Pre-Spring Break Fun!!

Who says that all of the fun has to wait until the end of school on the Friday of Spring Break week?! I just had to share these guys... I ordered a bunch of air dry clay (don't judge; I'm pregnant and taking a break from kiln firings) to create percussion pods, as suggested in a lesson plan promoting specific materials and brands; lesson learned! I realized after many trial runs that the materials just didn't jive to create percussion pods. SO, what do we do with prepped clay balls and some extra wire?! We make birds! We got out a bunch of bird images (many of the 4th graders have been raising chickens in their classroom so their inspiration was fresh) and had some great discussions on the many different ways we could sculpt birds as well as consideration of balance and materials for the final project. Today our first class added wire into the birds and I was BLOWN away! These amazing little artists problem-solved and figured out wire solutions after a very simple and quick demonstration. As you can see, some students chose to balance birds on feet and some chose to balance birds on their bottoms with decorative legs coming off the front. I cannot WAIT to see them painted!!

5th Grade STEAM Wire Art!

We had a blast with this one! Can't you tell? The 5th graders really did an outstanding job with this project... their sculptural, engineering, creativity and problem-solving skills were on full display! We got to use some familiar tools and some new tools; we enjoyed them all! At the conclusion of the production portion of this project, we did a self-critique and then a "traveling Post-it note critique" where the artists got to leave feedback to one another. When asked about doing more "traveling Post-it note critiques" the response was an overwhelming "YES PLEASE!" Looks like we'll be investing in a lot more Post-it notes!

Whooooo is excited about Fall??

WooooHoooooo! It's my favorite time of year! Apparently the kiddos are pretty excited too, as you can see in the sweet Fall owls. We got busy with the sponges, matboard, toilet paper rolls (yes, we are all about reusing), Q-tips, scissors, paint and construction paper to create these delightful owls. We finished these up right after testing with 3rd grade and it was the perfect testing relief! Enjoy!!

Art Show!!

It's my favorite night of the year!! Evening in the Garden is such a special night at our wonderful school. Ouside, the talent and hard work of our students can be seen in our school wide musical as well as the hard work and dedication that have gone into our beautiful gardens and grounds. Inside in the gym (in the air condition!), it's amazing to see all of the hard work and talent of our Ford artists on display all together for one night at the art show! The artists have each selected one piece of artwork which they are most proud of to be on display in the gym during our Evening in the Garden. The FRAMES will be on sale this evening (not the artwork inside of the frame; any unsold frames will be unloaded and the artwork returned to each student) and will benefit the art program as well as the Ford PTSA. The cost of the frames is $25 for the first frame and $20 for each additional frame. We hope to see you there! It is breathtaking to see each piece that was carefully selected by each little Ford artist!

Baby, it's still cold outside, but we're warming up the art room with Spring flowers!!

You'll get more information closer to time for the art show at which many of these amazing works will be displayed, but I thought I would go ahead and warm you up in this cold weather with some amazing flowers from our 3rd grade (Georgia O'Keefe inspired) and Kindergarten (wet-on-wet watercolor technique) artists!

Square One Time!!

I know that all of the fundraisers can seem endless, and here's another one. This one is very special to our art program at Ford as it is the fundraiser we depend on for almost all of our materials for the entire year (that's clay, paint, ink, wire, paper, tools, pastels, art pencils, paintbrushes, foam, markers, specialty glue, glass, etc, etc, etc). We do a LOT of different projects with a variety of mediums and it definitely costs more than the run-of-the-mill paper and pencil projects. And the cool thing about this one is that each child's artwork can come printed on a variety of items (including an iPad cover new this year)! Orders need to be completed THIS week, so make sure to get yours in. These items make FABULOUS grandparent gifts, too!

Cute Coaster! Imagine how a set of these would light up a coffee table!

Artists hard at work!

Adorable Pastel Resist Leaf from a Second Grade Artist!

Grades Grades Grades...

It's almost that time. Yes, THAT time. Grade time. Grades are changing up this year for 4th and 5th grades. Instead of our O,S and N grades, students will be graded with A, B, C, D or F. Kindergarten through 3rd grades will stay the same. We will be doing a lot more self-reflection and critiquing, which I am looking forward to! Below are the rubrics for 4th and 5th grades for the first 9 weeks of school. Below that is a beautiful blind-contour Coke bottle with Flower created with artist pen and tempera by one of our fabulous 4th grade artists (I had to put a happy photo in a post about grades!)...

		Grade 4   1st  9 weeks Teacher Rubric
Standards:	A		B	C	D	F
Creates artwork based on experiences and selected themes using a variety of media and technique VA4PR.1, 2, 3	Creates successful artwork through an understanding of art elements and principles.		Creates artwork through an understanding of art elements and principles.	Creates artwork through an understanding of art elements OR principles.	Rarely creates artwork through an understanding of art elements OR principles.	Does not create artwork and does not show an understanding of art elements OR principles.
Explores and critiques art through personal, interdisciplinary and/or real world applications VA4AR.2 VA4CU.1, 2 VA4C. 1	Explores the importance of the critique process through active engagement.		Explores the importance of the critique process with assistance.	Explores some important elements of the critique process with assistance.	Rarely explores any elements of the critique process.	Does not explore the critique process.
Actively plans for the creation of artwork VA4MC.1, 2	Demonstrates active and detailed planning throughout the entire creative process		Demonstrates active and detailed planning for the preliminary creation of artworks	Demonstrates some planning for the creation of an artwork	Demonstrates minimal planning for the creation of an artwork	No evidence of planning

		Grade 5   1st  9 weeks Teacher Rubric
Standards:	A		B	C	D	F
Creates artwork based on experiences and selected themes using a variety of media and technique emphasizing individual expression. VA5PR.1,2,3	Creates and demonstrates successful use of art elements and principles emphasizing self-exploration.		Creates and demonstrates use of art elements and principles emphasizing self-exploration.	Creates and demonstrates use of art elements OR principles emphasizing self-exploration.	Rarely creates and demonstrates use of art elements OR principles emphasizing self-exploration.	Does not create OR demonstrate use of art elements and principles through self-exploration.
Explores and critiques art through personal, interdisciplinary and/or real world applications in order to convey and communicate meaning VA5C.1 VA5MC.3 VA5AR.2 VA5CU.1,2	Explores individually the importance of the critique process through active engagement.		Explores individually the importance of the critique process with assistance.	Explores individually some important elements of the critique process with assistance.	Rarely explores individually any elements of the critique process.	Does not explore individually the critique process.
Actively plans for the creation of artwork using explorative methods VA5MC.1,2	Demonstrates active and detailed planning throughout the entire creative process with emphasis on creativity		Demonstrates active and detailed planning for the preliminary creation of artworks with emphasis on creativity	Demonstrates some planning for the creation of an artwork with emphasis on creativity	Demonstrates minimal planning for the creation of an artwork with emphasis on creativity	No evidence of planning