Celebrating Art

Last year I read a post on someone's blog (if it was you, thank you!) about Celebrating Art.  Celebrating Art lets you submit photos of student artwork (or students can submit their own from home) to be considered for publication in a really nice hardback book.  I submitted work for each school on their website (you have to create an account to keep track of all your information) and ended up with several students getting work accepted.  I actually had quite a few but lots did not turn in the permission form, and since we didn't get them until a few days before school got out, I didn't get the chance to remind them.  There are two deadlines a year, one in November, and one in April.  If you get enough students published, you get a free copy of the book for your classroom.  I went through and found all of my students but I haven't even had a chance to check out all the other awesome artwork yet!  I did make sure to mark pages with my students' work so my principals could find the right pages when I left the book for them to check out.

I thought I would just try the contest once to see how it went and overall, I'm very pleased with my experience!  If you have any questions, the company is very quick to respond.  I had a question about permission and they answered the same day.  *I wanted to make sure that you don't have to get permission to submit and they confirmed.  Parents only need to give permission for work to be published in the book.

Below are some photos of pages that featured my students' work with the links to posts about the project.

1st grade Bird Nests

2nd grade Tactile Paintings

Forgot to post about Kindergarten self-portraits...

...and forgot to photograph 2 more projects published in the book: one of my 3rd grade Architecture 2 Ways and 1st grade Circle Printing

4th grade Shape Paintings

6th grade Self Portraits (Their Future's So Bright...)

6th grade Aboriginal-Inspired Paintings

 Splashes of Color

5th grade Food Sculptures

5th grade True Color Self Portraits

5th Grade Clotheslines

4th Grade Piven-Inspired Self Portraits

Jr.Duck Stamp Drawings

 More 4th grade shape paintings and Aboriginal-Inspired animals

Jr. Duck Stamp Program

5th grade student, Honorable Mention

Ever since I took part in the Jr. Duck Stamp program in high school, I've been a big fan.  I know a lot of teachers don't do the program with their students because it takes so much time but  I had always planned to do it with my students and something the other elementary Art teachers in my district were already doing. (Check out last year's post to see a photo of wetlands in my area and photos of my high school duck stamp drawings.)

If you are not familiar with duck stamps, here's a brief summary, at least as brief as I'm capable of being (if you want a more in-depth look at duck stamps, check out the US Fish and Wildlife Service page.  Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, or "Duck Stamps," are sold by the government to raise money for wetlands conservation.  98 cents out of every dollar generated from duck stamps goes to purchase or lease wetlands.  A lot of people think it's all about hunting because those 16+ who want to hunt waterfowl are required to purchase a duck stamp but they are also bought by stamp collectors and people  who want to use them as a pass to get into National Wildlife Refuges.  Wildlife artists compete each year to try to get their paintings chosen to be printed on the duck stamp.  Jr. Duck stamps have been around since 1989 and the goal of the program is teaching "conservation through the arts." The students create a realistic drawing of an approved duck or goose to show that they have learned about the species and their habitat.  Students can enter their artwork into a contest at the state level.  In Kansas, they choose 3 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place winners and I think 12 honorable mentions in each of the 4 age groups.  All the first place winners are put together and the Best of Show is chosen to represent the state at the national level contest.  The national winner is actually printed on a Jr. Duck Stamp and the student gets scholarship opportunities.  I assume that all the states have similar processes.

