5th Grade final portraits

The 5th graders did a phenomenal job on their split face self portraits.  One side represents how they look and the other side represents something of interest to the student.  I think they are stunning.

From Drawing Animation to Realistic -HB

Me 1/2 -JV



-IZ

-PM

My Creativity -LP

How to make a realistic face -KGF

-EL

Me, myself and abstract -DB

It's a Creeper -NJ

RK

Self Portrait -CH

PLAY dough!

My face during playdough making

This year, in addition to teaching 4 classes, I am also running an after school art club called the Community Art Team (C.A.T.).  C.A.T. is made up of 5 to 8th graders who work on independent art making as well as special skill building. For a fun kick off, we made play dough using a simple recipe I found online:

1/2 cup of salt

1/2 cup of water (I used a little less)



1 cup of flour
oil, as needed (I used about a tablespoon of canola)
food dye (for color)

It was so much fun! The entire 2 hours were filled with kids showing me mixing bowls with sloshy watery goop, crumbly floury dreck, and few great successes where the mixture was perfect.  We mixed and mixed until we used up all of the ingredients and I was so busy I didn't get to take a single picture of what my students made.  It was a blast!  We also were able to use natural food dye which was donated (free!!) by a friend at Whole Foods.  The natural dye produced muted colors but it did not color our hands and washed off our bodies and clothes.  Thank you Whole Foods!

One note for other middle school teachers, the students needed more help measuring than I anticipated.  Next time, I would definitely make a more clear station for each ingredient so that each student gets the correct amount and we do not waste any materials. Definitely a fun activity!

Works in Progress

About half of 8th grade students are making fantastic tessellation designs.  I'm hoping these examples inspire the rest of the 8th grade to get on board!  Here are some works in progress

On Display

My work was featured on the Phillips Collection Blog this week!

Here is the link if you want to leave me a note:

http://blog.phillipscollection.org/2012/09/19/staff-show-2012-ellen-stedtefeld/

It is always nerve wracking showing art in public (especially work that has a personal connection)  and I definitely appreciate all the positive feedback I've been getting.  This link was leaked by a friend at work to my boss who rallied the entire school to show their support which is overwhelming!

Additionally, I stopped by the Phillips Collection this morning to lead a permanent collection tour.  While there, I noticed not only in the Ryder Dead Bird on display currently but there is an entire gallery of Morris Graves works featuring bird imagery on display as well.

My next tour is next Sunday and then I will take a break until late October.   The staff show comes down October 9th.  The official reception for the Staff Show is next Thursday.

Congrats to Free Minds!

Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop was honored last week with the Mayor's Art Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education!  Congrats Free Minds you deserve it!

Next Tuesday will be our next Free Minds Volunteer Write Night. If you are a blog reader in the DC area, you should come!

SCRAP DC

I made my first visit to SCRAP DC this weekend.  My 5th grade students are going to begin an identity assemblage in the next few weeks and I thought I would pick up some fun extras at SCRAP to jazz up their artworks.  It was a great experience.

SCRAP is located at 52 O St NW as part of the O St Studios (which I'll save for a whole other blog post).  The idea is that people can donate items to SCRAP, then teachers, crafters, hoarders, whomever, may come in and purchase materials for a low price.  It has kind of odd hours so I would check the website if you are trying to go.

What I picked up: stencils, maps, stationary, wallpaper samples, calendar pages, beads, pom poms, corks, buttons, yarn, reams of tracing paper, foam shapes, the list goes on and on....

Be inspired

One of my classroom walls is dedicated to things that inspire us.  I never asked for their work, my students just started bringing me artworks they made at home or in other classes to fill up my wall. 

 

Tessellations

8th grade needs some inspiration for their tessellation design unit.  I'm making an exemplar to give them some idea how beautiful and creative a tessellation can be.  I had a lot of fun making these frogs but looking back on it, I wish I would have chosen wild colors!

Grows and Glows

This week in 5th and 6th grade, we began critiquing our drawings so that we can begin our final drafts.  When asked to define critique, students offered up the phrases "friendly advice," "kind and specific help" and "helping each other be better"  all of which I thought were great.

For our first critique, we did a silent gallery walk and wrote down 'Grows' (denoted on some as a ' - ' symbol) which are areas that the artist needs to grow, work on, or revise and 'Glows' (indicated by a '+' on some artworks) which are areas that are successful or done well.  Every student had to write down a kind and specific glow and a grow for three different artworks.  Students were also asked to behave respectfully when looking at another student's artwork. 

Here are a few grows and glows from 5th and 6th.  Not too bad for a first critique.

