Analogous Color Exercises

These third grade students experimented with ANALOGOUS COLOR. Analogous color is color that is related. They are usually found next to each other on the color wheel. The two most typical analogous color groups are the warm and cool colors. However, those are not the only two. Here we have some students that chose some other groups to use.

Just had to Share

Here are more beautiful Batik pillows. I just want to keep all of them!!!!!!!!!!

Batik pillows! Awesome!

Two of our 5th grade classes learned a little about the textile art of BATIK. One class used the glue method, where they squeezed glue onto the lines of the design they had drawn, let it dry, painted the design, then soaked the material to get the glue out. Where the glue washed away, the material was left white. The other class used the wax method, where they used melted white crayon to paint on the design, painted with acrylic paint, then we melted off the wax. Again, where the wax was melted off, the material remained white.

Then we really pushed ourselves (or maybe it was me who pushed me) but we decided to turn these into pillows. So, we stuffed and sewed our batiks. They really turned out beautiful!

More Monochromatics

Here are some more beautiful monochromatic paintings by our 4th grade students.

Beautifully MONOCHROMATIC!

MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEMES are not the easiest way to paint. But these 4th grade students seemed to make it look easy. Monochromatic painting means that you are painting with only ONE color. Now, you may think that they used more, but they have learned that BLACK and WHITE are not actually colors. White is the absence of pigment, and black is the combination of all pigment. Therefore, adding black and/or white to a color to lighten or darken that color, is still painting with only ONE color. Pretty neat, huh?

Why would someone WANT to paint with a monochromatic color scheme????? Well, one reason is that colors illicit different emotions therefore they would more strongly communicate that emotion to the viewer. Another might be that the artist is focusing on that particular skill. Can you think of other reasons?

The RADIALS are rolling in again.

Once again, 2nd grade is learning about RADIAL BALANCE, which is one of the concepts on which they are tested. I have done this project for the last 2 or 3 years, and every year I am amazed at the final pieces these students produce. They not only understand radial balance, but they understand it BEAUTIFULLY!

We look at examples of objects that show Radial Balance. That would be objects reflecting a pattern that begins in the center, and radiates out to the edges. When turned in any direction, you should view the same pattern. Examples would be a flower with a center and petels moving out, a bicycle wheel, a propeller, doilie, just to name a few. What kind of radial balanced patterns do you see around you??????

This year, we made them smaller and glued them onto CD's. I put holes at the top and bottom, connecting a class of Radials together to form a mobile of sorts, to be hung outside their classrooms. They really look great!

It is nice to have a FAN!

It is always nice to have an art fan, but to have a SUPER FAN is even BETTER! This student dressed up as WONDER ARTIST! It is no "wonder", because she IS a super artist! Carry on WONDER ARTIST! Keep up the great work.

1st Grade learning about SHAPE

1st grade always gets a lesson on shapes. Most GEOMETRIC shapes they know - square, triangle, circle, rectangle, oval, even trapezoid and paralellagram. And some even throw out hexigon, and octagon. BUT they become stumped when I ask them to name an ORGANIC shape. Well, that's because you can't!!! Organic shapes are those that are free form. Sometimes they occur over and over again, sometimes they only occur once. For example, the shape of spilled milk on the floor would be undescribable, therefore it would be ORGANIC. That exact shape would more than likely never happen again. The shape of an oak leaf is organic, and occurs over and over again on the tree.

In these collages, the students had to tear ORGANIC SHAPES out to paper to form clouds, hills, grass, tops of trees, etc. Then they used GEOMETRIC SHAPES to build their houses, buildings, all those things that "named" shapes can create. As you can see, we really ended up with some fabulous collages.

Of course, we continued to learn how to glue and cut as well.

ILLUMINATED INITIALS

Some of our Third Grade students have been learning about ILLITERACY. At least that, which abounded in the Middle Ages and earlier. We learned that during that time period, most people could NOT read and write. Mainly those who were wealthy and the priests of the churchs could read. There were very few books to be had, and those were HAND COPIED by scribes and monks. Can you imagine having to rewrite a whole book by hand? That is why they were called MANUSCRIPS (meaning written by hand). The scribes would elaborately decorate the pages and illustrations, as well as the first letter of each paragraph or page. Most of the time, they would use GOLD paint which, when hit by the flicker of candlelight, would light up......thus called ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPS.

This project focused on one of the students initials, which they designed, painted gold, and then decorated with personal symbols or pictures that reflected something about them. We used paint and markers for embellishments and details.

Then students chose a piece of wallpaper on which to glue their initial. THEN they glued that onto a black sheet of construction paper, decorating those edges with metallic pencils.

These turned out to be BEAUTIFUL and ILLUMINATING!

2nd Grade Warm/Cool drawings

Many of the 2nd grade classes are working on understanding WARM and COOL analogous color groups. We are also talking about EMPHASIS. So we created a picture where students EMPHASISED a certain area by grouping colors into warm and cool colors. Can you tell where they want you to look first?

Chets Creek has a Quilt!

Thanks to Mrs. Holloway, one of our itenerate Art Teachers, Chets Creek has a quilt entered in the Greater Agricultural Fair! The Quilt contest is centered around a pre-chosen book for the county. This years book was one familiar to Chets Creek - The Curious Garden. She worked with one of our 5th grade classes to produce the images and then she sewed them all together, quilted and submitted this beautiful Masterpiece. Go the the Fair and vote for Chets Creeks quilt! And a HUGE THANK YOU to Mrs. Holloway!