1st grade students have now moved from learning about different types of lines to now being introduced to different types of shapes. The students were introduced to the life and artwork of the artist Henri Matisse through a powerpoint presentation. Matisse created collages and paintings that were abstract AND realistic. When Matisse began creating his collages, he once said that it was like painting with scissors. The students were shown as a final image, the painting called "The Goldfish". They first painted and entire piece of paper blue and blotted wet sections using a paper towel to give it a texture that shows a watery effect. They then will create the "wallpaper" of the room the fishbowl is in by collaging cut pieces of construction paper using organic and geometric shapes. They then will cut the fishbowl out of the painted paper they previously painted. Inside the fishbowl they will then draw in their different types of fish using oil pastels. (I am not limiting them to goldfish because this is their artwork, not Matisse's!) After all is complete they will paste their fishbowl onto a "table" cut out also of construction paper and paste both of those into the wallpapered room they have created. And viola! You have a wonderful masterpiece, inspired by the artist Henri Matisse!

Learning Objectives: cutting, pasting, shape, multimedia artwork

ART WORDS: 
Collage: cutting and pasting pieces of paper to create a composition. 
Organic shapes: shapes that have rounded edges.
Geometric shapes: shapes that have straight edges. 

Click the link below to see the powerpoint presentation the students received on Henri Matisse!
/uploads/3/9/1/4/39148519/henri_matisse.pptx

1st Grade students have been studying the life and artwork of the artist Piet Mondrian. Mondrian was an abstract artist who used only primary colors and lines to create his artwork. The students just learned about the abstract from the Todd Parr abstract self portraits, this lesson is an extension from that lesson, exploring the different forms of abstract. In this lesson, the students have learned that Piet Mondrain limited himself to what he thought were the pure forms of beauty, line and color. He used mostly vertical and horizontal lines in his artwork in which created a sort of grid. In that grid he added the primary colors to fill the shapes the lines created. In this lesson, students will create their own versions of abstract art using construction paper in the primary colors that have been pre-cut into squares and rectangles. The students then glue these squares of color onto a piece of white paper 12"x18". They then will dip straight edge pieces of cardboard into black tempera paint that they will stamp onto their now collaged papers of red, blue and yellow to create the vertical and horizontal lines in the style of Piet Mondrian. The students are also made aware that if they would like to include white into their artworks, that they must leave the negative space of the white paper. 

Learning objectives: primary colors, lines, shape and the study of an artists technique and style. 

ART WORDS:
Primary colors: colors in which cannot be created by mixing. red, yellow, blue.
Vertical Lines: straight lines that go from top to bottom.
Horizontal lines: straight lines that go across from left to right. 

Click the link below to view the powerpoint the students were given that includes artworks of Piet Mondrian. 
/uploads/3/9/1/4/39148519/piet_mondrian.pptx

1st graders are currently working on their self portraits inspired by the author and illustrator, Todd Parr. First we read "The Feelings Book" by Todd Parr. As a class we spoke about different emotions and how the facial features would change according to those feelings. The students were then prompted to write down the emotion they were feeling at that moment in the sentence.."Sometimes I feel (like).." The students were then guided in a self portrait drawing, creating a face with an emotion compatible with the sentence they wrote. (i.e. sad face for upset, happy face for sad, straight mouth for angry etc.) We also discussed what the words style and abstract meant since we were creating a self portrait in the style of an artist. Todd Parr creates very distinguishable portraits with heavy black outlines and colors that do not represent real life. He also does not draw noses and his mouths and eyes are simplified into black dots as eyes and lines for mouths. 


Learning objectives: How to create an abstract self-portrait in the style of an artist. The students are also learning how to use line and color to create a simplified portrait according to a certain mood or emotion. And lastly listening to guided instruction. 


ART WORDS:
Abstract: doesn't look like anything in real life. 
Self-portrait: a drawing or painting of oneself.
Style: a manner of creating art or design in a particular, distinguishable form. 

1st Grade is currently creating the cover of their very own, hand made sketchbook! Sketchbooks are like an artists journal or notebook. 1st graders will be utilizing these sketchbooks for taking notes, creating preliminary sketches or drawings and during "free-draw" time. On the cover of these sketchbooks, students have written their names across the front in sharpie and are given the freedom to paint (yes, paint in the first class!) in watercolor what they choose. Some students have created a beautiful abstract painting by experimenting with color mixing and others have created a representational painting of something of their choice. Sketchbooks are a great way to store ideas, drawings and notes about artists and artworks that they are learning about to later refer to after leaving 1st grade. 

Learning objectives: Techniques in using watercolors, listening to guided instruction. 

ART WORDS: 
Sketchbook: a journal or book used for ideas and drawings by artists. 
Watercolors: paints that are activated by using water.

CLICK ON THE GALLERY IMAGES TO SEE SOME OF THESE WORKS IN PROGRESS!