Orca Leaping

Robots

2-D paper Robots, 3-D recycle Robots

Audubon Bird Project

Audubon Day- Introduction to famous American based artist, explorer and naturalist John James Audubon. How did he live and work? Observation and Imagination.

Bird sketches-studying class resources, handouts, and print reproductions create a bird sketchbook, pencil & sketch paper. Looking closely, details, contour lines, anatomy, using art/science vocabulary.
Science/Art connection  

Audubon inspired bird prints-Student select bird drawing from their portfolio to create as a limited run series of print. Transfer image to soft plate using a wooden stylist. Model printing process. Small groups pull prints, sign artist proof, refine and make individual paper and ink color choices. Reflect on images.
Engineering/Art connection observe imagine process product

Bear

Egg Day

Dem Bones

Leg bone connected to the hip bone...
Working with a pre printed skeleton, students cut and assembled the
form and added Day of the Dead details.

5th grade Up Up and Away

Connecting to classroom Science standards and building on VAPA standards regarding student understanding of a Landscape, this mixed media project offers lots of creative expression within a structured step by step framework. 3 Part project...

Relief Mountain collage

This new project allows students to build texture and interest with tissue paper and then highlight their image and add details with watercolor paints and watercolor pencils . Very well received and positive results.
Connects well to 5th and 6th earth science standards. Also builds on understanding of a landscape, foreground, middle ground and background.

Recycle Cherry Blossoms

It is blossom time here in Sacramento the perfect time for this great hands on painting/stamping activity. Connecting to Science Standards of plant growth cycles and revisiting seasons/weather we look at tree images in art that reflected a variety of styles and seasons (Impressionistic-Realistic). What is a blossom.

Hands on process. Large white paper with names-I modeled each step.
Using blank/expired Starbucks cards and black tempera paint students made branch marks on white paper working from a long diagonal line and adding side branches.

Stop remove black paint and cards. Small trays of tempera paint with pink, white and yellow paint were distributed along with a variety of small and med bottle caps, tiny wooden sticks and old yellow pencils/erasers. These tools were used to add the blossom details to each branch. Some blossoms could be falling or blowing in the wind. Best to limit the time for this step to help students self edit.

The result over 60 snapshots of spring and lots of smiles...in less than 50 minutes!

Meet Mr. Bones

This two part project blends Science and Art. What does a skeleton look like? How many bones are in an adult human skeleton? What is the biggest bone in the human body? What is the smallest bone in the human body? Using imagination and observation, discussion and hands on direct drawing students are introduced to the marvels of the human skeleton.

Drawing Mr. Bones:
We fold the pre-cut long black construction paper in half. Using white color pencils, white charcoal pencil or white crayon, students draw a skull at the top, pelvic bone on the fold line and two feet at the bottom. Now the job is to connect these parts. Using red light green light/direct drawing we build our Mr. Bones together step by step. Here are a few examples of the end results. I also send home a skeleton information hand out so that the artists can continue their studies.

Mr. Bones Observed