Whole Brain Chalkboard Rules- for free!

It is time to redecorate the Jr./Sr. High art room with some color and whimsy.  I thought I would start with my Whole Brain Rules in chalkboard background with bright letters.  
For my rules, rule #3 has been changed to,"Clean up after yourself."  This change is more conducive to my art room.
I cannot tell you enough how Whole Brain teaching has absolutely changed my way of running a classroom! 
Whole Brain teaching  http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135:whole-brain-teachers-of-america&Itemid=105

With that said, I am offering for free my pdf version of these signs ready for you to print out and hang! 
Find files at the end of the page.  

To hang my signs I purchased cut wood frames from Michael's and spray painted them bright Magenta and Teal.  The frames were very inexpensive- $2.99 on sale! They look great and will pop in my classroom decor! More pictures to come in August when I set up my classroom.

PDF WHOLE BRAIN CHALKBOARD RULES

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzTqrmtGOxudfjZBc25sanNMWGotenhwekJZY1pfRFFHNWxEaHRZcXpWMnYza1VCeHhIalU&usp=sharing

Steam-Punk

Steampunk
[steem-puhngk]

noun

1.

a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advancedmachines and other technology based on steam power of the 19thcentury and taking place in a recognizable historical period or afantasy world.

2.

a subculture inspired by this literary and film subgenre:

the fashions and gadgets of steampunk.

Sixth grade art students were instructed to do a contour drawing of an animal and add in detailing showing steampunk designs.  I gave them pictures of gears, screws, clock parts, goggles and metal to give them inspiration.  They used Molly's ebony drawing paper http://www.mollyhawkins.com (I love this paper), metallic colored pencils, metallic markers, and metallic crayons.  

Prang Metallic Watercolors
Rich and luxurious

Prang Metallic Markers
Vibrant colors and smooth layout

Each student used their imagination to visualize what their animal was made out of!  After their drawings were complete, they created a cardstock template of the face of their animal.  Template was used to cut out clay.  Hand building techniques were used to add parts to the face.  Finally, a coat of black acrylic paint covered their entire piece and was left to dry.  Prang metallic watercolors were used on top of the black background.  These tiles are very striking in person!  

Lily used a cool color scheme to show to coolness of the metals.

Sophia added a lot of detailing.

Lexi attaches gears and metal together to construct her turtle.

McKayla used a pug as her contour drawing.

Alexis took her time to texturize the background!

Lexi uses metallic color for a focal point.

Lily creates a simple metallic palette.

Hand Built Whimsical Houses

Seventh Grade art students were given the challenge of creating a curved whimsical 

house out of clay. 

Students created a sketch of their house then, worked on the cardstock template.  

I instructed students to build their house first, out of the cardstock and tape together.  

Once the house was built, the walls were numbered and dismantled. Clay was wedged then, rolled out and ready to trace and cut. Details such as: windows, and brick texture were added when wet. Pieces were "set-up" to a leather-hard consistency then, assembled. Coils were used to join together. Students smooth out the adjoining walls.  After pieces were dry they were bisque fired.

Grace placed First at GVCS Art 

Festival and B.O.S. at ACSI Art Festival!

Amaco Artist's Choice low-fire glazes were used to give texture to the houses.  Students were instructed to "stain" the bricks.  Stroke-and-Coat glazes were used in the inside of the house. 

Houses cooling in the kiln

The colors of the glazes really make these pieces stand out! It added so much texture and depth.  These glazes also have a nice application for student use.  I can't wait to try other specialized glazes from Amaco!  

Mary chose to use Seafoam

green on the face and Iron Saturate

on the sides. 

Little Brown Bear

Kindergarten loves to paint! When they enter the art classroom and see the painting materials on the table they squeal! I love to see the excitement and enthusiasm they have to learn.  
Ms. Stewart instructed the kinders to draw the bear using pencil.  I thought this would be a great use of our "sludge" from Tri-art.  This batch of sludge was dark green (shown on top picture).http://www.tri-art.ca/en/products/sludge/  The kids had fun with the consistency of the sludge.  In the second Kinder class fluorescent green was used for the background.  
Students painted in the fur using neutral shades and finished with a black oil pastel.  
Their personality really shows through in their bears! 

A visit to the MOCA LA

My husband and I  recently visited  the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Arts) in Los Angeles, California  http://www.moca.org/museum/exhibitiondetail.php?id=508  The MOCA Los Angeles is home to one of the finest permanent collections of American and European art.  The museum is housed in three unique facilities: MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and MOCA Pacific Design Center

 

In the courtyard you will find "Mark Thompson's Airplane Parts" by  Nancy Rubins. I love all the textures and shapes! 