The Jr. Duck Stamp program is a great way to incorporate science and observational drawing and ties into the curriculum for most grades as you can talk about the animals, their habitat, and environment.  I always start off by assessing prior knowledge of wetlands and habitats.  I then show the students some of the duck stamps my dad has saved for me and explain what they are all about.  I have lots of photos I have taken of ducks and geese printed out for the students to reference and some calendar photos that one of the teachers gave me.  This year I had created a PPT of me making an example drawing with photos of each step since I was gone on maternity leave when my 4-6th grade students had to start the project.  I showed the PPT to my younger students as well since it is a lot quicker than me demonstrating in person.  I did draw a few things up on the board like legs and feet and beaks/bills to point out that they are not stick legs and not plain triangles for the beak.  I told the students when we practice observational drawing we can pretend to be scientists and draw all the important details.  Each student chose a photo to reference when drawing but I encouraged them to change the background or something to make it their own.  I allowed three classes for each grade level to work on this project.  The first class was mostly introduction, passing out paper, labeling information on the back, and filling out an entry form.  I encouraged each student to take home an entry form for the art contest just in case they decided to enter. Some of the classes had a little time to start drawing in the first day.  I had the students draw out all the important details in pencil before starting with color.  This is a good time to talk about composition.  The students have to use 9x12 inch paper (must be horizontal) but the design needs to be appropriate for printing on a smaller stamp.  I tell the students to draw big so we can see the details and to fill the space.  Even if their reference photo has a whole flock of geese, I ask them to focus on drawing one or two.  So far I have just given the students colored pencils to work with but I may let them use paint next year.  I always preferred to use colored pencils when I entered because I felt like I had more control over the media and could be more detailed.  On the last day, I talked about ripples, reflections, and shading.  If any students finished early, I had them write a conservation message which is an additional contest.  Most of the students enjoy this project but a few complain about it being "hard".  I always tell them that just because something is hard doesn't mean they can't do it and that we learn more from challenges than doing things that are easy all the time.  Next year I may give the students a choice of Jr. Duck Stamps or the State Fish Art Contest since the goals for the project are similar.

If I remember correctly, I sent in about 300 entries between my two schools this year.  I ended up having 7 students receive Honorable Mentions and all I can say is that the drawings that placed higher must have been AMAZING because I am so proud of my students!

5th grade student

5th grade student

6th grade student

6th grade student, Honorable Mention

4th grade student, Honorable Mention

4th grade student

1st grade student, Honorable Mention

1st grade student/future Art teacher, Honorable Mention

2nd grade student

3rd grade student, Honorable Mention

1st Grade Counts

For our Cultural Heritage study on Native Americans, 1st graders learned about Winter Counts. Winter Counts are histories or calendars used by the Lakota to record events. The “count keeper” added a new picture for the most memorable event of each year, winter to winter. 

 Check out an AWESOME resource on Winter Counts here!

After learning about Winter Counts, 1^st grade students created drawings of a memorable event for each year of their life. Some came from personal memories and some were added after completing their “homework” of asking family for stories about them during infancy and toddlerhood.

I messed up and should have either used this lesson with an older grade, or simplified it for 1st. A lot of students couldn't remember or didn't know stories of things from when they were little. This might also be an issue with my student population. A lot of my students are in foster care or have had pretty rough lives for as young as they are. I gave them a "planning sheet" on the first day with a slot for each year, trying to help. I always seem to forget that most 1st graders are just learning to write at the beginning of the year! I said that they could sketch a quick picture for each age or write it out. Most of them took that to mean that they had to write a sentence for each year and they go sooo hung up on the writing! I tried to tell them that in art class it's more important just to get the idea down but despite me practically begging, most spent 1-1 1/2 classes just writing! The problem then is most couldn't read or remember what they wrote in the next class. :)

After 4 classes, I said enough's enough, last day! I ended up with probably 2/3 finished. Next year, I RESOLVE to remember that 1st grade at the beginning of the year is a LOT different than 1st grade at the end of the year.

It would have gone much better if I had just asked them to draw a memorable event from their life, instead of one from each year. That, friends, is my suggestion to you, should you do a Winter Count project with younger students.

Most of the Winter Counts I have seen are arranged in a spiral. We used a different arrangement to try to focus on the idea more than an imitation.

Primary Weaving- Collaborative & Choice

I introduced a weaving concept to each grade at my primary school.

Kindergarten- Basic idea of weaving- over-under/ collaboration

1st Grade- Paper Weaving options

2nd Grade- Embellishing options for paper weaving

3rd Grade- Yarn weaving

Instead of asking each Kindergarten student to complete their own weaving project, I really just wanted them to understand what weaving is and to practice the over-under pattern. My first idea was to have each Kindergartener take a short break from their choice project to come to my table and practice weaving one strip in one of the large paper looms (12x18 inches) I'd cut for each class. After each student finished his/her strip, they wrote their name on one of the squares they'd created.

That proved to be a time consuming venture. After two days, a better idea came to me. After the introduction in my last Kindergarten classes, I sent students back to their tables where they worked with their groups to weave strips through 9x12 inch paper looms I'd precut. Not only was it faster, there was teamwork and problem solving. Only one student wove at a time, but they helped each other remember the pattern.

