Dreamcatchers

It is half-term! Hooray! This was the last project of our "Road Trip USA" module. We began the lesson by discussing the symbolism and story of dreamcatchers. Next, we looked at a range of examples and talked about creating our own dreamcatcher but with a modern twist. I came across this take on the project and thought it would be perfect for the short amount of time that we had.

Each child was given a paper plate. We folded it in half and cut a semi-circle around the rim of the plate which produces the hoop outline shape of our dreamcatcher. We then used the circle part that was cut out to create our shape for the middle. Children then painted both the shape and the hoop. The following week was spent weaving our dreamcatcher and adding extra decorations like beads and feathers.

Here are some of the results:

Great job, 4B! This has been a fantastic half-term and I'm looking forward to our next topic, "Blue Abyss" where we'll be diving underwater.

DB.

Northern Lights/ Arctic Art

Something slightly different for this project. As the art co-ordinator for the school, other year groups sometimes come to me for advice on projects. Year 6 were looking for some help with their "Frozen" topic and wanted to produce some art featuring the Arctic and also wanted a way to include snippets from their arctic poems. Fortunately, I came across this excellent picture on Arteascuola. It showed numerous methods for achieving polar landscapes such as salt, clingfilm and rice.

The first lesson saw Year 6 explore these methods and others to see which effect they preferred and it also gave them an opportunity to master the technique. The following 1-2 lessons were spent creating their artwork that was based on this and this. I loved both of these pictures and the class was tasked with creating their own polar landscape also featuring the northern lights. Their final job was to add a few words or lines from their arctic poem that they'd created in literacy.

Here are a few examples of their work, I think they've come out beautifully:

(This person actually used the water/paint/clingfilm for the Northern lights!)

Well done Year 6!

DB.

Class art- Native American Headdresses

As soon as I knew this half-term's topic was going to have an art focus on the Native Americans, I knew that at some point this amazing lesson by 'That Artist Woman' was going to be big inspiration.

We toyed with the idea of using photographs of the children themselves but realised after some research that non-Natives wearing these headdresses could be quite offensive. Instead, we decided to use a silhouette for the face which would ensure that the headdress would be the main focus of the artwork.

We began the lesson by researching the importance of the headdress and learnt about how the feathers had to be earned for good deeds and other achievements. Having looked at some other examples, the students were ready to begin their own. They were very excited when they saw what their final product could look like. This activity took roughly two 1-hour slots.

Equipment
- Black mounting paper
- White trimmed A4 paper
- White A5 paper
- Black A5 paper
- A3 paper
- Oil pastels
- Charcoal
- Water colours
- Glue
- Scissors

1. Children took their black A5 paper and followed a guided drawing to create the side-profile of the face. We had more success when using dots to mark the key places and then joining up.

2. Children split their A3 piece of paper into thirds. Each third would use a different medium. On one third, they drew 6-7 feather shapes with charcoal and decorated each feather with a different pattern. On another third, they filled the entire space with bright colours using oil pastels. They were encouraged to do lots of blending! In the final third, children covered the entire space with earthy colours (brown, orange, red, black).

3. To create the feathers, students then cut out their charcoal feathers that they had drawn. For the other two thirds, children turned over their paper and drew 6-7

feather shapes in each third. These were then cut out to reveal beautiful patterns and designs.

4. To create the 'head-band- part of the headdress, students placed their A5 piece of white paper over the silhouette. They could then use the silhouette as a rough guide for the shape and width needed for their band.

5. Once the band was cut out, children could then use water colours to decorate with a pattern.

6. For the medallion, children traced around a cup and then used colouring pencils to decorate with a different pattern. Once the pattern was completed, they then traced the lines in black pen to give a beaded effect.

7. Now it was time to assemble their masterpieces. The trimmed A4 white paper was mounted onto the black paper. The black silhouette was then stuck onto the white paper, making sure enough room was left for the headdress. The feathers were then attached all the way around the back of the head. The 'headband' could then be glued on top and finally, the medallion was stuck on too!

This was a fantastic project and I am delighted with the results. The children were very proud of their work and hard work that went into it. We're going to be presenting this work in 4B's Sharing Assembly next week.

I know I said this recently, but now THIS is my favourite art project completed so far. I'm sure you'll agree that they look stunning up on display!

A huge congratulations, 4B. I keep on being amazed and impressed by your talent.

DB.

Totem Poles!

