Lower School Art
Through our Lower School Arts program, our students discover that art is not just crayons, scissors and glue, but wool, copper, stone, glass, clay, match box cars, wood, bottle tops and almost any supply their imaginations can dream up. The activities not only enhance classroom studies, global, cultural, and historical themes, they also offer challenges that require problem solving. In addition, there are many opportunities for unstructured exploration and experimentation with the supplies. Students are encouraged to be creative in representing their thoughts and ideas and to take risks, regarding “mistakes” as learning experiences.
As they continue participating in the Lower School Arts program, they foster a sense of pride, pleasure, and accomplishment in their artistic ability while broadening their artistic knowledge base. The emphasis is on the learning that happens with each step of the process rather the end product. A similar sequence of artistic concepts is presented at each grade, but the variety of materials and level of complexity and proficiency is increased at each successive stage. These progressive strands include, among other disciplines: color, line, texture, form, paint, sculpture, printing, and clay.
The Kindergarten class comes weekly to the art barn to discover that art is an exciting and fun discipline, with its own language, unique supplies, and dedicated space. They explore painting, collage, printing, gluing, cutting, sculpture, stamping and blending, along with color theory, 2- and 3-dimensional art and cooperative projects. They will work with clay and also make murals from their colorful and unique art works.
Sample of past Kindergarten art activities:
- 3D Nuudle Construction
- Ceramic Handprints
- Cherry Blossoms
- Alligator Puppets:Re-purposing cardboard egg cartons, the K's had fun painting them green, then adding teeth, glittery eyes and snapping mouths.
- Negative Finger Painting:Traditional finger painting involves applying colorful paint to white paper and moving it around to create designs. With negative finger painting, using a special colorful paper and black finger paint, the kids had fun manipulating the negative color to uncover the bright colors underneath.
- Pumpkin Puppets: Cutting, folding, and gluing all helped to create these humorous pumpkin puppets.
- Ten Apples Up on Top: Illustrating the Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss) book 10 Apples Up On Top, the K's had fun using real apples to make prints on top!
- Bumblebees: Bzzzzzzzz... practicing cutting, gluing, and the art of collage, the K's had fun creating bumblebees in support of their classroom study of the all important insect.
- 3D Apples: Learning the difference between 2 and 3 dimensional art, the K's practiced cutting as they made apple sculptures.
The first grade students explore many of their social studies themes through painting, drawing, printing and the messy fun of paper mache. They explore perspective, color theory, blending, line designs, quilting, and self portraits. They start the year by learning about perspective, diminishing size, overlap and the horizon line. An in-depth printing project incorporates these concepts as they create a collagraph underwater scene. A cooperative quilt features self-portraits as they fine tune their painting skills. Taking inspiration from the historical beginnings of ceramics, they make clay story tablets along with pinch pots and bowls. In the spring, the class starts to create their fanciful and creative Super Silly Creatures.
1st Grade Art
Sample 1st Grade art activities
- Super Silly Creature Paintings: From 2D to 3D and back to 2D, the class had fun painting a final view of their SSC's, but now with all the embellishments added on.
- Super Silly Creatures:The highlight of the year in art is a complex and labor intensive sculptural project where the kids design their fantastical creature, comprising of the head, middle, and tail of three different animals; build; mix colors and paint; and then decorate with all of their wonderful imaginations!
- Beloved Mortimers: The Art Barn mascot is a mischievous friendly snake, who likes to hide, play games, make messes, and write notes to the class. The kids had fun making a ceramic Mortimer, which were fired and glazed. When compete, it will sport a jaunty hat with feather.
- Ceramic Story Tablets: Using clay as a writing surface, as it was historically before paper was invented, the class was challenged to choose one favorite activity to record for posterity.
- Pastel Glue Compositions: The class had fun using glue to draw pictures of butterflies and flowers. Once dry, the glue lines acted as a resist for their oil pastel coloring.
- Fish Collograph Prints: Using cardboard, foam, sand and yarn, fish were created hiding in the seaweed, among other underwater creatures.
- Pastel Bird Resist Paintings: Using oil pastels and the family of lines they've learned, birds resting on a branch were drawn and then painted with blue watercolor paints.
- Line Compositions: Learning about the types of lines that make up all drawing, fish hide in seaweed, birds rest in nests or hide in leafy branches. Colored, painted, or using a resist technique, the compositions were carefully completed.
- Family Prints: Using sponges and mixing skin toned paint, prints of family members, including some pets, were made and then carefully detailed with pastels.
