Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Line Quality + Mangrove Forests

Grade 4 visited a mangrove forest last week in part of their unit on understanding biomes as we learn to share our planet.  They are currently learning about characteristics of a mangrove (what they look like, where they grow, how they help us every day).  In art we are currently learning about characteristics of lines (called line quality, how thick or thin a line is, how interesting, creative, or descriptive a line can be!).  We took this opportunity to look for line quality in a new setting and found quite a few interesting ideas that we can use as inspiration for our next drawing project!

































Sunday, 20 October 2013

"Where we are in place and time" Collage Pieces

Grade 1 has finished making their self-portraits and collage pieces that represent the places they are from and the place they are in now.

They also learnt about the primary and secondary colors. The students loved working on their portraits.




Thursday, 17 October 2013

Art coming to life!


 We are very excited and proud to share out the results of our learning from the first unit this year in grade 3 art!   Have you ever looked at a portrait in a gallery or museum and wondered what the person was thinking or feeling?  Now you no longer have to wonder with our third grade artists!  Using Morfo and Aurasma, students have narrated stories to bring their portraits to life.  Here's how we did it:

1) Students explored a variety of materials and techniques (some new, some review) including markers, colored pencils, crayons, oil pastels, watercolors and tempera paints.  They selected the best materials for their needs to draw their own self-portrait using a mirror for guidance.




 2)  Using their personal narratives as inspiration, the grade 3 students practiced narrating a short story about a small moment in their life to add a layer of interest and understanding to their artwork.  The stories could only be 30 seconds so we carefully edited and re-worked parts of some stories if the original was a little long.




 3) Using an iPad app called Morfo, we recorded our 30 second self-portrait stories. The app transforms 2-dimensional images (photos or in our case drawings) into 3D animations with moving eyes, nose and mouth that match up with the reading.  It really brought our drawings to life!! Students worked in small groups or pairs to record and share their Morfos- some had fun playing with the emotions and decorative features such as wigs or make up! (though none of that made the final cut so we would look as much like ourselves as possible).

'
(Mrs. Garrett couldn't help but try her own and join in the fun!)







 4) The final step came with Mrs. G linking the Morfo files to the artwork itself digitally using the scanning program Aurasma.  By creating auras for each student's work and video files, anyone can see and hear the artist's self-portrait come to life by using the Aurasma app on any smart phone or mobile device!  The app is free (available on both android and apple products) and as long as you are following the right channel (GARRETTAM) you will be able to scan and see the magic come to life!!









5) Grade 3 students enjoyed an Aurasma gallery walk with ipads and the opportunity to hear other students' stories using the app to scan and see.  What a fun way for artwork to come to life and tell a story!




*Remember, once the connection is created on Aurasma, any image of the artwork can be scanned and read... digital or print form... on paper, t-shirts... you name it!  Each student received 2 miniature Artist Trading cards of their artwork to be able to carry their artwork in their pocket and share with someone else.  You can find the links to their artwork images and morfo video files on the Grade 3 page of this blog. Feel free to email or print and share with ASB friends and family.  Follow the instructions provided to download the app andmorfo start scanning and seeing!  Portfolio books of the students work will be on display in the parent cafe for the next two weeks.  Leave any comments below for our awesome ASB artists!





Wednesday, 16 October 2013

What would you make?


A grade 4 recently had the chance to experience a U-Pick Friday.  They were able to decide their own project, whether they were working alone or with others, find the supplies they needed, and spend an entire period creating!  The ideas they came up with were extremely unique and inspiring.  There was a wide range of projects from a few groups building paper structures and museum layouts to individuals, building block castles, individuals making posters for recycling and Diwali, creative artwork, shields, drawings and more!  








At the end of class we took some time to share our projects and ideas with each other and really enjoyed hearing the stories and plans people shared.   



This grade 4 class set such a great example of working safely, respectfully and creatively on task the entire class period. I can't wait for more classes to have this opportunity throughout the year!

If you could use a class period to make anything you wanted.... what would you make and why?!  

Saturday, 12 October 2013

This week in art!

Photos from our creative plaster sculptures that are being made in our 3D Art Studio on Wednesday after school and Grade 5 groups planning and designing their collaborative Zentangle projects!  Both groups have going through steps of thoughtful planning and reflection in order to make progress and stay on track towards completing their goals.  3D art studio students have 3 classes left to finish their sculptures. Grade 5 students have been given the challenge of completing their group Zentangle in 3 art classes. Both are using timelines and planning sheets to keep track of the progress they make, problems they run into, and solutions they find along the way!

Keeping Track of where we are in our plaster sculptures. Organization and time management are very important when you have a time frame to complete a project! 


Many artists moved into the painting phase, while others in 3D art studio put final plaster details on and move into painting next week
Veeraswa showing off his shark fins attached with plaster this week



Grade 5 making sure everyone is involved
Zentangle Planning Sheet


Deciding on next steps and timeline for the best use of their class time in order to finish their plan in 3 classes!

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Wow!



How cool is this? 
What a detailed-well planned-way to create portraits using ordinary objects (and unlikely art supplies!) 

Monday, 7 October 2013

Creative moments!

Found plenty of inspiration this week in Goa! What did you do, see, or make that got you thinking like an artist over fall break?!