A Few Good Heads

We did a science/art experiment. We made shrunken heads from apples. To prevent rotting we soaked the heads briefly in lemon juice and salt. Only one or two rotted. A few fell and broke. Most of the apples dehydrated nicely, but those considered a "quality head" had to have a nicely carved face. Lamb's wool and corn silk were added for hair.
All our preservatives couldn't stop the fruit flies from swarming. Still, the flies were tolerable when you consider the results.

Ancient Cave Art Discovery!!!

The Cave of Horses (with a mastodon or two)
I did this project with my DK and K Students. I wish they would have had a little more enthusiasm for the images I showed them of the caves in Lascaux and Altamira, but these little ones' concepts of time and place are still developing. The good news is they really loved making their prehistoric horses, and then putting them into the cave. Visitors to the cave needed a flash light to pass through.
I used a frig box with both ends open. On a separate piece of cardboard I drew out the facade of a hillside and the cave opening. Then,I had some older kids paint it. I attached the facade to one end of the frig box.
The horses were drawn on torn brown grocery sacks. They were made by tracing the students hands with chalk and coloring them in. Finally, details like tails and manes were added.
Kids of all grades (and some teachers) couldn't wait to go in the cave.

Pattern Cat

Another inexpensive and charming project is "Pattern Cats."
Students draw a cat onto white paper. They then divide the cat into sections. In each section a different pattern is drawn. The pencil lines are then traced over using black permanent marker. The cat is then cut out.
Wall paper is glued to yet another piece of white paper to provide stability.
The pattern cat is pasted to the wallpaper creating a folk art feel.

Portraits

For an easy and cost effective project create tape collages.
Students draw a picture on card stock (be sure to leave a frame around their drawing).
Students then "colored" the picture using small torn strips of colored masking tape.
Voila! An inexpensive, colorful, and fun art project.

Dia de los Muertos

2nd grade Decorated Skulls cardstock and markers
We have several lessons lined up for Mexico's Day of the Dead.
Our first lesson involved making decorated skulls. The products of the students efforts were stuck to the wall providing a bright and funny display.

Sunflowers

2nd O'Keefe like Watercolor
3rd Sunflower in Vase Collage with weaving
DK -K - 1st grades Sunflower using o, x, and -, to create the image
4th Van Gogh type Sunflowers in Vase tempera

The beginning of the year is a transitional time so it's good to focus on projects that don't demand too much in terms of preparation and supplies. The theme for the beginning of this year was Sunflowers. For inspiration we looked at works from Van Gogh, O'Keeffe, and Klimt.

Because listening to directions is a really important skill in art, the assignments I gave really focused on procedures. I explained that in the future they would have an opportunity to express themselves and their creativity in unique ways, but for now I want them to learn a new technique and follow the directions.

Anyway, the Sprouting Artists did a great job of following directions and demonstrating their personality.

Happy Birthday!

In my room I have a calendar devoted to artists' birthdays. Creating a calendar can consume more time then I have, so for each month I have created little banners that spell out the month's name. I love my new October banner with the skull lettering!

Art for Autumn

I like to follow themes. But, because I am teaching multiple grades, not all students follow the same theme. For this year the focus has been on the "harvest" and Hispanic History.
One of my favorite projects has been Otomi crop spirits. I just love these guys!
The Otomi Indians of the states of Hidalgo and Mexico, in the country of Mexico, live rather isolated lives and make these crazy crop spirits to insure a good harvest.

Dios de Mazorca
Spirit of Maize

Semilla de Jitomate
Seed of the Tomato Plant

Semilla de Cacahuate
Seed of the Peanut Plant

Semilla de Chile
Seed of the Chile Plant

They are made from layers of tissue and brown craft paper. There isn't much creativity involved, but we get to practice our cutting skills and create a really fun little dude.

Welcome Visitors to the Gallery!

"No Deposit, No Return."
Plastic Pop bottle "Chihuly."
Fourth Graders, 2007.

Welcome to Artsprouts a weblog designed to share art lessons and students' work.

I have been entertaining the idea of creating this blog for sometime now because I am so excited about the work I do and the amazing art created by my students that I just can't wait to share it with everyone. Everyday I see a new young artist "sprouting" up. Although I try to use the best words to describe my students' art, I know that pictures will be much more effective.

So here is our gallery of artworks, art lessons, and reflections on the artistic process.

I hope you enjoy your time here and please visit often!

Heidi