The goals for second grade include an understanding of the color wheel and the role that colors play in our lives. Students strengthen their visual awareness of perspective, shading, contour drawing, point of view, patterning, balance, and compositional integrity as they work on their Early American-inspired projects this year. In support of their classroom study of trees, perspective and point of view studies are made of different types of deciduous trees. Students are introduced to the history of ceramics as they create using pulled, slab, and carved methods of working clay. The art of printing is explored through the designing and printing of mono-prints, which are then highlighted by paint. Integrated thematic activities are inspired by their studies of early American life.
2nd Grade Art
Sample 2nd Grade art activities
- Watercolor Painted Still Life: Inspired by Matisse and his still life paintings, the class had fun creating their own flower bouquet next to a gold fish bowl.
- Needle Felting: Using sharp needles, the class "painted" with wool, creating colorful scenes depicting wooly sheep or maple tapping farmers.
- Flower Flags: The beautiful perspective paintings were turned into flags that adorned the entire campus.
- Georgia O'Keeffe-Inspired Flower Paintings: Learning about point of view, perspective, color blending, feathering, shades, tints, and the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, the class carefully painted their own viewpoints of a flower.
- Sheep Watercolor Resist: Crayons, wax and watercolor paints were used to create pastoral scenes of sheep grazing on a hill.
- Positive/Negative Hand Design: Using their hands to create a balanced composition, the negative space was carefully colored and patterns added.
- Balsa Carving and Print Project: Using balsa foam, ginkgo leaves or ears of corn were carefully carved into the surface. Sealed with gesso, prints will be pulled from the low relief images.
- Many Points of View of a Tree: Studies of a tree from different points of view were made....What does a tree look like looking out of the window of an airplane? How about if you were the kite tangled in the branches? What is the perspective of a worm eating a fruit hanging in the tree? Does the tree look differently to the caterpillar climbing up?
- 2nd Grade Tree Print: Collagraphs of a tree trunk were made using cardboard and foam. Prints were pulled and when dry, carefully colored displaying the 4 seasons of the deciduous tree.
The third graders are focusing on art traditions from around the world, while supporting their classroom studies. They start the year by making their own version of a "thunder egg"--or geode, as it is commonly known--employing the Mongolian technique of wet felting as they study these beautiful rocks in class. The traditions of the beautiful Festival of Lights from India, or Diwali, provide inspiration as they create their own ceramic lanterns and colorful Rangoli designs. Japan, Africa, the Native Americans, and the rich and varied habitat of the Chesapeake Bay watershed provide subject matter as they continue to explore different art techniques, materials, and forms from around the world.
3rd Grade Art
Sample 3rd Grade art activities
- Illuminated Manuscript: Learning about the ancient art of calligraphy, and the illuminated manuscript, the class created their own initial compositions.
- Monster Pots: Using clay, and learning about the slip and score technique of attaching along with a tripod support, humorous monster pots were carefully built and colorfully glazed.
- Contour Patterns: Making a contour drawing of an animal, the negative spaces around a word were then filled in with different patterns and colors.
- Gyotaku Fish Printing: Taking inspiration from the ancient Japanese art form called Gyotaku, the class made fish prints.
- Totem Poles from the Pacific Northwest: Paper mache pulp was used to create two animal imaged totem poles. Focusing on the art of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, symbolic animals were chosen and built with mache on a structural base. Horns, ears, tails, snouts, feet and wings were formed, attached and the totem carefully sealed and painted.
- Adinkra Designs of the Ashanti People of Ghana: Learning about the philosophical designs called Adinkra, each chose a design that resonated to them and created a carving of it in balsa wood, which they then printed on fabric and paper.
- Divali Lanterns and Rangoli Designs: In celebration of Divali, the Festival of Lights celebrated by many, ceramic lanterns were carefully formed and Rangoli were cooperatively drawn and colored.
- Wet Felted Geodes: In conjunction with their study of art from around the world, 3rd graders created wet felted geodes based on the ancient technique of felting inspired by Mongolians as they made felt yurts in which to survive their frigid winters. Using the wet soapy method, colorful geodes were slowly formed, in support of their classroom study of rocks and minerals.
The fourth graders focus their art explorations on classical artists and their unique styles. Carving, printing, ceramic designs, and painting projects enrich their study.They start the year by painting a cubist portrait inspired by the art of Pablo Picasso. Projects inspired by the art styles of Van Gogh, Miro, Matisse, Pollock, Escher, and Calder follow. Students are exposed to the power of color in advertising, complex color theory, the vanishing point, compositional balance, illusionary art, and landscape design as they focus on the art traditions of the past. Students also learn the language needed to skillfully critique each other’s art work.
