Art at Hosmer

Friday, January 12, 2018

Creative Color Mixing and Naming

Recently artists in 3rd grade explored color mixing in preparation for an upcoming project! We mixed 10 different colors and also came up with a unique name for each color.

First, students explored color mixing, trying to come up with 10 different colors for their palette. We discussed how you might try to create a color that you already have in mind, like a light pink, or just see what happens if you mix a lot of yellow, a little blue, and some white. Since we had just painted a color wheel with primary, secondary and tertiary colors, students were familiar with which colors to mix together to get a wide range of colors. We also experimented with adding white and black to colors, noting how it made colors lighter or darker.

The following class, students thought of creative names for each of the colors they had made. Instead of simply naming colors "light pink" or "dark blue," students were challenged to come up with creative names like "cotton candy pink" and "ocean blue." We looked at examples of paint chips and noticed that many names were inspired by animals, nature, food, and the weather. We made a list of things we might be inspired by for color naming and then named all of our colors. We shared our paint colors and corresponding names with partners and then with the whole class. A lot of students used alliteration, which is when you repeat the same letter at the beginning of your words, like "pig pink" and "grass green." Check out some of our creative color names below!

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Personal Still Life Drawings

5th grade artists have been studying the concept of value, the lightness and darkness of color. After drawing a value scale to explore lighter and darker values using Ebony pencils, students drew a marshmallow. Even though they are white, once they were set on the table and looked at in natural light, we noticed a range of values. One side was lighter due to the light coming in from the window.

We also discussed the art of still life. Still life is the art of drawing or painting inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers and household items which are usually arranged on a table or shelf. Traditionally, still life painting was a way for artists to show off their technical skills. We looked at two examples of still life painting and discussed which one looked more realistic and what the artist did that made those objects appear three-dimensional.

Willem Claesz Heda, Banquet Piece with Mince Pie (1635)

Students noticed that Heda emphasized the lights and darks in his painting, using shading on the tablecloth and adding highlights on things like the glass cup. We also noticed that the objects had shadows underneath that made them look like they were resting on the table, and that the metal objects were shiny and really showed their texture.

For the next class, students brought in a personal object from home to do a still life drawing. Students shared the object they had chosen to bring in with their class before we began our drawings. Some students brought in a stuffed animal or figurine that they have had for a long time, or received for a birthday or special occasion in their lives. Other students brought in sports equipment.

Students set up their objects in front of them and began by drawing the shape or shapes in their object. They added details and considered where it was darker or lighter on their object, which depended on where they were sitting in the room in relation to the windows. The following class, students added color using colored pencils. They focused on matching the colors of their object and showing the texture. Below are some examples of our still life drawings.

Adrian, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Anna, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Cammy, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Caroline A., 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Christos, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Dimitri, 5th Grade (Psychoghios)

Emilio, 5th Grade (Psychoghios)

Gabe C., 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Gio, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Hazel, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Isiana, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Jack, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Joey, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Kate S., 5th Grade (Bellis)

Lucas, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Tessa, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Xander, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Zach, 5th Grade (Domermuth & Fantasia)

Patrick, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Transportation Paintings

A few weeks ago, artists in PK and Kindergarten learned about transportation, which helps us get from one place to another. In Kindergarten, we watched a video about transportation sounds and in PK, we read a book about different forms of transportation. We talked about how we get to school using transportation. Many students take a car or the school bus!

Students then set about painting forms of transportation, using both primary and secondary colors that they have been practicing mixing. Some students painted a form of transportation that you can see on the road, and others painted forms of transportation that you can see in the sky. We also talked about adding a background to our painting, as well as details like traffic lights, stop signs and clouds. Below are some examples of our transportation paintings:

Adam, PK (Mattson)

Beatrix, Kindergarten (Blackwood)

Daniela, Kindergarten (Martignetti)

Emily, Kindergarten (Blackwood)

Evangelia, Kindergarten (Martignetti)

Inty, Kindergarten (Tan)

Keegan, Kindergarten (Bolton)

Kerri, PK (Mattson)

Lydia, Kindergarten (Beatty)

Maya, Kindergarten (Beatty)

Naomi, Kindergarten (Tan)

Skyler, Kindergarten (Martignetti)

Veer, Kindergarten (Tan)

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Romare Bearden Inspired 'My Block' Cityscape Collage

4th grade artists looked at the work of an African American artist named Romare Bearden to inspire their own work. Bearden lived and worked in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. We looked at and discussed one of his collage artworks called "The Block."

Romare Bearden, The Block (1978)

Students noticed that there were many different buildings and details -- windows, people, signs, etc. Students also noticed that some of the buildings looked like they were made of different materials. We discussed how the street in a city is very busy, with many different kinds of buildings, such as apartments, restaurants, and stores. Although you can tell that it is a city street, some of the colors, proportions, and views are not completely realistic. For example, some parts of the buildings are cut out so that you can see what is happening inside, and the light bulb in one of the rooms is much larger than the people around it. The longer we looked at it, the more there was to see!

Then we began our own mixed media collage artwork, using a long piece of construction paper to start the city street. There were many different materials to choose from, including construction paper, corrugated paper, metallic paper, fabric, felt, tissue paper and foam. Many students began with a road and added buildings on top, overlapping different shapes and materials.

Students added other details to their street, such as traffic lights, stop signs and pets. After they were done with their mixed media collage, students used a skinny Sharpie to add details such as window frames and signs. Below are some examples of our finished collage city streets, inspired by Romare Bearden.