Whirlwind of Activity

I have been in the process of loading many photographs into the blog site and will try to get a slide show ready to post as soon as I learn how to fix one. It has been a whirlwind of activity in the art room. Students have been working on many different projects....wardrobes, printmaking, snowflakes, and ceramic clay totems.

We recently had the disappointment of not getting any of the grants that I wrote this year. I felt strongly that my students should do a project with Springfield Little Theatre to cover the theatre arts MIGS. I was encouraged to use some issued funds to pay for the beads, wire, and ribbon needed to construct radial snowflakes. The students really did a wonderful job on them. The plan was to display the student snowflakes in the histroic Landers Theatre during the run of "Narnia". My husband and I strung twinkle lights and hung over 138 handmade snowflakes in the lobby and concession areas of the theatre. They were beautiful. The theatre will keep them up through the run of the Springfield Ballet's "The Nutcraker" and downtowns' "First Night" celebration. I know the snowflakes will be a lovely keepsake for each student when we get them back. I will take them down in January and return to each student. I spent some time on finding alternative funding to pay for the student tickets to go see the production. Amazingly, this wonderful season provides very generous gifts!!! I am truly thankful!!! As you know students then paid $3 for bus transportation. Thank you to all who sent $ and extra $ in to cover the transportion. I will use Mania funds to cover any short fall we may have. We have been comparing and contrasting the book, movie, and musical. I think the students really enjoyed seeing the show. I was proud of the behavior shown on the trip. The set, lighting, costumes, and make-up really made the musical come alive. We will continue our discussions on the topic after break.

Up-date from the Frogs on Parade project:
We were sent a check for $150 from the zoo for our part of the auction. This money went back into the regular school supply account to cover the project costs. Additional frogs not sold at auction may be purchased at school for $5.

Grade 7
Last day in class to work on wardrobes will be Friday, December19. Most students are working on door panels and knobs. Painting will be on Thursday. Students will complete the project by applying their story, poem, or artist statement to the back of the wardrobe.

Grade 6
Students have started constructing a ceramic clay slab cylinder. They are applying various decoration techniques to build a tiki/totem abstract face. We hope to finish before break so they can have that time to dry out

Assignments for week of October 27 & into November 3

Grade 7-Students are adding aboriginal dot designs to the ceramic clay frogs. We will continue on this through Wednesday. Drum sticks will be stained or painted on Thursday. On Friday students will complete a brief artist statement/biography to include with their frog for the auction. This will be due on Monday. Students may type it up at home or neatly hand write. Max width will be 7 inches across. We will mount the statement/biography to cardstock in class on Monday and add some decorative dot details. I plan to have a student art exhibit of the frogs during lunch on Tuesday, November 4. I will ask a few students to act as docents for the exhibit while they take turns eating lunch. I will also need a few students to act as docents during the eighth grade lunch. Grade 7 art students will set up the exhibit of 6th and 7th grade frogs during class on Tuesday.
Next projects:

• finish fall pastel drawings...possibly two more days.
• Narnia based 3D wardrobes...the outside design will be based on traditional architecture... students need to come up with an imaginary place/topic based on personal interests to be the interior of the wardrobe.

Grade 6-Students have completed frogs. We are working on a few group project frogs to add to the auction. Students will complete artist statements/biographies to include with their frog in the auction. This is due on Monday. Students may type it up at home or hand write neatly. Max width is 7 inches. On Monday, November 3 we will mount the papers to cardstock and add some decorative details. We will have a student art exhibit of the "Frogs on Parade" at lunch on Tuesday, November 4. I will ask a few students to act as docents for the show during the 6th grade lunch times.

Students are continuing on the African design GOLD worksheet. This will be collected on Thursday. Students voted to change our topics for printmaking and ceramic clay. The abstract faces will be the subject for a future ceramic clay project. We will form cylinders and use clay additive techniques to create tiki/totem designs. Our current printmaking project is designing a Kenya based warrior shield. We will print the shield 4 to 5 times and collage to shields together from these original prints. We will incorporate some fiber arts by sewing in some yarn or rafia into the completed collages.

