Welcome to the 2nd Quarter of Art!

Hello Everyone!
For my new students and families of 6th and 7th grade students - welcome to the BMS Art Department Blog.  8th grade students and families - thank you for continuing to read. 😀  I post a new classroom blog about every two weeks.  This is a chance for me to brag about my students and showcase the work they are doing.

6th Grade

6th grade students started off the quarter by creating their own sketchbook covers to be used for their Bell Work assignments.  They were asked to focus on color and texture while they painted and added a piece of plastic wrap to the covers.  Once the paint was dry, the plastic wrap was removed revealing a really cool texture.  Super easy!

Their first project of four for the quarter is a Positive and Negative Cityscape.  Students learned about space and how artists use this in their work.  They also learned a little bit about color theory by using cool or warm colors.  We just finished these projects last week and I am very pleased with the effort and positive attitudes put forth.  It shows in the overall quality of work.  You should have seen the smiles on their faces as they finished!

6th grade students working on their cityscapes.

7th Grade 

7th grade students also took the first few days of class to design their sketchbook covers.  They used art paste, acrylic paint, and various tools to make texture on their covers.  

The first project for 7th grade is to create a Pop Art Self Portrait.  After much groaning and complaining about having to take a picture of themselves 😏 students got to work.  They learned about the Pop Art Movement and various artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Roy Lichtenstein.  Students used bold primary colors, Ben Day Dots (just ask them), and an onomotopoeia in their portraits.  They will be finishing these up early this week and move onto everyone's favorite medium - CLAY!

Pop Art Portraits being created.

8th Grade

My 8th grade students AMAZE ME!  The bat house project was a huge success!  After Mr. Burr's class finished building them, my students created some beautiful images on them using woodburning.  All of the houses are sold and I even have orders already placed for more this spring.  I think students enjoyed the presentation given by the DNR bat biologist as well.  The fruit bat was impressive!  

Students are now working on building a personal story pole modeled after Native American totem poles.  Students will be creating 5 clay objects that represent themselves and 3 beads incorporating wire and glass beads.  These beads and objects will be stackable forming a story pole.  So far, the creativity is flowing....

A sample of some of the finished bat houses.

Intervention

During my day I also teach intervention to a combined class of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for 20 minutes.  This is an enrichment class for students that are at their benchmarks for reading and math.  I chose a small project that is near and dear to my heart working with the Columbia County Humane Society (I have 4 dogs, 3 are rescues).

Students were able to choose an adoptable dog or cat from the CCHS's website for their project.  They have been working on making portraits of these animals from paper collage.  Once the artwork is complete, they will be giving these to the new owners of the pets upon adoption.  Columbia County Humane Society has also agreed to feature the student artwork on their website.  What a great opportunity to pass on a little kindness.

Intervention students working on their rescue collages.

Art Club

There have been three Art Club meetings so far this quarter.  What a fantastic group of students!  This is a really big group with 35 students and everyone seems to enjoy being in each other's company.  On Saturday, December 9th look for Art Club members in the Portage Living Windows event downtown.  Art Club will be decorating gingerbread houses and stringing garland all dressed up in Victorian era clothing.  There is also another event for Art Club member this month - a bead workshop at Prairie Beads.  Students will be able to create a "tree of life" using various metal and beading techniques.  There will be more opportunities like this throughout the school year.

As you can tell I am a really busy lady, but as I told my students, there is nothing I would rather be doing.

Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

Mrs. Doro

Finishing 1st Quarter

Greetings Everyone,
I am sad to say 1st quarter is coming to a close.  I have enjoyed teaching your students so much I hate to let the 6th and 7th grade students go (8th grade students have art for a semester).  I have had the pleasure of creating with some outstanding individuals!

6th grade students will be finishing up their Upcycled CD Mandalas this week. (Thank you Mr. Kibby for the donation of CDs!)  Students worked hard creating radial symmetry with line, shape and color while doing a bit of upcycling to keep used CDs out of the landfill.  As I walked around the classroom I was amazed by all the unique designs I saw taking shape.

