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

Work continued on the tesselations this week and all the students in grade 4 and 5 have begun coloring their designs. We revisited the color theory learned in the grid project and they had the choice of several different materials to apply to their work. Many students chose markers and quite a few decided to use watercolor paint. They decided if they wanted a pattern or repetition with their color work and the results are visually interesting. We should be able to complete the work next week. The 6th grade students learned how to drill pilot holes and use a hand held drill to screw their bird houses together. Next week will be the final work to finish the project. The students will have the option of wood burning designs on their bird houses or adding a natural shingle to the roof. I am excited to see the final results. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

The students had one day of art this week and I decided that they could finish the Op-Art shading work in their time. Most students really focused and were determined to complete the project. They chose a background color to mount their work on and I have displayed the work in the upstairs hallways. The work is visually appealing and the students gained stronger shading techniques with the completion of this work. 

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

We are at the wonderful time of the year when each class is working on different processes. We have painting, printmaking, drawing, Maker Space and mixed media work rolling in the classes. This work keeps me busy and I love it! I am working on rotating out a lot of work in the school, so look for art coming home next week. Thank you all for your compliments on the new work hanging in the school, I pass along all the comments to the students. They light up when they hear that you enjoy their art.

Kindergarten Art

We studied the art of Marc Chagall last week in class. Each student had an example of his paintings and we talked about his subject matter, the colors he used and how his art made us feel. We talked about the quote from Chagall- "Great art pick up where nature ends." They had wonderful comments about the quote and his art. The work we are creating uses the quote and several images that the student drew to create a dream-like painting of their life. They drew their house or apartment building, their family and pets, a tree, the moon and stars and any other detail to add to the narrative. Oil pastels and watercolor will be added today to complete the work. They are all gaining good control over their materials and have improved so much this year with their creative process. I love teaching this age!

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

The 1st and 2nd grade students have completed their zentangle work, so I started them on a printmaking unit. I am trying a new project that loosely ties into the pattern work of the zentangle techniques they have learned. The students created a section of a 4 part design that will visually connect to create a large radial design. To design a section that will be printed to connect, we had to do several steps to measure out the design. The students worked diligently to transfer their designs to the soft printing plate and painted a concentric background to print on top of next week. I am excited to see the results of their work and am looking forward to printing next class.  The 3rd grade class is still working on their zentangle cubes, creating a base to hang the sculpture from in the Maker Space. We should be able to finish the work Monday.

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

The 4th and 5th grade classes finished their Maker Space projects last week. The 4th grade students had a critique on their work where we talked about the dowel constructions they created, if the craftsmanship was acceptable and if the forms were well balanced and visual from all angles. The work is displayed in the upstairs black boxes. The students enjoyed the process and used the power tools safely. The 5th grade students created their wooden napkin holders. I hope you are all enjoying using the napkin holders in your home, each student was proud of their work.  I started the 4th and 5th grade students on a tessellation project this week. The work is a math based visual exploration of a simple repeated shape. They seem to really enjoy learning about the work of M.C. Escher and creating their own tessellation.   The 6th grade class is still constructing their birdhouse and I anticipate the project to be completed next week.