Other projects:

• I still hope to try pastel PUMPKIN drawings if we can get a few more pumpkins to have as reference. Please keep us in mind as the plastic pumpkins go on sale. I would like to touch on working with space in a picture plane as we try the still life drawings.
• If we get the Narnia grant I plan to have students construct SNOWFLAKES out of wire and beads for the lobby of Springfield Little Theatre. These would be great keepsakes to use as decoration every winter.

Don't forget...November 7th is the "Frogs on Parade" auction!!

Extra Credit Opportunities for 2nd Quarter

The following are two opportunities for extra credit:

• PTSA Reflections Contest.....rules packet can be picked up in the office. I have one copy each of the Visual Arts and the Photography rules in the classroom for student reference. I am willing to let students check out certain supplies if needed. Just let me know how I can help. The theme is "WOW". Due date is December 1.
• The Springfield Public Schools Administrative Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer has requested 8 1/2 X 11 student artwork for the end of year budget book. She will accept artwork throughout the year. The selected artwork will be scanned and the original returned. To receive extra credit submit at least a week before the end of the quarter.

Students please let me know if you are interested any either of these opportunities. You could work on either one in class if you have extra time.

Continued Work in Progress...week of October 20

Grade 6-Frogs on Parade....It is very exciting seeing completed frogs finding their home on the lilly pads. The show is going to be AWESOME!!! Make plans to attend the exhibit and auction on November 7. I am working on how to do an exhibit at Hickory Hills before the frogs go up for auction. Frogs shown are "Sick Froggy", "Winter Wonderland", "Pink Froggies", "Tiger", "Chocolate Dipped Frog Berry", "Stained Glass", and "There's no place like my lilly pad"(Dorothy...OZ).

Students have turned in Art binders/folders for the 1st quarter. We have started a study of abstract tribal portraits to use for our printmaking project. Students are working on a large gold worksheet. This includes a few definitions, recording samples of eyes, noses, mouths, and so forth. Students are now trying to put parts together to make make interesting tribal faces. This worksheet will be collected for points next week.

Frogs will be graded with the tally sheet shown in class. This score will be included in 1st quarter grades.

Work in Progress....week of October 20

7th grade students started working on pastel still life drawings of pumpkins and grouds. These are samples that I shared with the students during the introduction of the project. Students have been working on showing space by using placement on the page, overlap, and cropping. We have started to establish a table line and general colors. We will continue to study value by recording highlights, low lights, and shadows. My plan is to have grade six work with pumpkins only. I purchased some plastic pumpkins to get us started. They were 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I will be able to use them year after year. We are still in need of more pumpkins so I can set up a still life on each table. Let me know if you would like to help with pumpkins for the art room. Thank you to the Kovalenko family for sending in a pumpkin.

Grade 7: Ceramic frogs have been fired, so we are taking time away from our pastel still lifes to finish the frogs. Students have started the base coat of the painting process. Dot painting will start on Wednesday and continue into next week. We are in need of little black or clear film containers to store our small amounts of thinned out acrylic paints. Anyone who uses film...please save the containers for the art classroom. The main grade for the ceramic frogs has been recorded. Students will still get a score on the painting of the frog as well as the drum stick. Art Binder/folders have been collected, graded, and returned for the 1st quarter. I pulled a few completed Art Starts to put on display in the hall.

Grade 7-Frogs in Progress

Here are a few of the 7th grade frog instruments. All students have finished the ceramic clay construction part of the project. A grade check will be completed on the frogs after a few days of drying. Proper attaching techniques will be easily evaluated after drying is starting to take place.
Projects will need to dry to the "bone dry" stage in order to be fired in the kiln. Firing will take one day and another to cool. Students will be working on planning sketches for the paint process as well as constructing the mallet using a dowel rod and Celluclay Instant Papier Mache'.

Week of September 29-Update...preview of Oct. 6-10

It was great to see so many parents at Open House! Thank you for taking the time to visit Art Studio 166. I was excited to be able to share the exciting things happening at Hickory Hills, eventhough I had to talk at warp speed.

Frogs! Frogs! Frogs!

Mark calendars for the Auction at First Friday Art Walk-December 7

Grade 7-Monday will be the last day to model with clay. Most students are smoothing the clay to aide in the painting process. We have about 7 frogs going through the drying process. The rest will start on Monday. They look amazing! The students have done an outstanding job on the construction of the instruments. Monday, October 6 will be clay clean-up and getting the room ready for planning of the painted designs. Introduction of 3D wardrobes will follow.

