Welcome back!

Welcome back Hosmer artists and families! To start off the school year, students in 1st - 5th grades collaborated on an artwork that is now on display in our school lobby. Inspired by the wing murals of artist Kelsey Montague that have been popping up all over the country, students created and designed a feather using a monochromatic color scheme -- one color family. 

We started with pencil, choosing either an abstract design made up of lines and shapes, or a theme like nature, personal interests, etc. Then students outlined their design with Sharpie marker and used markers, colored pencils and crayons in their color family. We thought about using different materials and shades within that color family to emphasize different parts of our design. 

The last step was to cut out the feather. The feather were organized and sorted by color and then arranged and glued from the bottom up, so that the feathers overlapped each other. It took a while to put it all together!

All the feathers are part of our rainbow pair of wings display downstairs in the lobby of Hosmer. Collaboratively they form the wings that will help us fly and soar this year!

Monochromatic Tints & Shades Landscapes

Continuing our study of value, 5th grade artists explored tints and shades of colors. Tints are made by adding white to a color and shades are made by mixing black with the color. We began by practicing mixing our shade and tints, choosing three different colors to explore. 

We also learned about the concept of atmospheric perspective, which can be seen in many landscape photographs and paintings. Atmospheric perspective describes the effect of objects being lighter in color as they get further away from you, and darker in color when they are closer. In addition, you can see more detail in the foreground and less detail in the background. We looked at some examples of photographs and paintings that demonstrate this concept. 

We discussed how landscapes can be organized with a foreground in the front, middle ground, and background. We looked at different examples of landscapes, including rural or countryside landscapes, urban cityscapes, and even fantasy landscapes inspired by books and video games. Students sketched a landscape of their own creation, including more details in the foreground, and numbering their layers to match the tints and shades gradients they painted earlier. 

The following class, students chose just one color to use for their tints and shades in their artwork, based on their explorations. When artists use shades and tints of the same color in their artwork, it is called monochromatic. 

Students began painting the background or the lightest layer first, and then painted each layer a darker tint until they arrived to their color and their shade. We discussed keeping the details as silhouettes, or outlines of the shapes. Here are some examples:

Bella, 5th Grade (Psychoghios)

Aiden, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Nolan, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Anna, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Sona, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Aliana, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Jack, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Emily, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Cammy, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Domenic, 5th Grade (Domermuth Fantasia)

Miah, 5th Grade (Domermuth Fantasia)

Yazmin, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Sila, 5th Grade (Bellis)

LiaLah, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Kate S., 5th Grade (Bellis)

Tristan, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Our Rainbow Tree

To start off the school year, students in first through fifth grades traced the outline of their hand and designed it using a monochromatic color scheme -- using one color family. We started with pencil, choosing either an abstract design made up of lines and shapes, or a theme like sports, outer space, the ocean, etc.

Then students outlined their design with Sharpie marker and used markers, colored pencils and crayons in their color family. We thought about using different materials and shades within that color family to emphasize different parts of our design. The last step was to cut out the hand design.

All the hands are part of our rainbow tree display downstairs in the lobby of Hosmer. Collaboratively they form the rainbow leaves of our tree as we grow together this year!

First Week of School

During the first weeks of school, artists discuss expectations we have of each other in the art room and also get reacquainted with the space. This year, we played an art room "I Spy" game. Students looked at photos of places in the art room. These photos were intentionally taken from close up or interesting angles so that it would be more challenging to identify. Students rotated around the room to look at all the photos and correctly identify the different places and parts of the art room and their purpose.

Students also began their monochromatic self portraits. Monochromatic means one color, so students used one color to draw a picture of themselves. Even though students were limited to one color, there were many different shades of that color available through markers, crayons and colored pencils. Students could represent themselves in a variety of different ways. Below are some photos of work in progress. 

These monochromatic self portraits will be put together in large rainbow displays, so keep a look out for those coming soon!