participate in the school's first art contest! I am so excited to see our entries and everyone's art work at it's best! We have a lot of talent here, so I have great expectations.

Please take a look at the information below and help your child out with their entry. I would like for the artwork to be done by the child of course so do not help them too much (I'll know) :).

  The student only has to choose ONE virtue from this list:

Monthly Moral Focus Virtues

•      August/Sept.: Wisdom-knowledge of what is proper or reasonable : good sense or judgment

•      October: Respect- a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc. (treating others how you would like to be treated)

•      November: Gratitude- a feeling of appreciation or thanks

•      December: Self-Control- control over your feelings or actions

•      January: Perseverance- the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult

•      February: Courage- the ability to do something that you know is difficult

•      March: Encouragement- something that makes someone more determined, hopeful, or confident

•      April: Compassion- a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc.

•      May: Integrity- the quality of being honest and fair

 

 

This is the information I have sent to teachers:

This is an NHA-wide contest that your child has the opportunity to participate in. Not only does it work on their ability to be neat and creative in their artwork, but it also teaches them about our Moral Focus Virtues and what they mean. Mr. Swofford would like all of our students at Summerfield Charter Academy to participate in either the writing or art portion of the contest. If they choose, they may do both, writing and art.

The contest is between all 76 schools that NHA manages, so we have just a little competition. This is why it is important to work with our students to ensure that they know our moral focus virtues. At home, you could help explain what each one means and why it is important. For the art portion of the contest it is crucial that the student understands what they are drawing about.

General Information:

·         All NHA students are eligible to participate.

·         Contest will be judged in 3 Divisions: K-2, 3-5, & 6-8

·         Only 9 total entries will be accepted from each school; 3 from each division

·         Entries must be submitted to the Service Center, postmarked by Friday, January 17.

·         The names of the students who will be published in the 2013-2014 Moral Focus Anthology will be announced via email. The names of the winners will not be announced until awards presentations are held at their respective schools.

·         Entries will be judged by Service Center employees based on the criteria in the rubrics provided in the contest packet.

·         There will be 30 total entries, five writing entries and five art entries from each division, published in the 2013-2014 Moral Focus Anthology.

·         All NHA schools will receive two copies of the Moral Focus Anthology: one to put in the library for students to check out and one to put in the office.

For the art portion the judges will be looking for a clear/strong moral focus theme, bright colors, clear/eligible words, fills up most of the paper, finished in marker, crayon, paint, colored pencil or oil pastel, and must be signed by the artist on the piece of 8 ½ x 11 cardstock that Ms. Ruff will provide.

Elementary Deadlines:

October 28^th- November 1^st – Rough sketch is due (Bring them the day your child has art to make revisions) I will give out final copy paper this day as well.

December 9^th-13^th – Final copy is due (should be finished and signed on cardstock)

 

6^th Grade Deadlines:

October 4^th – Rough sketch is due

November 1^st – Edited rough sketch is due (will receive cardstock for final sketch)

December 13^th – Final copy is due (should be finished and signed on cardstock)

 

 

Please help your child out with dates and the meaning of the whole contest!

 

Thank you so much and I look forward to judging them!

 

All of the students were to make a mark with crayon and see where it took them! They were free to turn it into a picture or just an abstract image. We then painted over the crayon with watercolor. Ask your little artist what happens when you paint over crayon with watercolor!

 

 

 

 

We hope you enjoyed our dots!!



This week we have been going over the boring stuff in the art room...procedures. However, as boring as it may be, all of the students listened extremely well. This makes me SO excited about the year! I am as antsy as the kids are about making art! We also read the book "The Dot", if you have never heard of it I encourage you to somehow read it (even if that means visiting the art room)!

Next week 6th grade Art 1 students will be learning about perspective. We will start out learning about a vanishing point, then 1 point perspective and the second week we will learn about 2 point perspective.

In elementary we will all be doing the same project to start off the year! It will be based on the book we read, "The Dot".

Be on the look out for lots of dots in the school next week! Also be on the look out for pictures posted to the blog later next week!

*I do not use names on the blog...too many strangers out there!

Thank you for all of your support and I hope you enjoy watching us create masterpieces!

-Miss Ruff