We just completed one of my favourite art projects of the year. Our current topic is Road Trip USA, which has a particular focus on Native Americans. As the children had enjoyed their totem spoons so much, we decided to go down the totem pole path. During my quest on Pinterest for some totem pole art inspiration, I came across a huge range of amazing ideas. My attention was caught by these 3D totem poles by Ms. Gram and I originally planned to model my lesson around hers. The totem pole presentation that Ms.Gram had put together was very useful and served as a great hook. Unfortunately, some of the thicker posterboard was quite difficult to obtain so I went with a similar lesson to this brilliant idea from Thomas Elementary Art. Not only were the results outstanding, but I thought as a class we could use some extra collage practice so this was ideal.

We learnt about what totem poles were and where they originated. This led to a really interesting discussion about animal symbolism and what sort of animal we would compare ourselves to. Furthermore, we read "Totem Tale" by Deb Vanasse to improve our understanding.

Equipment
List of animals and symbolism
Coloured paper
Scissors
Glue/glue sponges
Objects for drawing shapes (cup for circle etc)

The aim of this project was to select an animal with symbolism that the children felt matched their own personality. They would then need to create a stylised version of this animal using only cut up coloured paper. Once completed, these could be attached one on top of the other to produce a class totem pole.

After looking at the presentation by Ms Gram, we spent the first lesson sketching ideas into our book of stylised animals. It was tricky for the children to only use the page as their animal's entire face/body and resist the urge to draw an outline. This required lots of practice and reinforcement about what stylised means and how this effect can be created.

The children were set homework to choose their animal and produce a coloured sketch of their finished product. The next lesson, children had an hour to turn these sketches into their finished, collage totem pole pieces. I was very impressed with their efficiency!

Here is the rough process:

1. Get your coloured paper ready. We kept our plans nearby for extra help

2. I showed the class how to cut their paper. The first instruction was to fold their paper (not the base paper) in half. We learnt about how to get symmetrical shapes by drawing half of the shape along the fold and cutting it out. We also learnt that if you want two identical shapes you should cut them out away from the fold. They really listened to this carefully!

3. Build up your totem piece. Really focus on layer on layer to create that stylised effect, using the colours well.

4. Add any final additions (like ears!) and you're done.

5. When they're all done you can assemble totem pieces on top of each other to form your totem pole:

I had told the children that it didn't matter if their chosen animal was not present in North America. They could choose any animal as long as they could justify their choice (which is why we have a few monkeys etc!)

Here we are at work with some excellent results:

This was definitely my favourite art project since I joined my school September 2013. I'm so pleased that all students could succeed and be proud of their work, even those who would insist that they 'can't do art!' I'm very excited for our next project which will be based on Native American headdresses.

Once again, super job 4B!

DB.

Native American Totem Spoons and Geese

The potions, lava lamp and plasma ball have all been take away from my classroom and been replaced by a brand new, exciting topic: ROAD TRIP USA. This is set to be a fascinating look into modern day USA with some focus on the Native Americans, also.

We mark the start of each new topic with a memorable experience. In the morning, we watched the amazing film Pocahontas and the afternoon involved a Native American rotation where children spent time in each of the 3 classrooms with a different activity. In one, they were learning about the states and tribes that originated there. In another, they were learning about the Mikmaq tribe's legend of the Wild Goose and they were creating their own totem spoons out of clay in the third.

I came across a picture on Pinterest with a totem spoon and thought it'd be a lovely art lesson to attempt. They learnt that a totem tells a story and the spoon is symbolic of sharing. Due to being pushed for time, children only had about 40 minutes to construct their totem spoon that had to convey something about them. They were painted in another 40 minute session and will be glazed next week.

In another room, the focus was on Mikmaq Geese Migration using this website which is where the great idea came from. We read the legend of the Mikmaq geese and talked about migration and how the geese were in charge of looking after the other bird. Next, we went through a few slides on the board showing how they would construct their piece of art.

To save time, I had pre-cut a rough bird outline onto black card. Children could then choose 2 colours and decorate the goose with cut up pieces of paper to act as feathers. I modelled how to fold paper and then cut to produce more feathers which would save them valuable time! Most of the students followed the guide well but a few went off-tangent but still ended up with a good outcome. Here's how they turned out:

The next post will be to share our work on totem poles. We just finished constructing them yesterday and I am INCREDIBLY proud of how they turned out. The children listened so carefully and put a lot of effort in. I look forward to showing you. Well done 4B!

DB.