Cubism results

Here are just a few completed cubist paintings. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Friday was a big day at Ballou. It was a half day, the Friday before Halloween, and homecoming! During the half day, I only had 30 minutes with each class so I improvised a lesson using a silkscreened cardboard "Headlines" that I received from the National Gallery of Art. The headlines were inspired by Andy Warhol's headline series which are currently on view at the NGA. They came up with some creative Halloween inspired headlines. Unfortunately not everyone finished so we'll have to complete them this upcoming week.

Painted Cubist Collage

The students learned about Picasso this week (I had to stifle a laugh when I heard a student call him "P-costco") and tried their hands at creating a painted cubist collage. First, the students chose an object to draw from 4 different points of view then painted the objects using tints and values of a single color. Lastly, they cut out the painted objects and collaged them onto a painted background. Above you can see the different steps the students took: final cubist painting of a bird, painted tea kettle, and a coffee mug drawn from 4 different angles.

I love art PD

I LOVE DCPS art pd days! They are a great opportunity to learn from each other and learn new skills. At the first PD, I learned how to create a blog to document my teaching experiences and at the second, we had a full day learning about museum programs available to us as educators. Each museum had a booth and we were able to learn information from them and also make sample artworks. The pictures above are from the National Gallery table where I created a headline inspired by Andy Warhol (and scored the leftover 'headlines' materials!) and the Corcoran where I created an artwork based on text. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Research & Writing

Ballou is pushing literacy this year. In addition to making art, our students are also writing a research paper on the life and work of an influential artist. While most students chose historically significant artists, a few in my class chose DC artist Tim Conlon as a subject. The students emailed him a list of interesting questions asking about everything from his childhood to his goals for the future. The students were thrilled when they received responses directly from him and he seemed excited as well stating:"These are actually great questions and better than some I've gotten from reporters doing interviews in DC!" The painting at the top of the post is an example of Conlon's work. This particular artwork was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in 2008, at that time, I worked there as a gallery educator.

More still lifes

Sometimes good art takes extra time to produce. The last of the fractured still lifes were finished during lunch and after school today. This week we are combining our collage and painting skills to create cubist compositions inspired by Picasso.

Phillips

Aside from teaching at Ballou, I work as a gallery educator at the Phillips Collection. This past week, I gave two spotlight lectures on Degas' Dancers at the Barre and one tour of the permanent collection. I also have two artworks in the staff show that I created as a response to my work at the Incarcerated Youth Program, the DCPS school I worked at as a first year teacher. It was amazing and nerve wracking to see my own artwork on the wall of the Phillips. Although the picture of me with Renior's Luncheon of the Boating Party turned out blurry, I think it is a fitting look for a photo with an impressionist artwork.

Finished and posted!

Fractured still life paintings were finished last week and posted in the 9th grade hallway. We are excited to be able to show so much artwork around the building this year.

Progress

Our fractured still life paintings should be finished by tomorrow. Here is a sample of one in the process of being made from Goudas' class.

Still life objects

Still life paintings are coming! Here is a selection of objects from Goudas' room.

Do you want to B-FAT?

The Ballou Fine Arts Team launched today! B-FAT is dedicated to beautifying the community and school. We had several students sign up today and will have our first official meeting next week. Check out Goudas holding down our sign in table at parent teacher conference day,

Painting has started...

We starting painting last week-- first they learned the basics of color mixing by creating color wheels and now they are working to complete a fractured still life. More on that as they finish up this week.

Collages

This year we experiemented with a new type of collage. Students first created 3 small artworks in watercolor, marker, and magazine cut outs that expressed different aspects of their identity. Students the cut each artwork and combined them into one creative composition. We had some fanatastic results. Each collage communicates a personal message about the artist. Enjoy!

Our first field trip!

We went on our first field trip sponsored by the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It was an incredible experience! The students learned about art careers, saw an exhibit of the artist BK Adams, viewed the archives and storage areas of ACM, experienced the artlab, toured the Color Forms exhibit, and watched conservators repair artworks. It was an amazing experience to watch the students (many who have never been to an art museum) become comfortable in the space and share their opinions on different works of art.

Art around Ballou

We have been pushing to put more art around Ballou. We have succeeded in acquiring two bulletin boards in the main hallway and several on the 9th grade floor. We hope to have more! In addition, we take on special projects (back to school night, main office bulletin) by request. Here's a sample of what we've been up to.

Lady Gaga @ Ballou

While Lady Gaga herself was not able to come to Ballou, students recreated her using gridded drawing techniques. Students created realistic celebrity portraits in pencil by looking at a photograph of a celebrity with a grid superimposed on it. This is one of my favorite projects as the students are completely engrossed on recreating their favorite celebrities and they keep my knowledge of pop culture fresh!

Beginning portraiture

After learning how to use value to create highlights and shadows on simple objects, I introduced students to portraiture. I show them the photorealistic works of Chuck Close who uses a simple grid technique to achieve astonishing realism. Drawing the grid is often the hardest part for students, but as you can see in the artwork below, recreating their favorite celebrity is fun challenge!

Value Study

Students practiced creating different values using pencil. They were able to achieve a range of lights and darks which they then applied to a drawing of a sphere.

What we have been up to

This year, art & culture began with a drawing unit. Students created original shoe designs by first drawing a shoe from observation using a sharpie marker then creating interesting designs and patterns using marker in the background to draw attention to the shoe. Some of our favorites were displayed in the hallway art gallery. Check out the 'gallery' page for more great shoes!