Week 16- Painting our Postcard Contest Entries

This week, we continued on with our postcard contest entries and started painting.  I briefly went over the watercolor techniques and tips on painting outdoors, since some of the kids decided to paint the school.

Some kids painted inside...

I know some of the students weren't entirely happy with the results of their paintings.  They are free to do another painting at home if they'd like to submit it to the contest in addition to the one we submit from the class.  I sent out the guidelines and entry forms.  If you need another copy, please e-mail me at hframbes at gmail dot com and I'll be happy to send you another form.  

I'm in the process of planning a party for the kids, parents and teachers on the last day of class, May 25th.  Stay tuned for information on that.  See you next week!

Week 15- Starting our Watercolor Postcard Contest Entries

This week, we started our watercolor postcard contest entries by working on our drawings.  The theme or the contest, which is open to kids as well as adults, is "What does Plain City mean to me?".  The kids can paint any subject they wanted to explain this theme.  About 1/2 the class decided to paint the school, so I took them outside....

Even though many of the kids decided to draw the school, their viewpoints will all be different.  Some kids decided to focus on one part of the building, while another chose to draw the flag that sits in front of the school.  

Special thanks to Mrs. Luker's long term substitute Sara Elizondo for helping helping me with the art enrichment program for the rest of the year.  She stayed inside and helped the kids who wanted to draw from photos of Plain City that I brought in.  

Be sure to check out the art enrichment students' paper mâché sculptures in the cases at the front of the school.  They really turned out wonderful and all of you should be proud of a great job done.  Mrs. Luker told me that she got lots of compliments on them while they were still in the art room.  

Next week, we'll start painting our postcard entries.  We've got 2 Tuesdays before the due date, so come to class ready to paint.  See you then!

Weeks 13 & 14- Painting our Animal Sculptures

Sorry I haven't put up a blog post lately.  During the past 2 classes, we painted our animal sculptures.  

Mrs. Luker told me that she's gotten lots of compliments on the kids' sculptures.  I'm not surprised... they look amazing!  Look for these sculptures after spring break in the glass display cases at the front of the school.  

Speaking of Mrs. Luker, this is the last class that these fourth graders will have with her, as she will be off for maternity leave after spring break.  Mrs. Luker... thank you so much for your time and talent in art enrichment class!  We wish you all the best for the upcoming birth of your child!  :)

After spring break, we will start a couple of painting projects.  One involves painting with acrylics on canvas and layering shapes with contact paper.  The other, is a postcard contest sponsored by the Plain City Business Association.  Details to follow soon!

Week 13- Painting our Animal Sculptures

This week we began painting our animal sculptures with acrylic paint.  Acrylic paint is opaque, which really covers the newsprint well.

Some of the kids decided not to paint their animal exactly how it looks in nature. I thought this was a fun idea. One student thought it would be fun to put a tie dye pattern on her penguin. Another student decided that spots would be neat on a dog. I like the idea of playing with these sculptures and making them even more interesting to look at. We've been stuck in our houses all winter with gray skies outside. Why not have some fun with color?

For this blog update, I decided to directly upload the photos to the blog instead of using flickr as my picture hosting site.  I've heard that teachers at the school haven't been able to view the pictures on the blog, because flickr is blocked.  Hopefully, you'll all be able to see the photos now.  :)

We'll continue painting our sculptures next week and finish up this project. See you next week!

Week 12- Continuing the Paper Mâché Process

The week, we continued to lay down wet newspaper strips on our sculptures. It was kind of funny to see some of the boys grossed out by the flour/water mixture. On the flipside, most of the girls seemed to be fine with it! Anyway, the kids had a great time finishing up this process of their sculptures and once again, thanks to the moms who came in to help us!

Here's some examples of their progress:










And here they are all together.....



Next week, we'll begin painting our sculptures and also help Mrs. Luker and Mrs. Klenowski paint the sets for the 3rd/4th grade play. See you then!

Art Enrichment Students' Work On Display at the Pioneer Coffee Company

Hi everyone! We've missed two classes because of all this bad weather and snow. I hope everyone's been staying warm and taking some time to paint or draw on their own to pass the time.

I wanted to let you all know, that the students' watercolor landscapes are on display at the Pioneer Coffee Company on Main Street in Plain City! They've been given a very prominent spot right in the front of the coffee shop, right next to other local professional artist's work. Please go in and take a look at them... they look fantastic all together.

And, please support the Pioneer Coffee Shop and thank them for agreeing to show the kids' work. :)



UPDATE:

I just got a really nice e-mail from Jeremy at the coffee shop...

Hi Hilary,

Its Jeremy from Pioneer Coffee. The art work is all hung on the wall and looks GREAT! I hope all of you can make it out sometime soon and see how much it livens our place up. Just wanted to say thanks again for the participation and contribution. One of our main visions is reaching out and being very much involved in this community, and this was a great step in that direction. Hope to see you soon!!

Jeremy

Week 11- Beginning the Paper Mâché Process

Today we started the messy, sticky, gooey process of laying the wet newspaper on our armatures. I mixed up several bins of flour and water and the kids tore the paper into strips. I demonstrated how to lay the paper on in layers, overlapping each piece with the next strip. You start with the largest part of your animal and work your way out to the legs or limbs. Here's some photos of the kids work:











Here they all are drying on the ramp in the art room...



Special thanks to April Kieffer for coming in to help this week. We really appreciated it!

If any parents would like to come next week to help, we'd love to have the extra hands. :)

And, please send in newspaper with your child if you can. See you next week!