The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

This blog post wraps up the year for us! While we still have projects to finish, I feel like this week will be the last of the regular scheduled weeks left for me to have the time to write up the blog. I sincerely appreciate the consistent and heartfelt support you have all shown the art program this year. I value your input, comments, suggestions and compliments for the art program.  I feel we have had a very strong year across all levels this year and I already have new processes planned for the next school year. For the families that are leaving the program this year, I have loved guiding your child through the creative exploration and wish you the best. For my returning families, I am so excited to continue your child's creative education next year. I hope you will all find moments each day to be creative and to appreciate the wealth of creative events all the communities offer during the summer. I will be back in my studio all summer and look forward to creating new jewelry and sculptures. Thank you all!

Kindergarten Art

I know I have said this before but it bears repeating, this is such a great group of students. They are creative, focused on their work, kind and I have looked forward to teaching them each week. We have spent the last couple of classes working on their special Kindergarten "I think you're wonderful" necklaces. I can not show you any pictures of the progress as the students like the necklaces to be a surprise at the Kindergarten graduation. I will have the class two more times before the end of the year and truly look forward to working with them on our final project. 

Free art

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Art

We have completed the Impressionist landscape project and the work is really wonderful. This is such an important process for the students to have after a year of art lessons. They have to think in layers, see fields of color, accurately pace their work and be patient to add details after working for several classes on the work. The control of material has to be advanced to use the acrylic paint and I could only do this process towards the end of the school year. The art room floor certainly has paint on it, but it is not too bad considering the amount of painting that has occurred this month! I am so impressed with the ability of the students to stay focused on a longer term project at this time of the year and the work is really wonderful. 

 

4th, 5th and 6th Grade Art

I had to shift my curriculum slightly for the last project of the year. The sewing project moved at dramatically different paces for each group and I did not want to lose any class time waiting for the entire group to complete the work. The 6th grade group are working on an independent project. They are a small, well focused group and they are working well on their pieces. The 5th grade began work on a collaborative project with the STEM curriculum set by Mrs. Patel. She had sets of Chibi lights, which are LED circuit systems that she thought would be interesting to tie into the art curriculum. I purchased small 8x8" canvases for the students to paint on and add the small LED lights on. They had to think of a scene that would benefit from having lights like a city scene, a car, an underwater scene, etc. The paintings are near completion and the LED lights will be added next class. The 4th grade class began a painting project based on their choice of Impressionist work. I have several new students in this grade level this year, so this project was important for them to work on. Each group is finishing up their work quickly in anticipation for the end of our class time. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

I would say that 90% of the history projects are currently completed. The students have shown good problem solving, developed their ideas well and executed their work with a high level of craftsmanship and skill. The end of the school year is always in flux in regards to schedules as the students have rehearsals, speech practice and several special events that change their classes. I believe I will have them for two more classes, possibly even three classes before the school year is over. I have enjoyed the conversations, experiences and seeing the creative growth of this group of  artists this year.

Chavez

Evolution of X-box

Painting of NASA Apollo patch

Disney

The Space Race

"If it doesn't fit, you must acquit"

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

We are beginning the last projects of the year in most of the classes. I marvel at the speed of the year each time I reach this point. Next year will be my 16th year teaching at The Ratner School, you think I would know how quickly time moves by now. I have loved the diverse work the students have created this year and have appreciated the great feedback and comments you have all shared. I plan on sharing one more blog post this year as a wrap up to the year and hope to share all the final projects with you as they are completed. I keep my curriculum running up to the last few days of school, so we still have plenty of work to accomplish. I enjoyed talking to many of you at the Gala this past weekend and appreciate your kind words, thank you!

Kindergarten sculptures. My kind of spring colors!

Kindergarten Art

Students finished all the plaster work on their geometric shape sculptures and each piece was well balanced and visually successful. The class last week involved painting the sculptures. We talked about coming up with a plan before painting began, how mixing warm and cool colors could make a mud colored sculpture, how black is a visually strong color and how to paint the sculptures carefully and thoughtfully. The students used tempera cakes to create their color field and added details to their sculptures if it was part of their plan. The sculptures are very successful and are displayed in the hallways on top of their cubicles.  I will be sending all their work home soon in preparation for the end of our school year. 

This student created a still life painting of her sculpture. Amazing!

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Art

We had a great experience with the Andy Goldsworthy art project and I am glad the weather cooperated enough for us to complete the building of the work. The students began to see elements in a different way and were very engaged with the entire process. Following the Goldworthy project, we moved into a painting project. I presented the classes with several examples of Impressionist landscapes and we talked about the feeling the artists evoked by the way they layered the paint. We talked about the atmosphere and emotions each piece conveyed and speculated on how they achieved the mood of the piece while still representing the landscape. The students choose their favorite painting to try and emulate. They began the project by taking 2 minutes of silent observation of their choice and noticed many colors and details that were first missed. The next step was to quickly sketch the horizon line, focal point and main bodies of interest in the paintings. A color field wash was added before any details were begun. The students have recently started adding more layers of paint to their landscape and the images are beginning to take shape. It is difficult to not begin with details at this age, so it is definitely a learning process! I imagine we will have a few more classes of painting before the project is complete. This will be our last big project of the year.

1st class, color wash

2nd class, big picture color added

 

4th, 5th and 6th Grade Art

We are wrapping up the sewing project this week and the students have definitely shown improvement with their work. Their stitches have gotten straighter, smaller and more accurate and I have handed out fewer band-aids as they have gained better control of the needle! Several students have already stuffed their creatures and sewn the last stitches to complete their work. I have enjoyed this project and they seem to be proud of their work. Keep some fabric scraps, needle and thread around the house this summer and see if they want to continue working on their sewing skills. There are also a few places around Cleveland that offer sewing classes for children. Bolt and Spool, Praxis Fiber and Studio How-To all offer student aged classes. 

                                     

7th and 8th Grade Art

The students all completed their 4 sections of the wire quilt work and I am now trying to engineer a way to lash them all together and hang them in a window. We had a thought of hanging them in the gym egress to try to stop the birds from flying into the windows or the final piece may hang in the art room window. I imagine we will figure out where to display the work as it is completed.  Currently the classes are working on their final project of the year. We always end the art year working on their visual representation of their final history project. This is a great way to wrap up the year as the projects are all different and pull in all the skills and techniques they have learned to create an independent piece. We have some students sculpting, some are painting canvases, others are creating posters. I enjoy seeing their big ideas, watching the process of choosing materials and formulating a plan to create their work. The projects are presented in Mr. Persanyi's class at the end of the year and are displayed in the black box cases throughout the summer and into the next school year.