Terracotta Warriors

The Terracotta warriors were created around 200 BC by Emperor Qin, the first emperor of China. He had over 7,000 warriors created out of clay to protect his tomb. Amazingly, these soldiers weren't discovered until the 1970's! Students in grades 4-6 drew and carved these soldiers into Styrofoam and then printed them with metallic paint. These were then mounted side-by-side to create our own little armies! This is a great printmaking lesson that incorporates the art principle rhythm/repetition.

Contrasting Fish

Students in grades 1-3 created these contrasting color fish. We began by creating a cool color seascape- we used different types of lines to create movement and used the three cool colors- blue, green and violet. Next, we drew a detailed fish with different designs and patterns. The fish were colored with warm colors (red, yellow and orange) to create contrast and stand out from the background. The final step was to stamp some blue bubbles in the background and use our thumbs to create some smaller red fish. This lesson was great for reinforcing several parts of the art curriculum- warm and cool colors, seascapes and contrast.

Chuck Close Inspired Self-Portraits

Here is the latest round of Chuck Close style portraits done in oil pastel by the 7th and 8th grade International Academy students! We drew out a grid over photographs of the students and then created a larger scale grid over a 12" x 18" paper. After students transferred the information to complete a proportional drawing, we used our knowledge of value to shade with oil pastels. The backgrounds were filled in with a texture rubbing and watercolor paint in a color scheme.

Winter Trees

Students in PreK and Kinder created these dynamic Vincent van Gogh inspired winter trees. We began by learning about Starry Night and creating curved lines to create a moving sky. Students then mixed different shades and tints of green and used these for the trees. This project taught students about the art elements line, shape and color as well as the principal of movement.

Dallas ISD Middle School Art Show

Here are the flyers for the Dallas ISD Middle School Art Show going on now through February 20th. The reception is Thursday night 6:00-7:30 and will feature awards and snacks. Admission to the gallery at Booker T. is free and open to all!