 

An arty weekend

This weekend was filled with arty moments:



I went to the Phillips Collection to see my art on display.  I met some hilarious  patrons (while my friend and I were trying to take this picture no less) who had nothing but kind words for me about my art.  Thank you strangers! You made my day.

My art will be at the Phillips Collection in the 2012 James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show until October 9th. 








While at the Phillips, after 3 years of employment, I finally picked up my own copy of The Eye of Duncan Phillips.  I'm very excited to have my own copy. This is now my second favorite art book in my personal library as nothing will ever surpass the fabulous Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali, which I bought while working at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

 

On Sunday, I visited the Adams Morgan Street festival where I finally met one of my favorite local artists Matt Sesow.  I bought four of his small paintings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week in pictures

A 'work in progress' artwork from each grade level.

SK

J-L M

JL

SU

Kudos to 8th grade

My 8th graders had a great debate on the topic 'what is art?' 

I posed a set of 4 or 5 questions based on 'controversial' artworks to get them thinking about what they believe makes something a work of art.  We started by looking at Andy Warhol's brillo box and tried to figure out why someone might consider it a work of art.  We also considered if we agree that is a work of art or if we think it might not be. 

After thinking through some tough questions, table groups come up with their own definitions of 'art' and give examples and non-examples.  The groups then share out and must defend their definitions and explain their choices for their examples and non-examples.

I was amazed how well this worked with 8th graders- I heard some amazing points being passionately debated!

If you are interested in a more complete lesson (including the powerpoint I use), leave me a comment and I'll email it to you.

Setting Goals

After giving a course overview, looking at objectives and finished products, students set goals for themselves. I allowed students to choose a goal related either to art production or to their classroom performance I did a very simple goal sheet as an exit ticket which we shared and will post in our room.  Here are two 6th grade examples (with names strategically left off for sharing online).

Too much fun?

 My 5th and 6th graders played a version of the Surrealist game "Exquisite Corpse" (although we did not call it that!).  It was a blind collaborative effort where each students contributed part of a character's body but did not know what the previous section(s) looked like.  The purpose was to bond each table group and after we made the drawings we reflected on how we need to communicate and work with each other in the class to be successful artists.  They definitely enjoyed it, maybe a little too much.

 

RESPECT

I have only one rule in my art studio: RESPECT.

In table groups, we analyzed who and what we show respect to in the art studio  (teacher, classmates, ourselves, studio space, & art materials), generated a list of respectful behaviors, and illustrated what those behaviors look like. I am compiling each classes' ideas into a poster in the front of the room.  Another good beginning of the school year activity that builds student buy-in and gives specific behaviors to model (or avoid).

One group's poster

 

First day

I keep hearing the question "what do you do on the first day of school?"  On the first day, like most teachers, I divide my time between introducing procedures and getting to know my students.  This year, I opted to do a 4 part mini portrait as part of the get to know you segment.  The directions are as follows:

Fold a piece of paper into 4 equal squares and label each section with a number 1,2,3, and 4.
In section 1, write your name in a creative way
In section 2, draw a picture to represent your favorite subject
In section 3, draw a picture to represent what you like to do outside of school hours
In section 4, draw a picture that represents a person who is important to you and label it ( this picture does not have to be a portrait of the person, can be a symbol or object that represents the person).

I followed this up with a few reflection questions: Was there any square that was easy to draw or that you enjoyed drawing?  Was there any square that was difficult for you to draw or you did not enjoy drawing? Why do you think I choose this artwork for the first day of school.

It was easy and got great results! This artwork let know my students personally and also informed me of their strengths and weaknesses as artists.  I also appreciate that it allows me to authentically share a little about myself with my students.

Here is my example followed by some 5th grade student samples (my apologies if the pencil is a little too light):

 

What do you think? What do you or would you do on the first day of school? How would you complete your artwork if this was your assignment?

 

The first 3 quarters

The first 3 quarters I will see all of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.  I planned 4 different courses, one for each grade level, based on expeditions for their grade level.  The basic projects are a follows:

5th Grade: Self Portraits
-Drawn self portrait
-Assemblage personality box
-Printmaking personal logo stamp

6th Grade: Human Figure
-Drawn Human Figure
-Ink painted figure
-Wire sculpture

7th Grade: Storytelling
-Railroad board and permanent markers graphic novel page

8th Grade: Math Intersections
-Marker Tessellations
-Photographing Rule of Thirds
-Original pastel landscape composition

Sounds fun right?  Which class would you most like to take?  Expect pictures of successful projects as the year goes on.