My hubby Terry studying the art.

The lines are so beautiful.

So much texture and color.

Inside you will find pieces from  Piet Mondrian, Cindy Sherman, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns just to name a few! Here are a couple of my favorite.

I was so excited to see a full wall of Claes Oldenburg sculptures!

Claes Oldenburg food sculptures

Robert Rauschenberg- "Interview" 1955

Allen Ruppersberg- "Stillife 1982

Product Review

Let's face it as a veteran art teacher I get tired of using the same color palette year after year! I try to mix it up a bit with color choice and brand.  But some brands are way too expensive for my classroom budget or not classroom friendly!  I have put together a list of some of my favorites with the pro's and con's of each.  
Let's talk about pencil sharpeners!  I must sharpen 50 or more pencils a day and most sharpeners break 3 months into the school year! Students get frustrated when their pencil lead is dull or the lead just falls!  This electric pencil sharpener I have found to be the best but, buy the office depot warranty so at any time you can exchange for a new one!  There have been a few problems with sharpener just stopping mid-way through.  I have brought it back and exchanged for a brand new one.  It is worth the extra $10.00!  When it does work (which is 90% of the time) it is amazing!

Pros                                                                                             Cons       
Sharpens to a point                   Sometimes sharpener does not sharpen all the way                                                    
Quietly sharpens
Stops when sharpened
Easy to clean

My choice of paintbrushes for Elementary students are the Royal Langnickel Big Kid's choice gripper.  The red flats are comfortable to handle and have high quality Taklon brushes.  These brushes are used for acrylic paints.  They come in 3 sizes.  The green rounds we love for watercolors or glazing pottery.  Easy to handle, sharp point for details and again good quality of hair.  These brushes if washed properly have lasted us for three years with 300+ students!  I purchase these brushes from Dick Blick art supplies http://www.dickblick.com/products/royal-langnickel-big-kids-choice-72-piece-class-packs/  or at Molly Hawkins Discount art supplies http://www.mollyhawkins.com

Pros                                                                                        Cons               

High quality bristles

Short handle easy for child use

Bristles do not separate or fall out

Maintains shape over time

Soft grip                                                                  Over time the grip will peel off

Acrylic paint washes out of brush

Strong ferrule

Drawing paper and watercolor paper is made at Molly Hawkins Wholesale www.mollyhawkins.com.  They have good quality drawing paper in a variety of weights and sizes.  Watercolor paper has a nice tooth and weight.   I have included some pictures where students used oil and soft pastels on one paper and drawing pencil on another.  In reviewing the drawing paper here are a few pros and cons:

Pros                                                                                                         Cons

9" x 12" 117b draw paper is only $28.40-500 ream

Available in different weights and sizes

Discount on 6+ reams                            no bid orders this is the discount

Sends samples in catalog

Takes different kinds of mediums

Soft pastels and oil pastels glide on and stay

Value is able to be achieved with pencil (not too slick)

In a pinch was used for watercolor and acrylic some curling not bad.

Aah watercolors! Students love to use them! Some could be very bright others dark and opaque.  Over the years I have moved from one product to the next but, have always come back to Crayola washable watercolors. Crayola is used for everything except for opaque coverage then we use Prang. Here are the differences between both palettes:

Crayola Washable                                          Prang WC pan sets 

$1.99 8 ct pan- Target                                      $3.99 8 ct pan- Dick Blick

Semi-opaque                                                    Opaque

Works well with resist techniques                   Too much coverage on resist

Medium quality on paint durability and last    Excellent quality

Vibrant colors 8 and 16 colors                         Dark colors not too vibrant

Crayola washable watercolors

Crayola washable watercolors

Prang watercolors

Elephants of India

Fourth grade art classes have been learning about the art of Asia.  India is our first stop with a study of local celebrations using brightly painted and decorated elephants.   
Students watched a youtube video of the elephant celebration showing how the elephants are painted and decorated. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp5OS7hNtQs
We discussed the culture of India and compared how it is different to living in Las Vegas, Nevada.  
I asked students to do a Macro, front view of the elephants with the focal point on the headdress.  Short brushstrokes were used to blend in colors.  After the painting was dry, oil pastels were used to draw the detailed decorations onto the elephants,  Two versions of this lesson were created for variation in my classes and the students are able to express themselves more!