St. Mary's Art and Music Show!

It's that time of year again and this year is going to have more artwork than ever!  The students here at St. Mary School have been hard at work for the last few weeks painting up a storm!  This year student's artwork will be hung art gallery style in the downstairs hallway of the school.  But, come to the upstairs hallway to be transported to a Tropical Rainforest!  Experience the animals as well as the surroundings of this very special place on our Sacred Earth.

In July 2013, at the World Youth Day event in Brazil, Pope Francis made a plea to the the world for the amazon region and it's people.  He calls for "respect and and protection of the entire creation which God has entrusted to man." This creation, he said, should not be "indiscriminately exploited, but rather made into a garden."

Students not only have been learning about artistically creating the plants and animals of the rainforest, but biodiversity and conservation of the region as well. A donation bin will be available at the show to raise enough money to symbolically adopt one of the endangered species of the rainforest.  Come and See Us!

Students working together to create the rainforest

3rd Grade The Cat in the Hat!

March is Dr. Suess Month! Our 3rd graders did an amazing job of drawing their version of Dr. Suess' beloved, Cat in the Hat. The students were shown how to approach the drawing using directed line and then added their own flair to it.  We kept the painting simple, just the red stripes & bow tie, and lastly created bold backgrounds with chalk pastel on colored paper.  These drawings bring a smile to everyone who views them!  Great job third grade!

Lesson Inspired by Deep Space Sparkle

1st Grade Dr.Suess Fish

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!

The 1st graders were busy getting ready to celebrate Dr. Suess' Birthday by drawing these whimsical cartoon fish.  We first looked at Dr. Suess' drawings in the book, One Fish, Two Fish and talked about the animated features, the big eyes and fanciful curling tales of his fish.
The students were asked to choose one color for their fish, just like in the book, and then drew them on large paper in chalk pastel.  The final step was to outline in black oil pastel.  They certainly had fun drawing these!

Lesson inspired by Deep Space Sparkle

6th Grade Holy Spirit Mosaics

Mosaics are one of the oldest and most beautiful art forms known to civilizations.  Dating back over 4000 years to ancient Greece, they are basically the art of creating patterns with glass, tile, stones and other similar items.  The 6th grade looked at and discussed various types of mosaics before we began our project.  As the 6th graders prepare this year for the sacrament of Confirmation, we thought it would be fitting to create their own mosaic, depicting the Holy Spirit.

These mosaics were created by colorful cut paper on black backgrounds.  The results were spectacular!

1st Grade Valentine Hearts

Our 1st Graders wanted to show just how much they love St. Mary's School this past Valentine's Day, by created these beautiful painted hearts.
Keeping with our reds pinks & purples, we talked about colors that are along side each other on the color wheel and how to create tints of colors by adding white.  The rest was just plain fun, swirling the paint around the paper, creating their own unique designs. We Love St. Mary's!

Lesson inspired by painted paper

7th Grade Northern Lights Paintings

The seventh graders painted these striking landscapes depicting the Northern Lights. The paintings were based loosely on the work of painter Ted Harrison, a painter known for his use of line and bright color, who paints the Yukon landscapes where he lives.  The students were asked to create tints and shades of the bright colors selected for their paintings and use them in creating the abstract landscapes you see here.

5th Grade Winter Barn Paintings

Our 5th Graders did another spectacular job on these painting of winter barns in the snowy countryside.
The students were shown several different ways to draw barns and asked to make it the main focal point of their composition.  Foreground and background concepts were used and the color plalete was kept simple so as to emphasize the red barn.

Lesson Inspired by Deep Space Sparkle