How About a Hand

This is a clay piece our elementary art team leader did at one of the Texas Art Education Association Conferences about 5 or so years ago, and brought back to teach us.  I did this with my 4th graders for about 3 years in a row.  The students are each given a ball of clay, then use a tool to slice into the clay 4 slits to make the five fingers.  From there, they just use a pinching technique to form the fingers.  They could stop observe their own hand and keep on working.  The hardest part is forming the fingers into a hand gesture if that is what they want.  Sometimes the fingers get thin and break off, which is easy to fix with a little extra clay and water. Also these are a little thicker than some clay pieces, so they will need a little extra drying time.  I decided to have the kids paint these with a lighter shade of acrylic paint, then decorate them with sharpie.  The first year we used only the thick sharpies, but later we added the use of smaller tip sharpies, which look much better.  These are my examples, because the kids liked them and took ALL of them...the nerve of them!!

This one is for all my UT friends, hook 'em.

Symbols on painted cardboard

This is a recycled cardboard art piece that I did over the summer with my art camp kids.  They started with 3 pieces of cardboard. They chose a symbol like heart, peace sign, flower, lightning bolt or even a letter, like the first initial of their name.  On the first and largest piece of cardboard the backgrounds were painted with blue and white blended acrylic paint. Then, they decided on the main color of their symbol on their second piece of cardboard.  They could add in touches of other colors, and then use fabric paint for a more 3-D looking paint effect. Their last piece of cardboard could be any mix of colors, as long as it didn't have the main color they used in the symbol.  After their pieces were dry, I cut the background cardboard down to strips for them and their symbol pieces into smaller squares and rectangles.  I placed each kids pieces in a  zip lock bag with their name on it.  The next day they played with their cardboard pieces until they liked their compositions and glued down the pieces.  This was a good project to do with a group of 20-25 kids.  I don't have pictures of all the different symbols the kids did, but here are a few. 

Heart

Peace sign

Heart

Flower

COOL, I got nominated for the Liebster Award!!

So to be honest...until just a few days ago I didn't know what the Liebster Award was or that it even existed. Thank you so much to Mrs. C from Rainbow Skies and Dragonflies for nominating me!  I am grateful that someone even thought of me for this award!  Please go to her site to see lots of inspirational art at Rainbow Skies and Dragonflies!  She is a seasoned teacher with lots to share.

                                                                                 

                                                                           

I agree with Mrs. C that being an elementary school art teacher can be a very isolating experience.  When I started out there were only three elementary schools, each with an art teacher, in my district.  It wasn't just the projects that could feel overwhelming, but organization of materials, budget questions, how to store artwork in an organized manner, and the list goes on... Now, my district is busting at the seams, in 13 years we went from the 3 elementary schools to 13, and two more to break ground very soon!  But, back then, talk about feeling alone.  The only thing that I felt I could really ask for help from other teachers was discipline issues.  The blog community is definatly a wonderful tool that brings all of us together.  From the new teachers with fresh new ideas to the seasoned teacher that has tried everything in the book and knows best teaching practicing. 

Now, the Liebster Award, I really had no idea, so... I went hunting.  Here is a little explanation of what the award means.  This is from Ashley at We Loved Here.
The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

One of the things I need to do now is pass on this award. My choices (in no particular order, they are all great bloggers!)...

1.  Elizabeth at Painters of Dreams
2. Mrs. Johnson at Elementary Art Rocks
3. Candice at Candice Ashmen Art
4. Samantha at The Fine Arts Studio
5. Danielle at Art Room with a View

Now I get to tell you 11 things about myself:
1. I grew up in a tiny cotton farming community in west Texas, a small, blink and miss town on I-20, Roscoe, TX. The school mascot is the Plowboys, so yes, I was a Plowgirl.
2. I only drink fru-fru coffee!
3. Cat person...they kill mice, and snakes, and other creepy critters!
4. I'll take extreme heat over extreme cold any day!
5. Dark chocolate, yum.
6. My favorite food is Mexican.
7. When I was little, I wanted to be a flight attendant.
8. Speaking of planes, I once jumped out one, really, what was I thinking!!!
9. I have a small obsession with circles.
10. My favorite color is purple.
11. I'm not grossed out by too much, I can handle farting, burping, boogers, vomit, pee, poop, but DO NOT show me your tooth that is about to fall out of your mouth!!  The one you can literally push over with your tongue.

So now that you know a little more about me, hop on over to Elizabeth, Mrs. Johnson, Candice, Samantha, Danielle, and Mrs. C's blogs and have a look around!

Grey Mouse by Anke de Vries

This little grey mouse is feeling "blue".  So to feel better he paints himself a variety of ways, and each time he is laughed at by the other animals. Finally, he dives into water to escape a swarm of bees, and he is washed clean.  Then he meets a friend, another grey mouse.  Here the mouse discovers self acceptance, what a great lesson for kids to hear!!

Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller

This book is not an art book, but it is a book that is a must have for art teachers and classroom teachers, parents and grandparents.  This book about manners is a good tool to reinforce the daily teachings we try so desprately to bestow on our children.  It is so cleverly written, you will want to reread again and again. The illustrations are fun, and you will see something new each time you read.  There is plenty of humor to keep all ages engaged and happy!  Please forgive my pictures, this is a personal book of mine, and it has been read a thousand times, yuck, sorry!  

Art by Patrick McDonnell

This is a very cute book, probably geared more for K-3.  The illustrations are clever and the character "Art," who loves art, is adorable.  This is a good book to have for a 5-10 minute window of time.  Art, the character, creates a fun world for himself, out of his doodles.  Another book that celebrates the creative minds of our children.  Your students will oh and ahh over these fun illustrations and as an adult and mother, the ending is my favorite part, very sweet!  

The Incredible Peepers of Penelope Budd

What a wonderful book (my girls and I love this book).  Although, I really believe the lesson here is more for the adults. In this book, Penelope Budd has one eye blue and the other brown.  She sees things in a different, unique way.  This book is a celebration of the imagination of so many children and why we should celebrate these fun imaginative little people.  Sometimes, as an adult, it is a good reminder to try and look at the world through the eyes of a child. Things would be so much more pleasant if we just took the time to do this!