The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

What an odd couple of weeks we have experienced! The students always impress me with their ability to adapt and focus on their work in art after missing classes. They are remarkable and teach me every day. I want to thank you all for your kind words, support and encouragement this year and I look forward to seeing everyone after winter break. I hope you all enjoy time together and find creative places to visit and art to create together.

Daido Moriyama, A snowy night in Hokkaido , 1978

Kindergarten Art

The Kindergarten class was the fortunate group that did not miss class time in art! We worked on the South America themed art for the VIP day celebration. Each student pin-punched the continent and then applied a zentangle design. They also created tie-dye art with bright colors and zentangle patterns for the stage. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the work at the celebration. 

Elementary I (1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade)

We unfortunately missed a few classes recently, so we are slightly behind schedule for finishing up the zentangle work. The majority of the 1st grade students have completed their zentangle mandalas and they all showed great improvement in their ability to decipher patterns independently.  This project requires concentration and a high level of detail. The 2nd grade class have all completed their work on their zentangle names. They showed a higher level of detail and more complicated patterns. The 3rd grade cubes are still in progress as the students are skilled at the most complicated designs which take time to create. After they complete their designs, we will go to the Maker Space to build a wooden stand to display their cubes.

Elementary II (4th, 5th and 6th Grade)

We had an unfortunate stretch of missed class time, but the students jumped right back into work this week and made significant progress on their work in the Maker Space. As they grow more comfortable using the power tools and understanding the process, the workmanship improves. I enjoy seeing increased independent problem solving, several students helping others and continued safe practices in the Maker Space. The 4th grade class have finished up work on their dowel constructed sculptures, work continues in the 5th grade on the napkin holder and we have just begun work in the 6th grade on the bird houses. We had a generous contribution of wood from Mrs. Cencus's father so we could build the bird houses. Thank You!

7th and 8th Grade Art

The majority of students have completed the cardboard portraits and they look incredible. They really show a marked likeness of each student and each artist showed strong creativity and exploration of the material. I appreciated the attention to detail and the ability to problem solve with this project. I am also happy to say that everyone used the tools carefully and were resourceful with the materials. We did not have an opportunity to mount the portraits for display, but will take care of that task when we return from winter break.

                                   

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

Thank you all for waiting a couple of weeks for the blog update. We finished up several projects across all grade levels and that meant a massive amount of work needed to be mounted, labeled and displayed at one time. I enjoyed seeing many of you during conference time in the hallways looking at the art work and enjoying the work across the levels. We have started new work in each class and the students are showing tremendous growth in their abilities. I look forward to spending time with my family over Thanksgiving and am excited to hear about the students time with their families near and far. I am thankful to have a remarkably supportive parent base and I love my job here at The Ratner School. I am grateful to you all.

Found object turkey by Junkyard Bots

Kindergarten Art

The students had a great time learning about self portraits. We had several discussions about the difference between portraits and self portraits, different styles of self portraits and why it is important to draw self portraits. The students looked at portraits and self portraits by various artists and noticed the styles and material difference in each piece. I asked each student to draw a self portrait of what they thought they looked liked. The second portrait was drawn after a lesson about proportions, placement of the facial features and simple techniques on the shape of the eyes, nose and mouth. Each student had a mirror to work on their observational self portrait. A watercolor wash was added to complete the portraits. This is one of my favorite projects to approach with this age, as I love the symbols and the details that the students add as they look at themselves as they draw.  The portraits are hanging in the 1st floor hallway by the toddler classrooms. 

Elementary I (1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade)

We have recently completed a self portrait lesson. We had several classes covering the process of portraits and looked at many examples of portraits. We took the time to feel the structure of the bones in our face and looked at a mirror to observe elements that are unique to each student. The first self portrait the students created was a 20 minute drawing of themselves from memory. The second self portrait was created after a lesson on the "map" of the face and looking in a mirror while drawing their portrait. The third portrait was drawn on watercolor painting and created after a lesson on methods of drawing eye, nose and lip shapes. A mirror was also used for this final self portrait. The final step of the project was to add color pencil details and to accurately mix the skin tone for each self portrait. I love seeing the marked process in each phase of the lessons and the confidence and pride of the students as they create their self portraits. All the portraits are hanging in the 2nd floor hallways by their main classrooms. I hope you have a chance to view them all, I think they are remarkable.

      

                                              

           

Elementary II (4th, 5th and 6th Grade)

The grid project is completed! The students mounted the work on black paper, being careful to try and mount their work straight. The art work is currently hanging in the gallery space by the entrance to the gym. We have begun a project in the Maker Space which the students are very excited by. I am running three different projects to suit the skill level of each class. The 4th level class are learning how to use a hand held drill and the scroll saw to create a dowel constructed sculpture. The 5th level class are learning how to measure accurately using a ruler, has had lessons on the drill press, hand sander, belt sander and scroll saw to construct a napkin holder. The 6th grade class is able to use all the tools with the exception of the chop saw. They will be building a bird house. I appreciate any donation of wood, especially pine boards as that wood is the softest to build with and easy for the students to sand. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

With the successful completion of 25 fully functioning candy dispensers, we moved forward with our next project. The class is back in the art room creating a cardboard self portrait. I presented the lesson several classes ago, showing visual examples to the students, pointing out the use of the material as a texture, accurate placement of facial features and making note of how the layers of cardboard are used to create a sense of depth in the construction of the portraits. Each student had their photo taken, and they laid out the "map" of their face to begin the construction process. Several students are noticing the different tones of cardboard and using the difference to create added detail. The work is progressing well and should be completed within the next few classes. 

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

I was so excited to have a full week of school! The students were all engaged in each project this week and were glad to have time to create and finish up their work. I am switching projects in many levels this coming week and look forward to hanging up the newly completed work around the school.

 I hope you all were able to enjoy the changing colors of the leaves last weekend, this is one of my favorite seasons for hiking and collecting leaves.

Blue Hen Falls at the Cuyahoga National Park

Kindergarten Art

The students had a great time creating the sand mandalas last week in art. They learned how to control their glue enough to draw with the material, did a fine job (mostly) at keeping the sand separated and tried to not spill the sand. They learned about symmetry and how colors look differently when they are placed next to opposing colors. We continued the work with smaller versions on the designs and greater control was shown with the materials. The work is hanging in the first floor hallways between the toddler classrooms. We will begin a series of self portraits today, one of my very favorite processes to present to the Kindergarten students.

Elementary I Art (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade)

We had two very productive days in art this week. Monday's class was focused on completing the color theory painting. The 1st grade students had the most to complete and they showed much stronger control over their materials compared to the beginning of the process. We actually made it through an entire class with no spilled paint. Banner day! The students in 2nd and 3rd grade finished their work and had the opportunity for free work, a favorite treat in the art program. On Tuesday, I presented a new project that was oriented toward the celebration of Diwali. We talked about symmetry and how mandalas were a peaceful and balance work of art. The students were presented a lesson on how to draw with glue and use colored sand to create their work. They showed fine control over the messy material and enjoyed the shorter work cycle for this project. If they completed their work, they could create a free work using the same technique. I also presented the large floor loom work to the 3rd grade students. Several students have begun weaving on the loom and are remembering all the steps to the process.