Artist of the Week!

Famous Buildings Drawn in Style of Marz Jr.

This lesson for 7th-8th grade students was intended to reinforce the principles of emphasis, contrast, and rhythm. Students viewed specifically the building drawings of artist Marz Jr. and then researched a famous building of their choice to use as a subject.

After recording the building's name, architect, location and use, students drew the building on white paper. They were to draw as precisely as possible but were not allowed to use a ruler in order to give the drawing a loose, energetic feeling. The building's outline was cut out and glued to a 12x18" piece of construction paper. Students added a second color or additional buildings as needed to complete the composition.

Artist of the Week

Something new for this school year: inspired by a fellow Art teacher in my district, I set up this display in the hallway outside the Art room. Each Friday, I post a new piece of student art. The artist's name is revealed during morning announcements and the student comes to the office for a certificate and gift of a sketchbook. It is exciting to have another way to recognize students for their hard work!

1st Grade Warm Suns & Cold Moons

First grade students have been working with the warm and cold color families for the past two sessions. We brainstormed different things these colors reminded us of: the warm colors red, orange and yellow reminded us of things like sunshine, fire, and hot lava. The cold colors blue, green and purple (although purple can technically be either warm or cold, they tell me) reminded us of water, cloudy skies and blueberries.

Each student chose whether to create an artwork with warm or with cold colors; behold some of this year's Warm Suns and Cool Moons!