Monday, May 5, 2014

In the Art Room: First Grade Koinobori for Children's Day!

Are ya'll familiar with the Japanese holiday called Children's Day? I think sometimes my students are convinced that everyday is Children's Day which is why nearly every night is Grape-Flavored Grown-Up Drink Day for this art teacher. But I digress.

The real Children's Day is celebrated in Japan on the 5th day of May which, in case you didn't know, is the 5th month. It's a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness. Which, seriously, that part should be everyday in an art room, don't you think?
On this day, all children fly a carp kite called a koinobori on a flag pole, along with the koinobori of those in their family. The father's koinobori is usually at the top, followed by the mother with the children's kites, from oldest to youngest, flown below.
I had big visions of flying the kids' koinobori outside of our school for the occasion and for our upcoming art show (which is in 10 days, people! Not that I'm freaking out at all). However, we had some pretty Big, Bad and Ugly weather at the start of last week that lead me to believe that keeping these lovelies inside would be a better bet. The last time I hung something in these windows, it was a pretty big hit so I thought I'd do it again with our koinobori.
Along with a sign, of course. Otherwise everyone just thought they were super cool fish kites. Which they are but there's also a super cool story behind them as well.
So just how did my friends in First Grade Land create these awesome koinobori? Dude, it was so super easy and, like, the World's Fastest Art Project (which for me is a total rarity). Here's a list of the supplies we used:
  • Roylco's Japanese Carp Wind Sock Kit For about $8, you can get your kitten mittens on a set of 24 die-cut fish with tag board strips that get glued into the mouths (if you look at the orange fish above, you'll see the tag board propping open the mouth.)
  • Sharpies. This is optional. I had the kids use these to add details that they wanted to remain permanent.
  • Watercolor Paint. Boy, talk about an End-of-the-School-Year-We-Are-Almost-Outta-Supplies Limited Palette, ya'll. But, we're artists, kids! We can make do! Or something like that.
  • A Spray Bottle Full of Water.
  • Yarn.
  • Hole Punch.

How the lesson went down:

My kids have been learning about Asia, with an emphasis on Japan, all year. In fact, we'd just finished off this sushi lesson not long ago and had just completed making a ceramic koi fish. I needed a short and quick tie-in lesson while our clay projects dried and fired. These koinobori were just the perfect thing. 
After chatting about Children's Day, the kids were given a tray of warm and cold colored Sharpie markers. We chatted about the parts of a fish (fins, gills, scales, tail, etc.) and how we might emphasize those with either warm or cool colored Sharpies. 
That took up our first 30 minute session.
For the next 30 minute session, we reviewed correct use of water color paint (which obviously doesn't include cleaning the tray, ew!). I also told the kids that they were again to use warm or cool colors but that they didn't have to stick with the same color family as they used last art class. Once the kids had collected their supplies (a paint brush and two ziplock bags -- the two things I forgot to mention in that above supply list, doh!), they were to raise their hand and I came over and squirted their fish with water.
Because the paper is made from the same stuff as coffee filters, a wee spritz of water really helps the water color paint to spread out. The kids thought that was pretty rad.
Once the kids had painted their entire fish, they were given the option of splatter painting.
I don't think a single kid opted out of that one.
To dry, the kids gingerly carried their zip locked fish to the floor. The reason I kept the bags on the bottom was that I found that the color will often run off the paper and on to the surface that it is sitting on. However, if the paper is allowed to "sit in it's own juices" so to speak, it dries much more vibrant. 
Now, normally, I woulda had the kids add the tag board and attempt to tie the string. But I was in a bit of a time crunch. So I set aside about 15 minutes every afternoon to hot glue the tag board at the top, hot glue it into a tube, hole punch the top and add the yarn. By the end of the week, I had all of my classes finished.
To hang, I bent a paper clip so that it looked like some sort of scary prison shank and stuck it into the foamy ceiling tie. I added the top fish to that paper clip. Then I hole punched the bottom of that fish and added a bent paper clip to that hole where I attached the second fish. If I'm not making any sense it's because I'm deep into that aforementioned Grape-Flavored Grown-Up Drink Day and I simply cannot be held accountable for my incoherentness. 
I managed to get 'em all up and ready for Monday, May 5th on Friday. I can't wait for the kids (and the grown kids) to see them and celebrate all things children -- especially during our standardized testing week!

