Showing posts with label art teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art teacher. Show all posts

Sunday, December 9, 2018

What the Art Teacher Wore, Double Dose Edition!

Hey, friends! Feeling as frazzled and flakey as I am?! Super duper! It would appear that I've lost my ever-lovin' mind (along with my students...yeah, I see you outta your seat totally off task, tip-toeing over to your friend's table). I've also managed to lose the following recently: my house key, my car keys, my To Do list, my cup of coffee (I regularly leave one in the copy room, the microwave and on the hood of my car) and my sanity. Yay! It's the most craziest time...of the year! 
 Me, every.single.day.

In other news, I've got two weeks of What the Art Teacher Wore's to share with ya. So grab a drink (I don't care what, I'm not here to judge) and let's commiserate on just how bonkers this time of year is! 

Also...if retail therapy is your thing, as it is mine, my sweater is from Michaels!
Despite the insanity, the show must go on...and on it is on my art room. We finally wrapped up all of our Artome Art Show work this week (holy smokes! We've had so many interruptions to our schedule that it literally took a lifetime to complete those bad boys! If you are interested in seeing what artwork my students create for this fundraiser, hop over here). In the meantime, wearing these tacky Christmas sweaters with tights are my new favorite and snuggly thing. I scored this sweater last year at Target and the tights were a Christmas present last year from a student.
I have been planning like crazy the lessons for the next couple of weeks. I want to create projects that will keep my kiddo's attention to the very end. This is one I'm working on with my fourth grade students and they are REALLY excited (which says a lot...they are a bunch that does not excite easily, le sigh). I'll share the lesson with you soon...this is just a sneak peak. More views on my Instagram, if you are interested! 
Tennessee doesn't really get much of a winter...so it's been kinda strange to actually have days that don't get above 30 degrees! I'm from Indiana where we do have this thing called winter...but having lived here for 20 years, I've forgotten how to dress for the cold. Thankfully my Mondrian coat is a warm thing for these cold days!
Tis the season to bust out all the tacky sweaters. ALL OF THEM. Even the homemade ones that itch like crazy around the neck! 
Well, after Thanksgiving, our art room elf, Esmeralda, always makes an appearance. This year as been no different. This time, she's gotten our new art room addition, Ricky Rainbows, in on the mix! Ricky was created by the artist Jennifer Strunge and he's just the cutest thing. 
Okay, here's something I'm not ashamed to admit: I have more tree skirts turned lady skirts than I have days to wear them! Seriously, how did this happen?! I know...because they are the easiest thing to make! I have found that Big Lots has the best tree skirts for this: they are inexpensive and long. And tacky...which is a requirement. Here's how to make your skirt! Y'all might remember that this summer, I caught a similar bug when I bought 6 round beach towels from Walmart and made them into circle skirts too
So for that snow globe lesson I mentioned above? My fourth graders are using 14" cardboard pizza rounds for the globe. Each kiddo had to spend the first 7 minutes of makin' time creating a minimum of 2 idea sketches before tacklin' their glove. My new favorite thing right now is having my students create idea paintings/media sketches to get their wheels turning. We've always done sketches...but not with paint or chalk or whatever. This is new and I'm loving it. Like I said, more to come!
Don't hate...just appreciate. Found 'em one year at Marshall's and they are pretty much the best thing ever. 
Ah! Friday! This dress is from Meijer and I promise you it appeared much longer on the hanger...ahem.
Kindergarten and first grade have been spending a lot of time painting themselves into dizzy spirals. This has been quite the learning curve for them. Like, literally. Painting such fine lines requires a lot of brush skill and patience. Something we covered A LOT while spending two 30 minute art classes on these beauties.
So, I plan my outfits out on Sundays...do you do this? I started last year and I love it! It really saves me so much time in the mornings.
I'm pretty much living in these tights...please don't judge. Made this dress about four years ago! LOVE the faux fur neckline. 
That third grade lesson I shared earlier this week? LOOK!! I'm in love with the results. More details on how we finished these in a follow up blog post! 
My friend Cheryl loves Christmas ensembles as much as I do! When she walked into art class, all the kindergarten started singing Rudolph and it was the cutest thing ever!
Lately, my early finishers have been diving in to the next phase of the lesson with sketches. My first graders, when finished painting their spirals, started drawing penguins, first on dry erase boards, then on paper, as practice for their big paintings to come later. 
Walmart, men's section, y'all. I had to. I mean, CHRISTMAS AND CATS?! YES.
With the help of a super mom, we got all the Artome artwork organized, labeled, glued, packed and shipped! Yippie! I cannot wait for the show!
So those boots? I'm pretty much living in them. Dress was made by me (with lights in the hem!) several years ago. 
Big ole bingo dauber penguins by first grade, y'all! Next up, we paint and cut these out to add to our spiral paintings! I'll keep you posted. 
 And that's a wrap! Like, literally, if you take a look at my skirt. The rest of the weekend, was Christmas Craft Nightin', hiking, sleepin' and tickin' off my To Do list. Happy Sunday, y'all! 

