7th Grade- Recycled Items into Architecture!

For the last week of the semester my 7th grade students worked on a group project that centered around architecture. The students read about Frank Gehry and observed quite a few of his architecture examples. After getting inspired, the students picked teams, created an architect business name, and started to assemble a model out of recycled materials. The students each had jobs that included designers, maintenance, masons, and time keepers. Students made restaurants, amusement parks, wind turbines, and even a firehouse! The creativity was flowing!

Value Painting Meets Zentangle Drawing

I taught the 6th graders how to make a tint of a color by starting with white paint and adding just a tiny bit of another color to create a new color. This is called a tint. The tints are then made darker and darker to create lot of value of the same color. The students practiced this on their own, using old plastic lids are their paint pallettes. They did a fanstastic job making tints and values of their one color.

With their one color, the students painting in a background to a flower drawing. Each student had 1/4 of the flower on their paper and their table partners had the other 3/4s. So that when each students has completed their paper and places them with their table partners, an entire whole flower is created.

After painting the background and sketching out their 1/4 of a flower, the students were taught how to draw in the zentangle style. We watched a video to get us inspired. Afterwards classical music was played and the students really, really got in to their zentangle styles. The students were completely silent and really enjoying the concept of "zenning out" to the music and enjoying how to make repeated lines and patterns. Next, the students began to zentangle draw on their flower petals with fine tipped sharpie pens. The results have been not only beautiful but also inspiring to me!

I am looking forward to them being displayed together in the hallway for the arrival of spring!

7th Grade Nature Words

The 7th grade has been working on a three day project discovering the benefits of good graphic design. We talked about needed to ship a package over night to our cousin in another state. As we were looking for companies to use we found one with a snail as their logo. I asked the students if they thought this was a good choice for an over night shipping company. They all agreed that the use of a snail icon was not the best choice. They all responded with cries of "No!! It should be a cheetah or a bird!" Which, I completely agreed.

Using the knowledge of understanding that images help our graphic design art work, we create words from nature that displayed characteristics of that word. An exanple would be the word ICE and the letters forming icicles and colored in with blues. The kids really did a fantastic job designing their words.

Busy, busy, busy!

Oh my goodness, the last two months has been very busy for the students in Art Room 101 at Jefferson Academy. On the night before our last day of school before winter break, Jefferson Academy held its 2nd Annual Music and Arts Festival.

The students and I set up two hands on art activities in the hallway, including an "I Wish" tree where parents and students could write the 2013 Wish. We had a wonderful evening listening to the middle school band perform and viewing art work from both the 6th and 7th grade students.

Here I am with one of my students who added a very sweet wish to the "I Wish" 2013 tree.

I hope that all of the students and staff have a wonderful and restful winter break!