6th grade CD Mandalas

7th grade students have been very busy creating sculptures, glazing pottery, and working on one point perspective.  I have put a lot of thought and time into developing the art curriculum for 7th grade students.  The projects are beautiful, but very time consuming.

The Aboriginal Abstract Sculptures are on display in the showcases throughout BMS.  These are some of the best displays of art I have ever seen!  The dedication and effort many students put into their pieces really shows. 👏

The last 7th grade project for the quarter is working with one point perspective to create a cityscape of skyscrapers.  Students are learning about vanishing points, parallel/perpendicular lines, and orthogonal lines.  They will continue to work on these this coming week.

7th Grade Abstract Aboriginal Sculptures

Onto 8th grade!  Usually, 8th grade students work with more complex materials since it is an elective class.  The current project in no exception.  Each student will be using wood burning to decorate their own bax house.  Mr. Burr's 8th grade tech. education classes built 40 bat boxes as part of their mass production unit.  They did a fantastic job. Thank you Mr. Burr and all of his students.  We were fortunate to have some of the building material donated by Portage Lumber and the Lake Delton Home Depot.  Thank You!  My art students have been practicing their wood burning skills on scrap pieces of wood the past week and are ready to tackle the bat houses.

Each bat house will hold about 40 bats and are for sale for $20.00.  Half of the money will go to the tech. ed. department and the other half will go to the art department.  Students' families and friends get first chance to purchase a house.  Many have already been sold. 😀

We will also have some visitors at Bartels on November 17th.  A representative from the Wisconsin DNR will be giving a presentation to 8th grade tech. ed and art students explaining the importance of bats in our community.  She will also be bringing her live brown bats as well as a couple of fruit bats to share with the students.  VERY EXCITING!!!!  If you are interested in purchasing a bat house please let me or your art student know. 👍

8th grade students preparing their bat boxes for wood burning.

This spring the first Annual Bartels Art Show will be taking place.  I am determined to have at least one piece of art displayed from each of my students.  Because of this show, not all student work will be handed back at the end of quarter.  After the spring show all artwork will be returned.  A date for the art show will be determined soon.

Art Club will be starting 2nd quarter.  A letter was sent home with all enrolled students with a list of dates.  There is also a list of meeting dates posted outside my classroom door.  Art Club members will have an opportunity to participate in the Living Windows on December 9th in downtown Portage.  I have also spoke with the owner of Prairie Beads and we are planning 3 mini field trips to her shop to make a project after school.  More information will be available soon.

Congratulations to Naomi Saalsaa!!!  She was chosen as Art Student of the Month for October.  She is a well deserving candidate for this award.  

Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

Mrs. Doro

Greetings from the art department at BMS

Hello Families!

I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy teaching your students.  I look forward to opening the door of the art room everyday, anticipating all the creativity, humor, and kindness that will take place in the next few hours.  I truly LOVE my job! 💗
The first few weeks of school have been very busy getting to know each other and learning new art skills.  Many 7th and 8th grade students noted the changes in the art room immediately.  I was here all summer painting, cleaning, and organizing.  The results are worth all the effort.

6th grade students have been busy completing their first project - Positive and Negative Space Cityscapes.  Students learned about negative and positive space in art and the difference between cool and warm colors. Their work is on display in the 6th grade hall, I have received many compliments from other faculty and staff on how well they turned out.

6th Grade Cityscapes

6th grade students also finished constructing their clay projects this past week.  Clay emoji rattles are always a favorite project.  They are drying on the shelf getting ready for the first firing in the kiln.  I am so impressed with the construction and craftsmanship of these.  I have some really talented students!  I will post more about these emojis once they are glazed.

6th Grade students creating their emoji rattles.

7th grade students finished their Pop Art Portraits last week as well.  After lots of moaning and groaning about taking pictures of themselves students got busy creating work based on the Pop Art movement of the 1950's.  Students were only able to use complimentary colors and skin tones for this project, Pop Artists such as Roy Lichtenstein used only these colors in his work.  Students also incorporated an onomatopoeia describing their personalities to their portraits.