Until next time, enjoy Children's Day! Or Grape-Flavored Grown-Up Drink Day. Your choice.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

What the Art Teacher Wore #98

Stormy Monday: Ya'll, if you live in the South you know there was some pretty terrible weather. Thankfully, after going home two hours early, we were left unscathed, but those in Tupelo didn't fair as well. I'm sure they'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers, if that's your thing. sweater, dress: vintage, thrifted; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina
Well, kids, next week my wee friends in third and fourth grade land embark on their standardized testing adventure. Which had me thinking about sharpened Number 2 pencils all weekend long (tell me I'm not the only one who's a freshly-sharpened-pencil-huffer). In fact, I tossed all current DIY's out the window this weekend (as well as cleaning and yard work, but that's, like, every weekend) and crafted up two pencil-y inspired ensembles just for the occasion. Cuz I gotta dress the part, ya'll. I'll be posting those DIY's later this week. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd share the pencil-y creations of Brazilian-born artist Dalton M. Ghetti. Have ya'll seen his work before? I'm just blown away by his work. My plan for next year is to share more contemporary artists with the kids and I know they'd love to see these pieces. Have any of you shared Ghetti's work in the art room? I'd love to hear some lesson ideas from ya'll that don't involvemy little friends carving into pencils with knives. Whatcha think?

Oh! And if you've not yet voted for the Best Dressed Art Teacher, please go here, check out these awesome teachers and cast your vote! Voting ends Thursday, May 8th.

AND, I almost forgot, May the Fourth Be With You! If ya'll didn't know I have a love for all things Star Wars, go here and here to see the depth of my crazy.
Alphabet, Dalton M. Ghetti. So Ghetti, who moved to the U.S. at the age of 24 in 1985 is a carpenter/house remodeler, according to his biography. Growing up in Brazil, he and his fellow classmates learned to sharpen their pencils with knives and razor blades (so, maybe I can use sharp objects with my littles? Um, pretty sure my administration would vote NO!! on that one).  Noticing his interest in sculpting and creating, his parents gave him a tool set at the age of 8. Since then, the dude's been creating all sorts of sculptures with a variety of media.
According to that bio, "To create his [pencil] sculpture, he holds the pencil in his hand under a strong light source (table lamp or sunlight) and carves it mostly with a sewing needle and a very sharp, triangular, small, metal blade. He works at very small intervals: 1 to 2 hours maximum per day whenever he gets inspired. He works very slowly by removing specks of graphite at a time. It therefore takes months or sometimes years to complete a sculpture." I love hearing that he only works when inspired and for a short amount of time a day. That means, there's no more using the excuse, "I don't have the time!" Everyone's got at least 20 minutes a day to work on something, right?
Let's Get Spring-y Tuesday: Everything is green right now. Especially after all the rain we've had. So much so that when I cut the grass this weekend, it was like plowing a field which was super hard to do in those heals, lemme tell ya. dress: vintage, thrifted; shoes: Fluevog; tights: Target; felted sweater: DIY by me
At first, Ghetti sculpted large things. But then his interest in small living things like moss and insects caused him to switch gears. He decided to create the smallest thing possible with just his hands and the naked eye (that's right, dude doesn't use a magnifying glass, if you can imagine). So, one day, he picked up a pencil and started carving.
Boot.
More Like Irish Spring Wednesday: So. Very. Greeeeen. sweater, shoes, dress: thrifted




For Ghetti, he believes people should pay more attention to the small things. The details. So he uses his art to call attention to that. The pencils he uses as his canvas are discarded ones that he finds on the streets. What others consider trash, he turns into fine art.
Dorky Thursday: Even after several photos, this dorky one was the best I could do. My apologies. dress: vintage; tights: Target; shoes: Indigo by Clarks
Forever Linked. For Ghetti, sculpting pencils is his form of meditation. He doesn't sell his pencils. You can buy reproductions of photos of his work. But the guy isn't doing this for the money. He sculpts for himself,  from his heart. Isn't that amazing? 
Happiness is Friday: Seriously. With the art show a week and a half away, I'm putting in some serious hours at school. I don't enjoy 12 hours shifts, but I know the end result will be worth it. That doesn't mean I don't love me a Friday! dress: Bernie Dexter; sweater: Buffalo Exchange; shoes: Anthropologie
Giraffe.

