The Dusty Art Room

Here's the giant plaster letter sculptures the 7th grade students have been working on recently. Letter Sculptures Steps:  Choose a letter that has significance to you (initial, first letter of your favorite band, artist, color etc.)  Design the letter on paper Cut the letter out and trace it onto two pieces of cardboard Cut the letters out of the cardboard (cardboard scissors recommended) Use dixie paper cups or the like to create the thickness between the two cardboard pieces.  Fasten cups with tape Apply tape "band-aids" around the sides to secure the sculpture together Use plaster gauze strips to coat the sculpture in a plaster shell (papier mache works too)  Decide how to decorate the letter.  Choose from one or more of the following techniques:  Paint an image/scene Paint a design Paint a metallic color and then apply a patina with a second metallic color Decoupage a design with paper or tissue paper Some students chose to add glitter to their

We've crossed the midterm mark and now it's time to show off some of the work we've been doing! Screenprint T-shirts 8th grade students have started to print their class t-shirts.  Each student creates their own design for the back of the shirt and then transfers the design to a screen. Steps:  Create the design on a sheet of paper Wash and prep the screen for printing Trace the design onto the screen with pencil Paint drawing fluid on the screen where ever you want the ink to print in the final design Let dry Flood the screen with block out fluid Let dry Wash out the drawing fluid with COLD water Let dry Print the design Create the trial proofs on newsprint paper If the screen printed how you wanted, continue to the next printing step Print the design on the heavy drawing paper (if you want a print to hang on your wall) Print the design on the back of the t-shirt If the screen did NOT print how you wanted, wash the ink out of the screen wit

As we convert the art classroom to a ROLE classroom (Results Only Learning Environment) this year, midterms will look a bit different.   A ROLE classroom seeks to encourage students to take control of their own learning while developing individual skills and a desire to take creative risks.   While I know this is new to most, my goal is to help students form personal goals, formulate a strategy, assess the results, and strategize a new plan until the goal is met.    Midterm grades were determined based on a conference between the student and I.  A record of the conversation is recorded in the comments section of the "Midterm" assignment in Powerschool.   Here's a few examples of what this feedback might look like:  "Student A is doing well being nice to others and trying his best. His projects are also creative and unique. Student A feels he could improve on staying on task. Goals for the rest of the the trimester: To check Artsonia for feed

6th grade started our first "flipped" lesson this week, the cityscape landscape painting/printmaking project.  All demonstrations are learned from prerecorded video clips. Richie used the self-guided clips to create a two point perspective drawing.  Here's his drawing created all by himself on day one:  The next day, Richie added details to his cityscape.  Here's his progress: Next, Richie will transfer this drawing to a styrofoam plate and print it on his background.  I was so impressed with Richie's ability to follow the steps and guide his own learning, it has earned him the September art student of the month award !  His focus and determination really paid off!  Congratulations Richie!  Stay tuned for the final product, but in the meantime, check out the project steps: First, students needed to watch a clip on how to create their watercolor sunset background.  Next, they created their watercolor background using a wet blending and sal