Other than in Kindergarten and 1st grade, weaving projects were optional for the students. Not all of the 2nd graders chose to weave paper, but I think all but a few 3rd graders did because they were SO excited about using yarn. I've found that the easiest looms for students to use are made from foam trays. The space between the suspended yarn and the bottom of the tray makes it easier for students than weaving on a flat surface. We displayed the yarn weaving projects by stapling the piece to a 6x9 inch piece of paper labeled with the student's  name.

Many students tried cutting different designs in the planning of their paper looms. The students who wanted a more traditional grid-like weaving used a precut 1 inch strip to trace the lines they would soon cut.

 Some 1st graders used their paper weavings as an interesting background for something else.

 Here are some 2nd grade projects exploring more ideas for embellishing weavings. From left to right, there is a weaving project with a handprint, weaving through painted paper, weaving through a marker drawing of tie-dye, and circles collaged on top with the letters of the student's name on top.

 Weaving projects with stamped paint on top.

More students want to do extra work outside of class on yarn weaving than on any other project. This student stuck to the rainbow pattern for the entire project. She worked on it in art class for a few weeks before taking scraps to finish it during recess.

Weaving has proven to be a very engaging project for my students over the last few years. Weaving is also one of the lowest cost projects. The looms were made either from meat trays I saved and sanitized at home or from recycled cardboard or mat board. I've also picked up 2 trash bags full of yarn at garage sales for under $5 total. It lasts a long time! I did buy some plastic weaving needles and though they were also very affordable, they are not necessary. Students can weave just using their fingers.

Over the summer I hope to try weaving a pouch. I've seem some lessons online but haven't yet had time to give it a go.

Do your students love weaving as much as mine?

Sunflower Still Life Drawings

 About a month ago when the sunflowers were still blooming in my backyard, I took some blooms to school for a still life drawing lesson with my K-3rd students.  We looked at Van Gogh's sunflower series and I modeled looking and drawing sunflowers for the students.  First, I drew a generic flower and then contrasted it with a drawing of a sunflower where I paid attention to the shapes.  Most students attempted to capture what they saw but some are still in a different stage where they draw what they "know' instead of what they "see".  I gave the older students more choices.  3rd grade and 2nd grade students could either use traditional drawing materials or "draw with scissors" and make construction paper flowers.  It was good practice and a good one-day project.  Living in Kansas, the students are always excited about sunflower projects!

I put in some with no petals left and pointed out the flowers like that in Van Gogh's painting.  Not many takers, but I still think the textures look cool!

 Kindergarten

 Kindergarten

Kindergarten 

 2nd grade

 2nd grade

 1st grade- drew the table the flowers were sitting on

 2nd grade

1st grade

My construction paper and crayon example

1st Grade Colorful Fish

This is my last beginning of the year fish project!  1st grade students drew a fish- I gave no instruction here except to fill the space by drawing a fish at least as big as their hand- then traced their lines with glue and sprinkled with sand.  I told the students we were adding sand to give our fish more texture.  In the second class, we reviewed color mixing and I gave each student primary and black colored tempera paint.  The students could paint their fish and backgrounds however they wanted.  I did not say that their fish had to be swimming in blue water though that is what most students chose.  After the first day, I started giving the student black paint but said it should only be used to paint over the raised sand surface and help us see the outline and details of the fish.  I've found that giving students black paint to mix colors tends to yield monochromatic paintings- usually all a nice mud color.  (By the way, if you want to see some awesome high school mud paintings, look here!)

Classes who only had one session and students who missed the first day of the project painted then added sand if there was time at the end.  My main goal for the project was to review painting and mixing colors- texture was my secondary goal.

Do your students love mixing colors as much as mine?  Green, pink, and "sky blue" seem to be their favorite colors to mix.  I love to listen to the students talk when they are mixing colors.  Even though they've done it before, it still seems like magic to them when they make a new color whether they are in 1st grade or 6th grade.  I love their excitement when they are allowed to just try new combinations and see what happens.

I think this looks like a Mondrian fish!

Check out the rest of the artwork in our Artsonia exhibit!