Amazing. I'm looking forward to hearing how you'd share this amazing artist's work in your art room!






Thursday, May 1, 2014

DIY: The Best Dressed Art Teacher Contest!

Well, folks the entries are in! Here are just some of the most crazily, er, Best Dressed Art Teachers around. I've included a super short bio (there were so many entries, I had to keep 'em brief) as well as a blog link if available. Casting your vote is easy peasy, just click on your fave in the poll on the right (it's a tough choice so you can vote for more than one!). Voting ends Thursday, May 8th with winners announced shortly thereafter. Have fun checking out these awesome characters and good luck, you crazy art teachers!

 Meet Natalie Friedl who is an elementary art teacher in Huntersville, NC (right outside of Charlotte). She says, "I love teaching art to little artists and this Halloween I decided to take a sick day to enjoy my favorite holiday. Well, I was so happy to find that Frida Kahlo herself had recently become a substitute in our system.  I quickly called her and she agreed to sub for me on Halloween!"

 You might know Don from his blog. He teachers at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy which is a K-5 Visual Arts Magnet School in San Diego. He writes, "The first look is me as a Che Guevara t-shirt. I stenciled "Viva la education!" below the portrait on the shirt. The second one is me as the one and only Bob Ross. I wore this one for our halloween parade a couple years ago. Gosh, I remember being mesmerized by him on TV when I was a kid. That voice, that fan brush, that hair..."
Kimberly Jones has a "sub" known as Ms. Paintbrush that occasionally shows up for her! Kimberly writes, "Ms. Paintbrush is my crazy cousin who, interestingly enough, looks and sounds just like me! It's been rumored that Ms. Paintbrush has actually demonstrated painting with her paintbrush hair!"

 Deyana Matt teaches art in Bloomingdale, IL  to students in 6th through 8th grade. Deyana sent me so many amazing outfit photos, I can tell she is a girl after my own heart! I wish I could have share 'em all with you. These were my faves!
Melinda Flinchum, aka Miss French Fry, writes "I am a kindergarten through fifth grade art and special education teacher. I LOVE color, my dog Mugsy and putting together theme-y outfits based on the artists we're studying.  Most of my outfits are thrifted because you never know when a Kindergartener will spill a container of red glaze on you (true story)." 
Stephanie Walton taught middle school art since 2001.  In 2013,  she made the leap to elementary school! She is now more comfortable in dressing the part as Crazy Art Teacher and does so with her adorable apron collection. She says, "They [the aprons] are a hit now and the kids worry when I don't have my aprons on in cute colors!" What a perfect way to add a little color to your art teacher wardrobe, Stephanie!

Amy Fitzpatrick teaches grades first and fourth through seventh at Duluth Edison Charter North Star Academy. She writes, "The Art Fairy was originally a Halloween costume, but she's made appearances on days when we've done art history or art appreciation." I love this idea of an art fairy, so stealing this one, ya'll!

 Debra Thomson organizes an "Art for Ed's Sake" event as a public school art fundraiser in my district. She says, "So of course I had to dress up as well.  This is my hubby and I as American Gothic.  (Once in awhile we stood the other way and said "the tornado had come through"…." So much fun! I love that hubster got involved. And what a fabulous idea for a fundraiser, Debra!
Heather Hyslop, who blogs at Art Intertwine, says that she put this look together after finding a Marilyn t-shirt. She wrote me to say, " Since no outfit is complete without accessories I also included my Andy Warhol soup cans and 25 cats which are 'hidden' throughout both pics."
Heather lives in Victoria, Canada where she teaches art as a sub to elementary, middle, and high school students.  She also runs an art program for elementary kids through community recreational center.  

 Sheryl Depp teaches elementary school art. About her outfits, she writes, "One is the typical artist "uniform" and the other is my self proclaimed Queen of Recycle costume." I personally love her typical artist outfit, especially that scarf, fantastic!
 Erin Maday is a baby to the art education game. She's a second year elementary art teacher in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. She says, "I love my job (I am 39 and left a marketing corp. America type jobs few years ago to finish up an Art Ed certificate and have never looked back! I love being an Elementary Art teacher!)." Here she is dressed as a silent film star for Halloween, highlighting the art element "value" and principle of design, "contrast." And... of course the silent film movies of yesteryear.


