The Ratner School Art Program

What a week! We are all enjoying the nicer weather (finally) and are begining the wind up of projects in art. I keep my classes running until the very last day of school and do a series of smaller, faster projects with students in all grade levels. The end of the year is a bit more "flexible" with the students as it is the season for field trips, band concerts and special events. I have learned to go with the flow and adapt my lessons to the rhythm of the end of the school year. The 1st and 2nd grade students enjoyed the last art field trip of the year to MOCA last week and I am proud of our ongoing partnership and relationship with MOCA. I am already planning our trips for the next school year and look forward to growing the partnership.

Kindergarten Art

We have begun our final project of the year in Kindergarten. We are working on our special "I think you're wonderful" necklaces that will be presented at the Kindergarten celebration. I try to do a different theme every year and this necklace is going to be inspired by our school's new Learning Garden. I do not want to share any pictures of the progress, so you will all be surprised to see the gift your Kindergarten student presents you! I am amazed at the level of growth in art the students have achieved this year and I know if it is moving quickly for me, it must be faster for you, the parents. I love teaching this age child and once again thank you all for trusting me with their art education.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We had a fantastic field trip experience at MOCA on Thursday. The students were engaged, excited to be at the museum, asked wonderful questions and had fun on top of it all! I look forward to continuing the partnership with MOCA next year. 

I hope all the mothers or important people in the students lives enjoyed the Georgia O'Keefe inspired paintings your students brought home. While I do not do "Mother's Day" projects, the timing of the paintings worked out well to be a gift for the students to take home. The students enjoyed exploring all the materials and techniques with the work and learned a broad background about the work of Georgia O'Keefe. We will be beginning our final project of the year this week and keep an eye out for art work coming home in your child's backpack.

 

                                                         

 

3rd and 4th Grade Art

We began our work on the annual Zentangle map of the United States in art last week. A large map is traced and the students name the state they would like to design and begin work on their patterns. If you have noticed in the art room, I have several maps hanging up going back 13 years of all the different designs the classes have created. The students look forward to having their maps added to the "collection" each year. As the work on the zentangle map is completed, a sculpture project will finish out our work for the year.

5th and 6th Grade Art

To wind down the year, the class is working in the Maker Space on independent projects. We have a group of students taking apart an Underwood manual typewriter, a number of students wood burning designs and several students are making pencil holders. I like seeing the excitement at designing and building and the students are enjoying their time in the shop. We will finish up the projects this week and begin the end of the year step up posters and returning all the artwork next week.

7th and 8th Grade Art

Work continues in the Maker Space with the construction of the snack stand with the 8th grade government team and the history projects with the other students. Some of the 7th grade students have begun constructing the totem pole stands and I hope they will finish them this week. I enjoy seeing the stronger problem solving skills come together in the projects in the Maker Space and the students are enjoying using the tools and materials in their projects. 

The Ratner School Art Program

It is an accelerated time of year in art. We are wrapping up all the major projects, beginning to look forward to the projects in the next grade level and adjusting our class times due to the many celebrations and field trips happening in the school. The 1st and 2nd grade class will be heading to our final trip of the year to MOCA this week and we are, once again, so grateful for the partnership we have with this great Cleveland resource. The amazing Nicole Lednik has visited the school throughout the year to work with our students to further support the education in contemporary art. I always know it is a great partnership when I am learning along with the students. 

I enjoyed talking to all our visitors on VIP/Grandparent day and appreciate all the kind words shared about the art program. We had a fun tea party with the younger students in the art room and all the grades were represented with the table decorations in the gymnasium. The ceramic work added a great deal of joy and interest to the event. 

Wonderful work from Cleveland artist Deborah Pinter on view at the Maria Neil gallery in Collingwood

                                             

Kindergarten Art

I trust that the ceramic work arrived home safe and sound. The kindergarten students were very careful packing the work into their backpacks. We had a rare "free day" in art this past week where the students had free choice with their work. They could use any material, tape, staplers, markers, glue, etc. to create any work they wanted. They enjoyed experimenting and building their pieces. The remainder of the classes will be focused on creating a special project for the end of the year celebration, so the year is sadly winding down. I have truly enjoyed working with the youngest artists in class and am amazed at their growth this year. 

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We had a fantastic tea party last week with our VIP guests and grandparents. I enjoyed meeting everyone and the students were proud to use their ceramic face cups for the tea party. No leaks! Hooray!

We will be finishing up our work on the Georgia O'Keefe flower paintings this week and the students will be bringing the final piece home. They have enjoyed adding several of the techniques and processes learned throughout the year. They began with an observational drawing of a flower of their choice and then began layering colors and materials  on their drawing. Watercolor paint, collage, tempera paint and ink were a few of the materials used in creating their art. They certainly enjoy the process. 

We had the head of the MOCA education department in our class last week presenting a lesson for the students to prepare them for the field trip this week. We talked about layers, the abstract nature of some of the contemporary art they will view and an overview about what they will be experiencing at the museum. I am so grateful for the partnership we have with MOCA and the students are excited about the upcoming trip.

Nicole from MOCA presenting to the 2nd grade students

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The animal bowls had a successful firing in the kiln and the students are pleased with the work. They were able to see the improvements they could make with their next ceramic process and realized the importance of crafting the construction of their piece and the careful application of glaze in the final process. The work will be coming home this week and I know you will enjoy hearing about the process and project from your child. 

5th and 6th Grade Art

The bobble head project is complete! All the heads and stands were glazed and fired successfully and we had zero incidents in the firing process. The students had a chance to assemble and balance their sculptures and check to see if their pieces were engineered correctly. We had several heads that moved smoothly and "bobbled" well on the cone stands. This is a high school level project, so I am always excited when even a small percentage of the sculptures work. This class is amazing with their art work and I love pushing them forward with each new project. The work will be coming home this week and I hope you all enjoy the sculptures.

                          

                                                     

7th and 8th Grade Art

The 8th grade class is making strong and solid progress on the assembly of the snack stand. They are learning to follow the IKEA assembly instructions and working well together. The students that chose not to work on the project are working on their end of the year history day projects in art. The 7th grade totem pole elements have been fired in the kiln and look fantastic! I hope to have the students make the stands in the Maker Space and assemble the totems this week.