March is Youth Art Month

The National Education Association has declared March as Youth Art Month! The students and I reflected about what art is and what art isn't on a post it note last week. We displayed our thoughts in the hallway to celebrate art and bring awareness to March being Youth Art Month! Read NAEA's fantastic art flyer [here]

Paul Klee Inspired Cities

The 6th grade recently completed a city scape painting in the style of the artist Paul Klee. Pictured above is his painting, Kingdom and the Sun. The students observed his painting and had a gallery discussion about how he used geometric shapes and learned that his work was classified as cubism.

To create their own Kingdom and the Sun, my students created a pre planning paper.  On this paper the students wrote a few guided notes about Paul Klee and his life and they also did a presketch of their painting. The students were also challenged to choose a color theme and stick to it for their painting. This proves that the students really do understand the difference between warm and cool color families as well as what the primary and secondary colors are.

Next, the students drew, in pencil, the outline of their city, using geometric shapes, on a piece of recycled book paper. Then, the students painted very carefully the buildings they drew. Lastly, the students traced over their pencil lines with a black marker to create bolds outlines.

Back to School Night

Last night was back to school night at Jefferson Academy Middle School. I had a nice turn out of caring, devoted parents. I asked the parents to write a goal they had for their child this year in art. Many of the goals were centered around their child being exposed to new and interesting things as well as their child gaining as much knowledge as possible. I have the goals hanging in the art room by the door.

7th Grade Sketching

Here is an update of the first four days of the 7th grade using their new donated sketchbooks. There is a different prompt each day. Twice a week there is an observational sketch, which strengthens hand and eye coordination as well as visual perception. Two more times a week there is a Challenge! which prompts the students to answer a question with a drawing.

This student's sketch books page illustrates the last four prompts:

1. Eraser- Observational Drawing
2. Chair- Challenge! Draw something that you can push.
3. Treasure Chest- Challenge! Draw something realted to the ocean.
4. Toothbrush- Observational Drawing

Here are some more fantastic student sketchbook pages!

Donors Choose "A Sketchbook for Every Kid!"

I put together a Donor's Choose project over the summer for a class set of sketchbooks. My friends, family, and anonymous donors contributed over $450 to the cause and funded 100 sketchbooks for my students in under 48 hours! It was a wild success and I am so very thankful! I can't wait to upload images of what the students will be doing in their sketchbook every day!

Here is the first class designing the cover of their very own, professional sketchbooks!

The First Mural at Jefferson Academy Middle School

I am happy to share the first mural at Jefferson Academy Middle School! This past Saturday 50 plus volunteers, including our very own Chancellor Kaya Henderson, attended our Beautification Day in Washington, Dc. Lot of jobs were completed around the school building to make sure that it was ready [and beautiful!] for our students on the first day of school.

This mural is in our main entry way to the building. We wanted to have a pop of color and excitment to greet the students every morning. Enjoy the photos of the process and happy volunteers!

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Twitter:ArtatJefferson