With the school year in full swing, we have started to get our first big projects underway in the art room! While everyone has been busy learning the routines of the art room, students in grades 2-4 have been busy designing and making their sketchbooks.
This past week, students have explored observational drawing through a variety of learning tasks. We discussed how artists use their imagination to create, but, also the importance of creating art from observation (looking at our surroundings!):
Kindergarteners and 1st Graders looked at Black-Eyed Susan's, the MD State Flower, and took a special trip (1st grade) out front of our building to draw while observing the beautiful flower bed of Black-Eyed Susan's at the entrance to Snowden Farm ES.
Kindergarten learned how we can look at an image and break it down into shapes to try to draw it from observation. We also had a great time using paint to paint the petals and trying out oil pastels to add details and color in our drawings:
2nd Grade has been learning about landscapes and how artists can create a sense of space (depth) in their artwork by dividing their composition up into a foreground, middle ground, and background. We are also exploring lines and patterns and will be creating a mixed-media landscape!
3rd Grade artists practiced a variety of observational drawing exercises: contour drawing, blind-contour drawing, and gesture drawing using our art room Mannequins.
They did a great job!
4th Graders have been learning about texture and how as an artist we can use lines and shapes to create the illusion of texture. We discussed working extremely close-up in the macro composition and will be combining all of these elements to create an original dragon/mythical creature eye watercolor and chalk pastel artwork. Stay tuned!
What a great week in art class!!