The Ratner School Art Program

We continued to create and complete several projects across all grade levels in art this week. While we missed the 5th and 6th grade class while they were away for their Pittsburgh trip, we continued to make and display the ongoing projects in art. I delayed the art blog post so our 1st and 2nd grade students could surprise their moms with their paintings. They were very excited to give their art as a gift. The end of the year is quickly approaching and we will work in art right up until we do not have time for paint or glue to dry, so stay tuned.

Kindergarten Art

Week 30 brought the study of the traditional Japanese Kite Day and the construction of Koi wind socks. The students cut out the large fish outline, designed the scale patterns of their choice, applied oil pastel resist to the designs and colored the fish with watercolor paint. I was pleased to see the pattern making and control of the materials used. With each project, their skills and vocabulary are increasing. The students have progressed so wonderfully this year. The assembly of the fish will take place Monday and will be coming home soon. We have several projects to send home with the end of school coming quickly. I will keep you informed when the work is coming home and I will try to get it back to you safely.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

I trust by now all the Mothers have received the paintings from your children. I rarely do any specific project for Mother's Day, but the paintings were so lovely and well done the kids wanted to give them to the Moms as a "gift of art love," their quote, not mine! They had so much joy painting the flowers and looking at the wonderful work of Georgia O'Keefe. The students showed great independence and control of the materials, I marvel at the progress they have made this year in art. 

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The wood sculptures were completed this week and should be coming home. The students showed increased skill building in 3-dimensions and learned many skills building their sculptures. I was impressed with the craftsmanship and attention to safety they all displayed. I approach this unit with high expectations and was impressed (again) that they all rose to the standards. The school year will end with shorter focused projects allowing for added exploration of materials and skills. The Beatles record/cd cover project is hanging outside their classroom! If you are in the school, try to make time to view them all before the artwork is sent home. I apologize for the delay in displaying the final projects, it is a multi-process project that takes much effort from many people to complete. Thanks for your patience.

5th and 6th Grade Art

The final stabiles were completed and are now on display in the upstairs boxes. If you happen to be in the school, take the time to view the work, I am very impressed with the sculptures. The students definitely gained wire working and problem solving skills with this project and were very diligent with their work. Our next and final project for the year will be a ceiling tile painting project for Mrs. Schwab's room. It is an exercise in experimenting with paint that may or may not be successful. We will let you know the outcome. We only had 1 class this week because of the Pittsburgh trip, so we will have a busy end to the school year.

 

7th and 8th Grade Art

The final face pots are out of the kiln and we were successful with another firing adventure in the little kiln. I always have a great sense of relief when the kiln makes another run and the glazes work. I am going to display the face pots in the upstairs boxes for a couple of weeks, then we will wrap them up and send them home. We will be working on the art element of the students annual year end History projects, I will try to keep you updated on this last independent project in art.