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Monday, November 26, 2018

In the Art Room: Fourth Grade Fauves!

I just wrapped up a super fun and VERY COLORFUL Fauve-inspired self-portrait lesson with my fourth grade kiddos. This lesson included so many things: drawing a cartoon or caricature version of ourselves, using chalk pastel in an unusual way, creating pattern and design with oil pastel for a watercolor resist. It was mixed-media to the max with beautiful results. Here's a quickie lesson I put together just for you and your kiddos:
Lemme just say this: I DO NOT enjoy teaching self-portrait drawing to my older kids. They are so stinkin' hard on them selves that it is painful to watch. We will do a more in depth selfie drawing later this year (if time allows) but for now, this was a fun way to ease in to it. These works of art will be featured in our Artome Art Show and therefore have to be 9" X 12"...I really think this would be a great lesson on a bigger scale as the kids could achieve more detail. 
 Normally, my lesson for fourth grade and Artome is this Romero Britto one. While I love that lesson, it does take forever. Also...I have a group of kiddos this year that would just be frustrated with that lesson. I decided to create a lesson based around their interests (working big and bold!) and their attention span (I know my people, what can I say) and this proved to be it. Each kiddo was super proud and successful. 
 Day One: Each kiddo had a bingo dauber filled with slightly diluted India ink. After doing some quiet sketching for the first five minutes, we gathered and chatted about creating simple selfies on our paper. Because of the large line of the dauber and the small size of the paper, the kids learned quickly that they had to work big and without tiny details. They also were not to use pencil first but to just GO FOR IT. I only had one rule: YOU CAN MAKE AS MANY AS YOU LIKE...but if you start a selfie, even if you think it is a "mess up", you must finish it. Each kid ended up with between 3- 5 to choose from for the next class. Extras will be used in upcoming projects. 
The following art class, we started using chalk and "elephant snot" or liquid starch. I get my Sta-Flo liquid starch from Walmart. The best chalk pastels I have found are made by Faber-Castell. The colors are just so bright!
Day Two: Chalk and starch those bad boys! If they finished one, many kids asked to work on their other drawings. I was totes cool with that!
Day Three: Create a background! Using our Sargent bright oil pastels, we drew patterns all over the background of our selfies. Then we used liquid watercolor over that. Each is just as beautiful as the next! I cannot wait to see these at our art show. Will keep you posted on what the other kiddos are creating!
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Greg Mike LOUD MOUTH-Inspired Lesson

Hey, friends! I feel like it's been forever since I chatted with y'all...we currently have no internet at my house (long boring story that we hope to remedy soon!) which means I've not been able to share with you. So I'm staying late this afternoon to post a recent lesson I created for my students (this is actually a sub video! My sub and the kids LOVED it!). 

I was inspired by a lesson that Mr. DeWilde shared on his blog. In fact, you can purchase his lesson plan (which is different than mine and, honestly, probably better!) over on his page. DO IT. I saw his kid's projects on Instagram and immediately knew my kids would love doing it! So here's my version...feel free to use in your art teacherin' world:
My sub and the kids did a great job with this! They created their sketches first and then started creating. Most did not finish...which means that next week, they will be wrapping up their big mouth's with me before heading off on Thanksgiving Break!
Leaving videos for my sub that s/he is able to use with ALL grades is one of my most favorite things ever. It means one lesson for them to remember, one set of art supplies, one easy day! I have a TON of sub lessons on my blog and my YouTube channel...you are more than welcome to use in your art teacherin' world. Have a great week, y'all!
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Sunday, October 21, 2018

Art Teacherin' 101: Thoughts on Guided Drawing

 I often times feel like there are these notions in art education that you have to pick a side. TAB vs. not TAB. Project-Based vs. Non-Project Based. Guided Drawing vs. Guided-Drawing-is-the-Devil.

Here's why I HATE when I'm forced to feel like I have to pick a side. 

1. It pits art teachers against one another. 

Look, everyone's end goal as an art teacher (at least I hope) is for our children to realize the power of their imagination and creativity. It can boost their self-confidence, give them mental strength and allow them to see all of their creative potential! How we, as teachers, get our students to that point, varies. We are all in different situations, with different schedules and different standards and curriculum. What might work swimmingly for me and my diverse students, may not work well for another in their setting. Does that make them wrong? Does that mean they are doing their students a disservice? Something tells me that if an art teacher is giving it their very best...not their most perfect because that's just unattainable, but THEIR very best...than isn't that enough? Should we really beat them up if their best looks different than ours?

