NYC MOMA!!!!

I went to NYC over thanksgiving break to visit my brother and celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday!! While we were there my brother asked if there was anything that I wanted to see or do and without hesitation I said, "Art Museum!!!" We narrowed down which art museum I would like to go to and decided on MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). I was amazed at all of the beautiful artwork including sculptures, paintings, and much much more!!! I have included some of the artwork that I thought was amazing, but my FAVORITE part of going to the museum (with my mom and grandma) was seeing the artwork that I teach my students. Some of these include Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Cleas Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, and Diego Rivera just to name a few (the museum prohibits taking pictures of a lot of the artwork).

The two pictures above were my favorite pictures to show the students because they have special meaning to me. Jackson Pollock actually went to our school district as a child. The other painting, Roy Lichtenstein, went to OHIO STATE (which explains why I am making a big "O" with my arms) and I just so happened to be wearing my Ohio State Socks!!!! O-H-I-O!!!!!

This is made out of many PAINTBRUSHES!!



Andy WARHOL!! I took a picture of my grandma in front of his Marilyn Print because my grandma's name is also Marilyn!!!
Cleas Oldenburg--- this is a huge fan made of soft materials!!

Surrealism

Junior High is continuing their timeline and we have arrived at SURREALISM!! We studied the artwork of Dali and Magritte. Students really enjoyed studying surreal artwork. We discussed what makes an artwork surreal. It is recognizable (unlike abstract) but doesn't make sense (dream-like). Next, I introduced the assignment. Students were to make a surrealist collage!! Before we started, I went through Arizona Highway magazines to collect large landscape pictures to use as the background for the collage. Students picked one that they liked. Then they searched through magazines to create a surreal landscape!! I absolutely love the way these turned out!!

Fall Leaves

2nd and 3rd Graders created fall leaves before the Thanksgiving Break.First, we used rubber leaves to make a leaf print with white paint and little sponges to apply the paint. We used brown construction paper as a base for the leaves to make fall colors. When we were finished we set them on the drying rack to dry for the next class. Next, we used tempera paint, with warm colors (red, orange and yellow) mixed with copper paint to
create the background for the leaves. We used a little sponge (cut from large sponges from the dollar store) and clothespins to BLEND the colors together. The clothespins also help to keep their hands a bit cleaner. It is difficult to paint with such large classes and wash hands, so the clothespins help. Lastly, we use a black permanent marker to add a border and bring out the veins of the leaves.

Fine Art Award

Herrera is known for and has earned the title of a "Fine and Performing Arts School." This year we have created a new way to honor students who have excelled or improved greatly in the arts. Every month I choose one or two students (depending on the month) to receive this award. We invite parents and family members and give them a trophy to honor their hard work. I will continue to post the pictures of the students I have chosen in the upcoming months!!! Great Job Herrera Artists!! I am so proud andinspired by your talent, effort, leadership, and determination to excel in my class!!

Spiders... AAHHHH!!!

Kinder and 1st graders created spiders and spiderwebs for the fall season I use this lesson to teach "Circles and Lines." The web is created from circles and lines, as well as the spider!! First we create the spider web with a white crayon. When they are close to finished, I start going around the room to add glitter!!! We LOVE glitter!!!!! Prior to the next class I prepare a black square and strips of black construction paper. The students cut a circle from the square and glue the circle and the strips to the web. Next, Each student receives a white crayon and they draw the face on the spider. I remind them that they can make the spider any way they choose (scary, silly, happy, etc.).

Tasty Mondrian

Junior High students have been asking to make another "Tasty color Wheel " from last year, However, we are right in the middle of creating our art timeline. We had just finished out last artist, and we were about to begin our Mondrian lesson, and I thought... " Tasty Mondrian!!!" There were a lot of similarities between the color wheel (look in a previous Junior High Post)and the Mondrian lesson, but some of the main differences were that I used Graham crackers instead of vanilla wafers. Also, we used twizzler pull and peel to create the lines ( I tried to look for black but could not find any). Each student received one cracker to work with but they had to share the icing. It was fun, educational and delicious!!!

Yummm! Color Wheels!!!

Every Wednesday we have "Super Special Wednesdays," which are days that we get selected classes for a longer time. This allows classroom teachers to meet for professional development. It also allows special area teachers to have some extra time with their classes. I like to use this time to create lessons that I would not have time for during the regular class time. This lesson, Tasty Color Wheels, is a perfect example of one of those lessons. We use white frosting, food coloring, and vanilla wafers for this project. I have found that wax paper works best to keep the tables clean. I remind students of a few things before we begin... they will get a chance to eat it at the end so please be patient and wait, only touch the food that you will eat, take turns mixing colors, and don't put too much food coloring (your teeth will be blue!!). Also, it is important that after you mix the primary colors (red, yellow,and blue) and you begin to mix the secondary colors (orange, green, and purple) that you only take a small amount of primary colors. For example, if you take all of the red and blue to make purple, you will not have any red left for orange or blue left for green. This is a wonderful lesson about the color wheel and color mixing, as well as so much fun!!!