8th Grade Cezanne Inspired Still Life Paintings

The 8th Grade finished their study of post impressionist painter, Cezanne, with these rich still life paintings. The students worked off of actual paintings by Cezanne and added their own interpretations.  After quickly sketching out their composition, layers of tempera paint were applied. Chalk pastels were added in the final stages to heighten the light and shadows.

4th Grade "The Future Me" Portraits

4th Graders were busy creating these amazing portraits of themselves in their future careers. With very little direction on how to draw portraits, they used their imaginations and artistic skills to explore some of the ways they might see themselves in about 20 years!  The drawings were first drawn in Sharpie marker and then colored using oil pastels.

Lesson inspired by DSS

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.

3rd Grade Bird Drawings

The 3rd grade had fun with this first drawing project of the year.  Using a directed line, the students drew these fun whimsical birds.  We talked about line and pattern in art and things we see everyday.  After the birds were drawn, they had fun completing them with patterns and bright colors.  Some students were able to incorporate foreground and background concepts into this piece as well!

Lesson inspired by DSS

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.

7th Grade T.R Mack Trees

The 7th grade took a look at the artist T.R Mack and his beautiful paintings of trees.  Incorporating color theory into this project, they created tree  paintings in a similar style as TR Mack.  First they painted their backgrounds in either monochromatic or analogous cool colors.  After the striking black trees were painted in, the students were asked to add the circles or swirls in an analogous color scheme that is complimentary to the background colors.  They results were extremely dynamic!

3rd Grade Great Pumpkins!

Could one of these pumpkins be the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown was waiting for in the pumpkin patch that night?!  Who knows?  3rd graders did an amazing job on these pumpkin masterpieces!  First they created their drawings by looking at real pumpkins in front of them.  Then with only primary colors, red, yellow and blue; they painted their pumpkins & leaves by mixing paint right on the paper. No orange and green paint!  Lastly, the nighttime pumpkin patch scene was created using chalk pastels and black paper.  Spectacular!

 

Lesson inspired by DSS

2nd Grade Apple Art

2nd  Graders created these amazing apple paintings using various medium.  First they drew 3 apples from observation, we had real apples to look at!  Then they painted the apples, leaves & stem using only primary colors - red, yellow and blue paint.  They created their backgrounds with colored paper and chalk pastels, designing a beautiful fall backdrop for their apples.

Inspired by DSS

1st Grade Terrific Turtles

1st graders completed these wonderful freehand line drawings of turtles.  We talked about patterns that we see everyday and filled our turtle's shell with an abundance of them.  Then they completed the pictures with bright colorful markers.

Lesson inspired by DSS

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!

5th Grade Fall Sunsets

The 5th grade were busy the last 2 weeks creating these multimedia masterpieces.  First they created a sunset using a watercolor wash, with bright vibrant colors.  Next they drew a silhouette scene on black paper and then cut out the negative space... very tricky! The results were fabulous!

Lesson inspired by DeepSpace Sparkle

4th Grade Robot Drawings

The 4th grade had a blast creating these imaginative robots!
First we talked about what robots could be made out of, using our wildest imaginations. There were so many original ideas.  Then the students drew the robots in sharpie markers using line and patterns to show texture, no pencils here!  Lastly, they colored in with markers using bright vibrant colors.

Lesson inspired by DeepSpace Sparkle

8th Grade Still Life Studies in Charcoal

The 8th grade started the year with a look at the artist Cezanne.  We talked about his work and his influence on Modern Art.  The students sat around a large still life of apples, oranges, and pears - much similar to the many still life paintings Cezanne himself would create.  They were given a stick of charcoal and asked to draw a portion of the still life. Composing an arrangement on their page, they incorporated shading and movement to give their sketches dimension and depth.

1st Grade Sunflower Paintings

Mrs. Magill's 1st grade class created these beautiful watercolor sunflowers.  The children observed real sunflowers, talked about their shape, color and texture of the centers.  Then they drew a large sunflower using black oil pastels, next the painted the petals with warm colors, then the center and background with cool colors.  We even added some texture to the center with salt to create seeds.  Mrs Robbins class will have fun painting these this week as well.  A special thank you to Mrs Dwyer for helping us in the Art Room!

School Wide Mural!

Our first art project of the year is a Hand Art Mural, created by grades 1 - 8.  Each grade was asked to trace their hand and create a piece of art from the shape.  Different techniques were used, from watercolor to oil pastel to bold graphic designs in colorful markers. Each hand was cut out and combined in a beautiful mural located outside the artroom.  The mural symbolizes that our students are all unique, creative individuals but together with God's love, we are ONE AMAZING COMMUNITY! Check it out!

With God's Love and St. Mary's Community, We Can Accomplish Anything!

Welcome!

Welcome Saint Mary families!  My name is Kathy Giangiulio and I am so pleased to be able to bring art classes to the students of Saint Mary's School.  We have a new art room this year, with lots of space to spread out & get creative.  If you didn't have a chance to stop by the Art Room this year, I included some pictures.  Please feel free to drop by, view student work or volunteer during Art Classes.  I will be posting updates bi-monthly of what the students are doing in their art classes, as well as their artwork.  I do tend to hold on to artwork until after the Art Show in the Spring.  This way you can see what your child has been creating in school.  I am also going to try to upload all student art to Artsonia, an online Art Gallery for schools, but I will need to get parental permission slips out and signed before I can do that.

One of the many origami art hanging in our classroom, created by a St. Mary Alumi

I want to thank the Saint Mary's community for supporting Art Education.  Art classes provide our students a chance to develop cognitive, creative and imaginative skills.  It strengthens their  problem solving, critical thinking, and self-discipline. We want our children to become thinkers, to not be afraid to make mistakes, that is how we learn and grow.

This year we will provide the students with lessons rich in art elements, painting & drawing techniques, while engaging their imaginations with cultural, literature & historical connections.