Patricia Brentano is an Elementary Art Teacher in Neptune, NJ. About this lovely look, she writes, "I love Hokusai's Great Wave and have a pair of leggings and a shirt with his print. As a way to introduce the artist and a project on the Great Wave to my third grade classes, I wore my leggings, origami crane earrings, and a wave bracelet. Now kids in all grades can say "Hokusai", without someone exclaiming "God bless you!" and students who are doing the Great Wave project are super excited to begin!"  


Donna Staten, most famous for her amazing art education pinterest boards (which I am so very thankful for, Donna, what a resource!) got all Suess'ed up for Read Across America week! She teaches kindergarten through fifth grade art at Gattis Elementary in Round Rock, Tx (right by Austin).

Hope Knight, the art teacher behind Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists, sent these photos and wrote, "I am dressed as a Picasso painting, fictitiously called "Head of a Woman." I don't dress up very often - I have to admit that comedy is a huge part of my life, but for some reason I act very serious and teacherly in the classroom. I have some sort of hang-up about getting in silly mode at school, but that's just my introverted nature I suppose. So glad my partner in crime, the music teacher, is a total extrovert and we make the best team."


 Ashley Hammond is an art teacher at Munford Elementary School in Munford, TN. She says, "I love making my own costumes to surprise my students, even though I am absolutely too scared to sew a single stitch. So everything is made with my best friend, the hot glue gun! :)  

The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes from my avid love for the life and work of Eric Carle. 
The Super Art Teacher outfit greeted my students on the first day of school this year. Nothing says "Welcome back!" than to harness your inner power of creativity!" 
Michael Kantor, aka Michael van Gogh, wore this awesome ensemble for Dress Like Your Hero Day! He says that he uses this very cool ensemble all the time and writes that when he dresses this way, the kids listen to "Micahel van Gogh more than me!"
Meet Lindsey Ostafy, an elementary are teacher in Bear, DE. Her first costume was inspired by an Egyptian themed unit (I have that very same hat, Lindsey!). She writes, "Each student used their photos to make themselves into a pharaoh. It was a fabulous day, and all of the students were inspired by my costume!" Her second photo features  a super cute scissor happy skirt. perfect for a lesson on collage!
Arlene Shelton teaches ninth grade art in Aledo, Texas.  This fabulous ensemble was inspired by an SNL Dress-Up Day! She says, "I have always wanted to wear my paint pants to school but I knew I would have to get creative to be allowed to wear them.  Therefore, when SNL Dress-Up Day was announced I grabbed the chance and dressed up like Garth from Wayne's World!  My counterpart, Wayne, is our school librarian."
Jena Love is a pre-k, third through eighth art teacher whose philosophy is, "If kids can relate to it then they get excited about it!" She writes, "Kids can relate to comics so I show them examples of comics and superheroes that have primary color costumes/uniforms then we talk about that. Then I tell that that I have a secret. I put on the cape and glasses and become a superhero whose power is to make any color in the whole world!"
 Ya'll probably know Phyl who blogs over at There's a Dragon in my Art Room. After teaching for 36 years, most of that at a rural elementary school in upstate New York, Phyl is now 2 years into her retirement. Although, you'd never know it. She stays busy teaching, painting, sculpting, you name it! This ensemble was created from a large collection of free art tees that Phyl had collected from attending years of conventions. If you were at NAEA in San Diego, you probably saw Phyl wearing this dress!
And, lastly, we have the super cute Erin Mikels who teaches at the Blue Earth Area School District in Minnesota.  About her look, she writes, "I love color, but have always been "scared" of being too loud. However, after adding bits of color and loud patterns, I have had nothing but positive feedback on my wardrobe! I buy most of my clothing from thrift shops, strictly because we are "poor" due to having five people in our family!But the other reason is due to the fact that every article of clothing I own has some sort of paint stain on it." Oh, friend. I think we can ALL relate to that!

And there you have it, folks! Place your votes. I'll keep you posted on the winner shortly after May 8th!