The Ratner School Art Program

We jumped right back into our projects as we returned from Thanksgiving break. The Kindergarten students were proud to have their decorations for the school wide feast and I trust all the thunder birds and ti-pees arrived home safely. The rest of the students visited MOCA Cleveland on Thursday and were equally impressed with the show. The partnership being formed with MOCA is invaluable and I appreciate the support of the school to continue the collaboration. We have a busy two weeks ahead of us and I can not wait to see the culmination of the projects in progress!

                                     

Early morning frost in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Photo by Nolan Juaire 

Kindergarten Art

The Kindergarten artists are in their second week studying the work of Marc Chagall. We have looked at 20 different works by Chagall and talked about the dream-like quality of his work. We observed the layers of color, the brightness of the colors, the unusual choices in the application of paint and the subject matter found in his paintings. The students learned the famous Chagall quote: "Great art picks up where nature ends" and began the composition of a large scale drawing. They wrote the quote around the border of their art and then drew a house, a tree, themselves and people in their family, pets, stars, the sun and the moon. The second class was focused on the application of oil pastel to their drawings. The final step will be adding a layer of watercolor wash to the piece. 

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We had an exciting week with the field trip. I was very proud of the behavior of the students and enjoyed seeing their reaction to the MOCA building and the work of Do Ho Suh. I loved hearing their comments, watching the new connections being formed and a greater understanding and appreciation being built for a lifetime of art that makes the students view the world in a new way. I hope you heard all about the work your child saw and please try to see the show if you can, it is amazing. 

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The students are using all the aspects of STEAM to build the ti-pee in art. They have measured and figured out the base size of the ti-pee, calculated how long the main poles have to be to fit in the allowed space, learned about symbols with the pictographs, talked about ecology while cutting the trees for the long poles, created a pattern for the burlap "buckskin" for the structure and created patterns to paint on the surface. The structure is complete, the burlap is all sewn together and the next and final step is to paint the designs and pictographs. 

          

We are getting there!

   

5th and 6th Grade Art

We were able to get a solid period of work in on the cut portrait project last week and everyone is seeing great results of their hard work. They are really all coming together nicely and the students are still safe and engaged in their work. 

Thursday was the field trip to MOCA. Everyone showed fine leadership skills and truly enjoyed seeing the work of Do Ho Suh. I have heard from several students how much they loved the work and I am so pleased I could share a new contemporary artist with them. The show is up until January 10th and it is definitely one to see!

7th and 8th Grade Art

The ceiling tiles are now completed for half of the 7th and 8th grade art class. The students have not had a consistent art schedule lately due to field trips, concert rehearsals and holiday celebrations. When the project is finished, there will be 11 ceiling tiles for Mrs. Patel's science classroom. The tiles are varied and well designed. I am not looking forward to the installation, but know they will look fantastic in the science lab. 

I have finished photographing the still life work for the Scholastic Art Competition. After I crop, upload, label and add all the information for each piece, the work will be entered. I have a difficult time choosing work to enter, so I enter everyone unless a student requests to not participate. Usually every artist wants a chance to be recognized and they know they only have a chance if they enter the competition. I will keep you all posted with the information about the Scholastic Art Awards.

The pile of ceiling tiles to be installed