Grade 6-We have a few completed frogs!!!! They are all so different and fun. The sixth grade have pushed right along with a crazy classroom.......everyone doing something different, but the results will speak for themselves........the frogs are great! Students have continued to work on the "Mad Lab" drawing through the process of this frog project. I will admit that it is going to be nice having everyone using the same media after this project, but the demonstrated creative thinking skills are so important. We will try to finish this project by Wednesday, October 8.

We are still in need of pumpkins, gourds, and corn for our pastel drawing project. Let me know if you could help with donations.

I am looking forward to Mania and being able to earn some extra money to use in the classroom. I will also be getting together a request for acquisitions from the PTSA.

Looking for Pumpkins and Corn

I am interested in having the sixth graders do a quick regular pastel still life drawing after the BIG Frog projects are finished. I would like to set up pumpkins as our still life subject. We would work on many drawing skills with this simple subject. Let me know if anyone would like to donate real pumpkins or real looking fake pumpkins(even better) to the art room. I hope to be ready for the donations the week of October 13. I would like to use colorful ears of corn with the pumpkins for the 7th grade still life set ups. Seventh grade would experiment with oil pastels.

Hope to see you at Open House!

Week of September 22-26

As some of you may know I have been dealing with the illness and recent death (9/16) of my grandmother, Goldene Hart. She was a mentor and constant support of all my endeavors....personal and professional. I was blessed to have her nurtured my creative and artistic abilities. I was out of the classroom Thursday and Friday as my family honored her life.

Assignments:
Grade 7-All students are working on their ceramic clay frog instrument. Points were recorded for the two pinch pots being connected. Students are working on the front and back legs of the frog. Students should be sure that the hind legs differ from the front feet. The front feet should put the nose of the frog on an upward tilt. Students will begin adding the back spine 3D detail. Students will continue to add dimension and carve detail into the face and body of the frog.

Grade 6-We have spent a few days back tracking on our frogs. Most students are well on their way with their ideas. Many students are painting, gluing, and so forth on their designs. A Mad Lab drawing project was introduced with a handout. Students will work on the Mad Lab drawing project while I work individually with other students. My hope is to work with 5-8 students at a time moving them forward in their individual design. It is a long process when every student is doing something different. Students are learning how important cleaning up after yourself is in an art studio. We will have some frogs out for you to view at Open House. Green frog worksheets will be collected on Friday. Pam Herd, Conservation Education Director, stopped by the classroom to see our progress. Frog information cards will be given to the students on Thursday.

Announcements:
I have written three grant proposals for the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools.
Grant 1-Beyond the Wardrobe: Creating Imaginary Worlds....visual & written
This grant ties 2 first semester art projects to Springfield Little Theatre's production of Narnia...three dimensional architectual wardrobes (7th grade) and formal & radial wire constructed snowflakes (6th grade). The art work would be displayed during the run of the show. The grant would allow us to attend the show during the school day.
Grant 2-Bringing Honor through Chinese Designs
This grant ties 4 second semester art projects to Springfield Little Theatre's production of Mulan...constructing a 3D chinese dragon, origami, scrolls with Chinese brushwork, and printmaking. The artwork would be displayed during the run of the show and allow us to attend the show during the school day.
***Hickory Hills was awarded a similar grant last year and it was the highlight of 1st semester!
Grant 3-smART Classroom Resource Center
This grant would provide a foundation for setting up an art resource center in the classroom. Books, 3D models, activity kits, music, and enrichment lesson projects would be purchased. Wish us luck on getting these much needed funds for the classroom.

Mr. Mostyn will be having Art Club on Thursday mornings in his classroom for any interested students. He plans to do Hickory Hills community projects such as props for special programs.

Review of the week of September 15-19:

Grade 7-students received a handout on the ceramic clay pinch pot process, as well as sample images of the frog musical instrument project. Students organized and labeled clay storage boxes. The organization of the clay tools, the ceramic clay station, and clean up processes were observed. Students began forming two pinch pots which have been connected with a coil. Demonstrations were shown of slightly indenting the mouth area, forming and connecting front & back legs. Sample mini Chicago cows were observed.

