SketchBooks in the Art Room!

Students in grades 5th - 8th are using sketchbooks are a major part of their Art cirriculum this year. One of their first assignments was to design an original cover of the sketch book, incorporating lettering, composition and of course - their own creative personality.

Sketching and doodling are important, not only for budding artists, but for creative thinking and problem solving.  It is a valuable tool that engages the mind, enhances our memory retention and concentration by creating a visual language.  Many of our most creative minds have kept sketchbooks...Thomas Edison, Leonardo Da Vinci just to name a few!

SketchBooks are important...and fun!  Keep Doodling!

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!

6th Grade Stained Glass Trees

The 6th grade made these stunning geometric Christmas Trees with a stained glass look.  They first painted the background with liquid water colors.  The trees were created by layering colored tissue paper and glue on construction paper.  Triangular shaped trees were cut out, glued down to background and finished off with gold and silver metallic paints details.

6th Grade Radial Mandalas

These stunning examples of Radial Symmetry were created by our fabulous sixth graders.  For this project we discussed the use of radial mandalas in art throughout history.  The students looked at examples in architecture, stained glass windows used in cathedrals as well as other art forms.

6th Grade Miro Inspired Paintings

The sixth grade discovered Spanish artist Joan Miro.  We looked at many of his paintings and discussed that Miro was a Surrealist artist.  Like Miro, the students created their own dream scape surreal paintings emphasizing line, shape & color. They incorporated many of Miro's familiar shapes used in his paintings as well as their own interpretations.

6th Grade Colorful Fall Leaves

6th grade started out the year reviewing Analogous and Complimentary color schemes.  With beautiful watercolor washes, they painted their drawings of fall leaves with analogous colors.  When dry, the backgrounds were painted with complimentary colors of the fall leaves.  The students did some experimenting with watercolor techniques, using salt and clear water droplets to create some stunning effects!