Active Notebooks and Cultural Rubrics

Hi readers!

An active notebook is sort of like a scrap book. We will be placing all of our notes, examples, vocabulary, and other things in the notebooks, like a regular notebook. The difference is that an active notebook is nicer to look at :-) because it involves art!

On every "Notes" page will include the name of the culture, the time the art was made, the name of the style, an example, and any vocabulary you didn't understand. You will underline or hi-lite important information. You will notice that the underlined parts tell you:

• How the art was made
• What the artists used 
• Why the art was made
• and the traditional colors

These are things that really count in art history. We will be comparing these things all year with each culture. 

Other things that can go in an active worksheet are rubrics and hang-outs, especially with information that might be handy on a test. Our first one looks like this:

and as you can see, it is a graphic organizer that lets you see at a glance how Vincent Van Gogh compares to Australian Aboriginal artists.
I think it will be more fun to make our notebooks this way. What do you think?

The First Project of the New School Year

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back! I hope you all have your sketchbooks ready for a new year of drawing :-)

I've decided on a new goal this year: Posting a new artist, a picture of his/her face, and a work of art that we should all know. This first entry is poor, sad Vincent. He was born in the Netherlands in 1853, and died in France in 1890. Vincent was inspired mostly by nature, though he also painted many self-portraits. His work is characterised by bright colors and bold, swirling brushstrokes. Vincent is considered a Post-Impressionist painter...that means he came after Impressionism, with its soft colors and blurry images.

Have you guessed who he is?

Follow this link to see the answer, plus a self-portrait and a famous example!


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tXpHTHt4-MipGw4hEBQ06Of6kcbKenvp-eA5w_c23GQ/edit?
usp=sharing

Were you right? Let me know!

Mural Project 2013

Nola's Dog House

We call this "The Owl Tree"...you will see why

Tucker's Island Lighthouse

Some of my talented 6th grade students are hard at work on a new mural project. One section of the hallway is being converted into a waiting room for the Child Study Team. Our theme here is "Nola's Back Yard". Nola is the school's Therapy Dog, and the subject of several books by her owner,  Mrs. Rice.

You can see here how we taped out the project before painting.






Here the girls are beginning the careful task of outlining and shading leaves.











This section of the wall is inspired by the famous New Jersey artist, Cathleen Englesen. We are depicting the old Tucker's Island Lighthouse. Holgate will be painting behind it, and Great Bay in the foreground.

Building Castles

When you build something, the first steps are to learn about the architectural requirements of the type of building you are making. We learned that castles need walls,  a keep,and some sort of entrance. We learned about watchtowers and moats, too. Next, our groups created a blueprint such a the one above.

Building the Keep

Walls and a freestanding Watchtower

Here you can see the outlines of a castle complex. 

Busily at work!

Our last step was to try to build the project using recycled objects!

Egyptian Project Grade 6 List of Ideas

Here is a list of topics we brainstormed for this project:

• Hieroglyphics
• pyramids
• temples 
• paintings
• sculptures
• gods and goddesses
• Tut
• Cleopatra
• weapons
• jewelry
• clothing
• Sphinx

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful to have a home to live in and food to eat. Not all of our friends and neighbors have been so lucky post-Sandy. One of the symbols of Thanksgiving is the Cornucopia, which means "Horn of Plenty". The cornucopia symbol goes all the way back to the ancient Romans. It was a way of expressing thanks for a good harvest. I think it is interesting how we use it to mean almost the same thing. To me, this symbol also reminds me to share with those who are in need. What does a cornucopia mean to you?

The Earth without Art

My Aunt sent me this picture. She found it in a magazine. I love how it reminds us that art is everywhere!