4th Grade Art
Sample 4th Grade art activities
- Seurat Inspired Dot Paintings: Using their fingertips to apply dots of paint, the primary colors plus white were used to create these layers of colors.
- Van Gogh Inspired Landscapes: The signature style of bold, vibrant strokes, made popular by artist Vincent Van Gogh, were teh focus as landscape designs of their choosing were painted with palette knives. Pastels assisted in practice designs.
- Henri Matisse Cut Out Collages: Focusing on the art of Henri Matisse, the class painted their own papers and using them and other hues, created their own cut out collages. Movement, balance, organic, and geometric shapes were all taken into consideration as they created their colorful collages.
- M.C.Escher Inspired Tessellations: Focusing on the art of graphic artist and mathematician M.C. Escher, the class worked hard to create their own tessellations.
- 4th Grade Picasso Project: In conjunction to their art class study of classical artists, the 4th graders undertook creating a cubist Pablo Picasso inspired portrait. Using canvas, palettes, and thick acrylic paint, profile and side views of a face were created, painted with carefully blended contrasting colors and highlighted with black.
Starting with art from 30,000 years ago, the 5th graders explore the history of the beginning of man's creative work. Mother Goddesses, amulets and cave paintings start their journey. Mesopotamian Valley inspires their next focus as they create a bas-relief carving reflecting the Sumerian art style. Supporting their class study of different ecosystems, a double image carving of a rainforest animal hiding in the dense tropical forest serves as their first in depth carving and printing study. They further explore their interdisciplinary theme of ancient civilizations by creating a sculpture inspired by the Indus valley, Egyptian copper repousse, and Greek ceramics. By the end of their Lower School art experience, we expect our students to be able to self-critique, maintain a sketchbook, and have a developed art vocabulary.
5th Grade Art
Sample 5th Grade Art Activities
- Coral Reef Ceramic Fish: Using slabs of clay and the score and slip technique, the 5th graders shaped their chosen species of reef fish, created textures for scales, and added on fins and eyes. transparent, opaque and textured glazes were used to add color.
- Minoan Stone Mosaics: Using different colored and sized stones, designs inspired by Minoan art were transformed into mosaics.
- Double Image Rain-forest Carvings and Prints: Focusing on the endangered rain-forest habitat and the art of Henri Rousseau, the 5th graders researched the indigenous animals and flora of the region and created designs. Transferring the designs to rubber blocks, they carefully carved the positive and negative spaces. Inking and printing came next as the two images were super imposed one on the other to create their double images.
- Mesopotamian Bas-Relief Carving: Learning about the beautiful art of the Mesopotamian Valley, bas-relief carvings were made in clay. Carefully removing at least two levels, the design slowly emerged from the surface. Fired, they were glazed with a technique that highlights the depths.
- Cave Painting Project: To start their explorations of ancient art, the 5th graders focused on the beautiful cave paintings from Lascaux and Chauvet. Using earth toned pastels, animals and hand prints decorate the faux cave wall.
Cooperative projects are those art projects that 2 or more grade levels work on together. Past years' cooperative projects have included working on banners to hang for Lower School assemblies, creating the metal Peace Doves that are posted around our campus, creating the Peace Pole Tiles, and working on a Community Tapestry.
Sample Cooperative Projects
- MOD Birds: After making many types of paste paper, all grades participated in making birds to fly over the stage during our MOD celebrations.
- Seeded Flower Paper: Using shredded waste paper, paper pulp was made by soaking and blending the strips into paper pulp. Adding in calendula, daisy, or zinnia seeds, the pulp was poured into cookie cutter shapes and allowed to dry. This is for an all school project.
- 1st and 2nd Grade Winter Snow Scene: The kids had fun making snowflakes and contour silhouettes city shapes for a group project for a winter snow scene at night.
- Art Barn Contract: Thinking and talking about their “Hopes and Dreams” for their year in the art barn, the kids contemplated what they wanted out of their art experiences and how best to help make that happen. They decided that listening, being kind, being respectful, ready to learn, responsible, learning, using their imagination, trying, sitting-on-4 or standing-on-2, cooperating, and looking would help make the art room a place best able to help everyone have fun while doing art. The contract pole is signed if they agree to try to do their best and their signature can be removed if they decide that they no longer want to Have Fun doing Art.
The GOALS of the Lower School art program are to enable all students to:
- Have fun!
- Master new materials and techniques
- Become excited by new art forms, traditions, cultures & ideas
- Learn to listen and to see
- Be brave and try difficult challenges
- Enjoy the process for the fun and not the end result
- Be proud
- Try their best
- Be confident, and
- Be secure in the knowledge that THEY CAN DO IT!