2014 State Fish Art Contest

1st place oil pastel drawing of a Channel Catfish in the Mighty Minnows age group

Last school year I continued the tradition of offering the students a choice between the Jr. Duck Stamp program and the State Fish Art Contest. Both programs focus on teaching conservation through art and have a focus on habitat and observational drawing. This year I was floored when my students swept the awards for the Mighty Minnows (K-3rd grade) and 4th-6th grade age groups. If you teach in Kansas, please tell your students about this contest. They need some competition. :)

2nd and 3rd place in the Mighty Minnows age group.

 

Starting in the 4th-6th grade age group, students are judged on an essay about their fish species in addition to their artwork. My 5th grade 1st place winner made her essay more interesting by making interesting comparisons, such as the size of a bluegill to her hands.

1st place in the 4th-6th grade age group.

 2nd and 3rd place winners in the 4th-6th grade age group.

6th Grade Egyptian-Inspired Animal Sculptures

I decided to look for a connection to 6th grade curriculum when planning their clay project. 6th grade studies ancient Egypt in Social Studies and I wanted to try to find some new inspiration- something I hadn't seen before. I came across this beautiful little guy below on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website and fell in love!

PLEASE pin from the original source at the Met Museum instead of from my blog! http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/100000444?img=2

"This well-formed statuette of a hippopotamus (popularly called "William") demonstrates the Egyptian artist's appreciation for the natural world. It was molded in faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz. Beneath the blue-green glaze, the body was painted with the outlines of river plants, symbolizing the marshes in which the animal lived." (http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/100000444?img=2)

It was so easy to make a connection to the Hippopotamus statue without cloning it. The students used clay handbuilding techniques to sculpt a favorite animal in the first class. In the second class period, they painted their sculptures with tempera cakes then either used a small brush to paint organic forms from the animal's natural habitat or an unwound paper clip to scratch the designs into the surface.

Each student was given a handful of clay (my measurements are sooo precise) with which to sculpt. Some used all of it while others went from "small scale" to "miniature" with teeny tiny sculptures. Animals are always popular and the students really seemed to enjoy the project. I have a big stack of discarded library books with animal pictures that the students could reference if they wanted and they could choose any animal as inspiration. The animals could also be painted any color- hippos are not blue in real life and that was ok with the Egyptians so it's ok with us!

Several students chose to make snakes, because they were "easy". We did talk about how a snake sculpture like the one on the left is much more interesting than the one on the right. If I saw they were making a snake, I tried to show examples of how to give their snakes a more dynamic pose.

We used toothpicks or small pieces of reed for things like antennae that would break if made of clay.

Some students spent all their time painting and didn't get to the plant shapes. It was a little tricky to figure out if they used a domesticated animal.

Here is a close up to show how this student scratched the designs into wet clay then defined with paint.

This panda is holding the bamboo instead of having it scratched into the body. Not a huge deal.

I LOVE this chameleon!

In case you ever wondered what is in a unicorn's natural habitat, the answer is flowers and rainbows.

Teeny tiny pig.

I just told the 6th graders making turtles that they better be more advanced than my 1st grade turtles!

Snake on a rock.

Somehow this student got his dinosaur to balance! We leaned his head against the wall of the shelf for support while it dried.

The Art of Conservation

Even though there are 4 elementary Art teachers in my district (splitting 7 schools), we hardly ever teach the same lessons to our students. One project that the elementary students do across the district is the Jr. Duck Stamp program. This year I'm giving the students the choice of the Jr. Duck Stamp program or the State Fish Art contest. Both programs have similar aims of connecting kids to nature and teaching conservation through the Arts. They are both integrate science- observational skills, anatomy, and learning about animals' natural habitats. Duck stamps are about conserving the wetlands and the State Fish Art contest educates kids about fish and aquatic habitats. 

If you've been reading for a while, you know I love my bulletin boards. The visual of the Art hanging in the halls is usually how I share what we are doing but  I don't hang ducks in the hallway- most are sent in to the contest (while some go home to be finished and disappear.) So, I compiled some information to remind students what the project is all about, and share it with parents and teachers.

 (Click to view a larger version and read the signs.)

Design of the bulletin board:

I have the background painted bright orange so I don't have to cover it with paper. I wanted to make it look a little swampy so I cut blue paper to go at the bottom for water and tore brown and green pieces to look like plants. I made my title with the die cut machine but decided to use different sizes and the negative space of the letters to add interest. I rarely plan out the arrangement ahead of time. I just get a feel for it and start stapling. 

I also added some "Did You Know" facts at the bottom next to ducks. Did you know that more than 1/3 of the animals on the Endangered Species list rely on the wetlands for their survival? (Either for habitat or food source.)

When I moved into my new 4th-6th grade classroom, I put up a word wall, convinced that it would just be a great idea. My best intentions failed since I rarely had time to make and put up new words. (I've seen some word walls with post-its for quick additions but they don't stick well to the paint.) I decided I was wasting space and should put up something else. I whipped up some displays to illustrate the habitats we were talking about AND display the vocabulary. One display represents the wetlands- I painted it on butcher paper with some collage elements and labels and plastered the back with small loops of packing tape. I also sealed the edges with even more tape. My aquatic habitat was made in a similar way only taped over a closet door instead of to the wall. I'm not committing to making such a big display for each new lesson, but I do plan to use the space to display materials relating to what is currently being studied. Maybe in coming years I'll be able to get a big bulletin board for that wall so I don't waste rolls upon rolls of tape.

Most states have an official state fish, but Kansas doesn't for some reason. I'm not sure why since we have a bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, and insect. Our unofficial state fish is the Channel Catfish. I've grown up fishing and feel like I know a fair amount about Kansas fish. I did learn quite a bit about channel cat while doing some research for this lesson. For example, their "whiskers" are really called barbels, and they have 8 of them! I also learned more about zebra mussels, an invasive species. I had heard people talk about them and seen educational flyers, but I didn't realize how much of an impact they are having. Next year, with more experience with this program, I'll be able to do a better job.

The 4th-6th grade students still have another week to work on their artwork during recess (lots have been taking me up on that offer) before it's due back to me. The 1st-3rd grade students are still working on them in class. I can't wait to share the finished artwork!

For more information...
Jr. Duck Stamp Program
http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/
State Fish Art Contest
http://www.wildlifeforever.org/contest