2. It paints a black and white picture of art education...in our beautifully colorful world. 

How we teach art is not black and white. You don't have to pick a team or a side. I like to think of all the wonderful ideas on art education as tools in my toolbox. When I use a variety of tools: guided drawing, open studio, center time, project-based, etc., I notice that I'm able to reach ALL of my learners. If I only used one tool in my toolbox, like guided drawing, for example, then my students would only become good at following by example. There's only value in that type of learning if we combine it with other types. This allows our students to see the importance of what they are learning and how they can apply it to their creative life inside and out of the art room. 

With that in mind, I really feel like Guided Drawing gets a bad wrap. I use guided drawing as a tool in my toolbox with MANY other tools. Here's why I value guided drawing and how my students enjoy it with success, confidence and happiness.
So, what are your thoughts on guided drawing? Or any other method of art teacherin'? I've been teaching art for 20 years. For new teachers, I can only imagine how confusing and difficult it must be to hear all of this art edu-jargon. Just know that if you feel you are trying your hardest and your students are responding, you are doing alright. Trust me...your students aren't going to remember some fancy edu-jargon...they are going to remember that you loved on them, created with them and encouraged them every step of the way. And, fingers crossed and knock on wood, that will be enough to have them realize the power of their own creative potential. 
If you are interested in seeing more of my guided drawing lessons, you can use the search bar on this blog...or you can check them out below!
Heather Galler Flowers!
Many of my guided drawing lessons are VERY open ended so the kids can really explore with confidence.
There are MANY MORE lessons on my YouTube channel if you'd like to check them out! 
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Sunday, October 14, 2018

What the Art Teacher Wore #208

 This past week was our book fair and to celebrate, we had dress up days! The theme of the book fair was Enchanted Forrest and our first day was to dress in red and white for a mushroom theme. Y'all know I totally had a dress for that, right? I cannot believe I stitched it up way back in 2012! It was the one and only keyhole dress I've made. That Michael Miller gnome fabric is still my fave. Details here. 
Just a little clip of me turning my kindergarten into color mixing wizards. No bid deal.
Do y'all remember that PD I lead at the start of the school year for the faculty and staff at my school? We created a piece that stated our "why we are here". Well, my FAVORITE FUNDRAISER Artome Art Shows was kind enough to donate frames for each one of these WHY's. They now hang outside of each teacher's classroom and look simply stunning. 
 Aside from dress up days, we had a full week of art making AND open house. Which meant we had to make stuff and keep the art room on the tidy side which is a stretch. I'm super good at making messes (and I believe that's rubbed off on my kiddos) but not great at keeping the space clean. So I tidied like crazy on Monday afternoon and we had a stern "don't even think about messing this up!" chat on Tuesday before the night's events. 
Oh, and speaking of Artome Art Shows, we are having ours this December. Which means most of my classes are rockin' on their projects. We always do self portraits of some kind for Artome and this one is my favorite. We start with black glue...and you can find the complete lesson (with video!) here
 Tuesday's dress up theme was fairy or gnome...so I decided to go as Roy G. Biv and surprise the kids. When not wearing a beard and a rainbow hat, I was super comfy in my overalls. I THINK I'M ADDICTED TO OVERALLS. These bad boys are from Forever 21. 
Just a lil Roy action here. 
 Of course, when Roy G. Biv visits, we draw his likeness! Kindergarten did a super job of following along with Roy...
And coloring these cuties in.
 Wednesday was Wacky Sock day. I scored these from a shop in the mall that only sells socks...and they have the best selection. I don't own too many fun socks (surprising, I know) but when I spotted these, I had to have them. 
 My Unicorns are Real top is from Five Below...which is my guilty pleasure. Well, that and Dollar Tree. And in my neck of the woods, they are next to each other which means they are SUPER DANGEROUS. 
 For this year's open house, I made sure to hang two pieces of art for every kiddo. It was a lot of work and I'm excited to see it decorating the halls. I brought back my tree weaving lesson this year with third grade and I'm so glad I did. More details on this project soon. 
Usually my fourth graders do this project for the Artome Art Show but this year, I'm changing it up a bit. For our first day, we sketched thumbnail self portraits and then began creating these with bingo daubers on 9 X 12 paper. I'm so excited to see this project progress. 
 Words on a shirt day was the dress up theme for Thursday. I also had Round 2 of dressing up as Roy G. Biv for my classes that had missed out...so that meant pants again. TWICE IN ONE WEEK! Kinda crazy, I know. 
 My first graders are the kings and queens of cute with the start of their self portraits. You can check out lesson details here
 Friday was a half day but I had a stacked morning with five classes, kindergarten through fourth. I know my paint trays have just about run their course but were still pretty full of paint. So we did a collaborative circle painting and had a blast. All classes painted on the paper on their tables. They could only build upon the paintings that were there, not paint over them. It was a great way to spend our last day before break.
 And now it's fall break time! 
We have a lovely week off...it's glorious! I'll be home most of the week but on Thursday, I'm off to Florida for their art teacher convention...and I'm so excited. See y'all soon!
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