Grade 6-students received a list of ideas for their Frog on Parade project. Mini sample Chicago cows were observed. Students brainstormed on ideas by reviewing books and a project handout. Students were to complete the green project handout by answering questions, filling in the blank, and completing drawings of various views of their planned frog. This handout will be collected for points next week. Students were to cut out their lilly pad out of cardboard.

Assignments-Week of September 8-12

Grade 7
Elements of Art review-students will complete a review of the Element of COLOR by discussing the color families of compliment, split complement, analogous, triad, warm, cool, monochromatic, tint, tone, and shade. Students will complete a blended watercolor sample. The final mini composition will include all aspects of the element of SPACE...+, -, foreground, middle ground, back ground, optical perspective...overlap, and crop. The Sketchbook/workbook will be collected Wednesday, September 10.

Grade 6
Elements of Art review-students will complete a review of the Element of COLOR by completing a 12 hue color wheel with colored pencil. We will record a variety of color families within the color wheel such as compliment, analogous, warm, cool, tint, tone, shade. Students will receive a Space packet for review and storage in their binder/folders for reference. The Element of Art review worksheets will be collected on Wednesday, September 10.

1st Major Project!!!!
Grades 6 & 7
Introduction to our cooperative community service project with Dickerson Park Zoo will include discussion of the widely popular public art displays-American Art Parades...beginning with the original "Cows on Parade-Chicago". My classes will create "Frogs on Parade-Springfield" as a celebration of the International Association of Zoos and Aquariums' "Year of the Frog". Hickory Hills student art pieces will help save the frogs! Seventh grade will produce ceramic clay frog instruments with acrylic paint designs. Sixth grade will design a 3D frog model with inspiration coming from American Art Parades of the past. Students will write an artist statement and brief biography to be included with their frog. All frogs will be auctioned off during the First Friday ArtWalk in November at the Creamery in downtown Springfield. Hickory Hills will receive half of all proceeds raised. Thank you to Mr. Allison on the support of this unbelievable opportunity be a part of an international organization event, support the Dickerson Park Zoo's efforts to save the frog, and to display our artwork among working adult artists in our community. I can't wait to get this project started. We will take any donations of Fun Foam, beads, Model Magic, Instant Papier Mache' -Celluclay, felt, and other craft items to design our frogs.

We are off to a good year in Art Room 166. During the first few days we went over the class syllabus, as well as the Art Room Rules and Procedures. These rules and procedures dealt with classroom management and how students will start class, work through studio time, and close class. It was greatly emphasized that students will work with their table color teams when accessing their tote trays, organizing and using materials, and cleaning up. Signed forms were collected for 10 points. Most students are prepared with a folder or binder to keep artwork, handouts, and notebook paper in. Students will need pencils, pencil sharpener, and an eraser. Class will almost always start with a daily creative exercise that I call "Art Starts". The Art Starts are to help get our minds ready to do art. Students will store their Art Starts in their binder/folder. Art Starts will be collected for credit at the end of the quarter.
Assignment: Pre-instruction Drawings
Pre-instruction drawings have been completed by all classes. This consisted of answering the question: What is art?; drawing a hand, a portrait, a human figure, and a building with landscape. These drawings will serve as a reference to the beginning drawing skills of each student. Given requirements included such things as eyes, eyebrows, ears, nose and so on for the portrait. The pre-instuction drawings were collected for 37 points. The last collection day will be Wednesday, Sept 3.
Assignment: Elements of Art Review
This week classes will study the Elements of Art: line, shape, value, texture, color, shape, and form. The Elements of Art are the ingredients needed to make artwork. Grade 6 has been given a handout with definitions and we are recording samples for each Element of Art as it is discussed in class (74 points). Grade 7 will produce mini art compositions in a Sketchbook/workbook handout as we review each Element of Art (75 points). Students will keep these handouts in their binder/folder to refer to throughout the semester. These basic art terms will be expanded as we work through projects.

Frog paintings on display

Sixth graders exhibit art work at the Busch building in Springfield. This was a cooperative project with the Dickerson Park Zoo celebrating the Year of the Frog. The student project included abstract jungle tempera-color mixing paintings and pencil-value drawings of frogs.

Hickory Hills MS wins Gold Star at All School Art Exhibition

Mrs. Gardner-Snodgrass with students at the All School Art Exhibit opening reception in March 2008.