Mandalas

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle and is a form of art stemming from the Buddhist and Hindu traditions. A Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol that represents the universe and is meant to increase focus and strengthen meditation. These mandalas were created by middle school students by repeating a design to create radial symmetry. Students then outlined these designs with black sharpie and used colored pencils. We learned different techniques with the colored pencils- like blending colors, shading light to dark and creating smooth coverage. More advanced students were able to incorporate more detail into their patterning as well.

Tiki Time!

These wonderful Tiki masks were designed by our 4-6th grade artists! We began by sketching perfectly symmetrical masks and giving them a strong black outline. These were then painted in brown because Tiki sculptures are usually made from wood. Students then painted on top or added cutout painted pieces. The students learned about the Maori tribes of New Zealand and their style of artwork. These masks were a fun way for our students to explore the art and culture of many Polynesian countries!

Khokhloma Painting

Khokhloma painting is the name of a Russian wood painting handicraft style and national ornament, known for its curved and vivid, mostly flower, berry and leaf patterns. Often the Slavic mythical figure of Russian fairytales Firebird is also a part of Khokhloma painting. When painted on wood, in most cases red, black, green, yellow and orange are used over a gold background. The effect it has when applied to wooden tableware or furniture, making it look heavier and metal-like. The Khokhloma painting symbolizes the high importance of forests and nature in Russian culture and its history. Russia comprises the world’s largest forest area.

Middle school students learned about this style of painting as part of a global friday focus on Russia. We then adapted this style of painting and made our own original artworks. 

Texture Shoes

International Academy students continued the year with a different type of self-portrait. We did some detailed contour line drawings of our shoes in class. These drawings were then transferred onto a larger paper and outlined with different colors of crayon. Before painting, students used crayon and rubbing plates to add a variety of textures to the shoes and backgrounds. These paintings are great because they show a great deal of the students personality, both in the style of shoe and the way it was painted.

Day of the Dead Skulls

Students in grades 1-3 created these Day of the Dead skulls to learn about symmetry/balance and patterns in artwork. We began by learning about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. I showed students a YouTube video about the holiday and we also read the book Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston. Celebrated in the U.S. and Mexico from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the holiday tradition calls for the creation of altars to deceased loved ones, decorated with photos, meaningful objects and their favorite foods said to attract their souls. Petals of bright yellow-orange marigold flowers are used to guide them from the cemetery, according to tradition. 

The skulls were made by drawing half of the face on a folded piece of paper, then tracing it with black crayon and rubbing it to transfer to the other side. These were then painted with watercolors- students could make them as colorful as they wanted or leave it more simple. The final class was used to create a marigold flower border around the skull. 

Glue Line Pumpkins!

This is a great project for teaching wet-on-wet painting techniques, color blending, and how to use space in an artwork.

We began by doing sketches of pumpkins. I made sure students used contour lines while drawing and focused on details like vines and leaves. Once students were comfortable sketching the pumpkins, they then transferred that drawing onto a large piece of tagboard. The students had to be very comfortable with the drawing, because the large drawing had to be done with glue! I did not let the students use pencil because once the glue dries, it becomes clear and the pencil drawing would become visible. These were left to dry overnight. The next day, I had the students use an ultra fine sharpie and outline all of the glue lines. It can be very difficult, and sometimes you may need to tilt the paper to be able to see where the glue is. Finally we were ready to paint! I showed the students how to use a wet-on-wet technique to spread color quickly, as well as how to blend analogous colors. You have to be sure to NOT paint over the glue lines, the glue does not resist the paint and can be very hard to remove.

These painting were very fun to do and extremely successful! I received many compliments and they made for a great Autumn display!

Mandalas

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle and is a form of art stemming from the Buddhist and Hindu traditions. A Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol that represents the universe and is meant to increase focus and strengthen meditation. These mandalas were created by middle school students by repeating a design to create radial symmetry. Students then outlined these designs with black sharpie and used colored pencils. We learned different techniques with the colored pencils- like blending colors, shading light to dark and creating smooth coverage. More advanced students were able to incorporate more detail into their patterning as well.

Watercolor Dragons

Students in grades 4-6 created these vibrantly colored dragons to celebrate the Chinese New Year! We started by learning about Chinese New Year- the traditions, why each year is named after an animal and how people celebrate the holiday. Next, students looked at different examples of dragons and began sketching a dragon face. We chose the best sketch to draw large- folding the paper in half to only draw half of the face. The drawing was then traced with black crayon and rubbed off onto the other side to create a perfectly symmetrical dragon. For the painting, students could use any combination of colors they wanted as long as they kept the symmetry. Students loved the results especially because dragons are our school mascots!

Stencil Paintings

Students in grades 4-6 created these Jasper Johns inspired stencil paintings. We began by choosing a letter, number or symbol and repeating it throughout the composition. Students were encouraged to make a good use of space and to incorporate visual balance with their design. Next, students chose three analogous colors and began to blend using oil pastels. The backgrounds were painted in using a color from their analogous color scheme. As a final touch, students used cardboard or bubble wrap to do some unconventional printmaking. This is a great project for teaching the principles of space and balance but also keeps a more loose and abstract style so all students can succeed.