Some examples of 7th grade Pop Art Portraits.

7th grade students are currently working on their clay projects with much success.  They are coil pot creatures.  Students are required to build anything they like with coils.  The piece must incorporate an opening in the design, have a coiled interior, and be at least 5 inches tall.  They are tackling this with lots of positive attitudes and effort!

7th Grade students creating their clay projects.

8th graders have been busy as well.  Since this is an elective class for 8th grade and a semester long, we really start to develop skills and learn about many art mediums.  They started the year learning how to marble paper and how to bind a book using a Japanese method.  Students created sketchbooks using these new skills.  They turned out beautifully!

The next project was a Japanese paper cutting called a Notan.  Students learned about positive and negative space and how to create art with balance and contrast.  They also learned how to use an x-acto knife correctly and SAFELY!  This lesson always makes me a little nervous. 

8th Grade Notans

8th grade students are currently working their way through the Value and Form lesson.  They learn how to create the illusion of form by using value.  They also learn how to use drawing pencils and related materials.  The project will close with students creating a logo relief and redrawing this from observation incorporating value.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ezra Laufenberg for being chosen the Art Student of the Month for September.  I chose Ezra because he is one of the most dedicated, polite, and creative students I have ever taught.  He brightens up the art room as soon as he walks in.  Ezra is always on task and asking questions, he is a joy to teach!

Art Student of the Month - September

Ezra Laufenberg

As you can tell, the art room at BMS is a hopping place - I wouldn't want it any other way!  

Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

Mrs. Doro

A new school year is almost here...

Hello Everyone!
        Let me introduce myself to those of you that are new to the middle school...I am Mrs. Doro, the art teacher at Bartels.  I teach all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade art classes, about 150 students a day (whew!).  This will be my second year in this position, prior to teaching art I was a substitute teacher and special education paraprofessional.  I have a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point (go Pointers!).
        I have been working diligently since the middle of June painting, organizing, and cleaning my classroom.  I feel like a child on Christmas morning - waiting to show all my students the new room.  Along with a snazzy new room, I have revamped and created new and exciting lesson plans.  It will be a FANTASTIC year in art class for your student.
        Some of these projects require materials that cannot be purchased in stores or online.  If you would have any of the following items laying around your home I would gladly take them from you...

• wire coat hangers
• thicker (canvas or denim) aprons
• old CDs
• empty manilla file folders
• nylon knee high stockings (no holes or runs)

      Open house at Bartels will be August 30th from 4:00 to 5:00.  PLEASE feel free to stop in the art room to say "hello" and look around.  Art is located in the small tan building behind the main building.  Hope to see you on the 30th!

Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

Mrs. Doro

       

Happy Summer Break!

Hello Everyone,

What an incredible year I have had as the art teacher at BMS.  I have learned so much and met so many wonderful human beings.  If your student is moving on to the High School, I hope they will come back for a visit.  My mind is already full of creative things to teach next year's students.

The 7th grade classes finished their Pop Art Candy projects with a lot of success.  Students learned about Pop Artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and the history of the Pop Art movement.  They started with an observational drawing of a piece of candy.  Attention was paid to the shape of the candy and the style of font used. Next, students added vibrant, flat color using acrylic paints.  A black outline was finally added to give definition and emphasis to the shape of the candy.  I wish there was more time in the school year to be able to display these pieces...the students did a fantastic job.

7th grade students hard at work.

                                             Some finished 7th grade Pop Art Candy.

8th grade students have been working diligently on their Keith Haring inspired t shirts.  Students were able to choose a Keith Haring image or design one of their own to screen print on a t shirt.  With just a few inexpensive items (embroidery hoop, mod-podge, organza fabric, paint brushes, and ink) students learned a bit about the process of screen printing.  This is a technique that can easily be done at home (in case of summer boredom)!

8th grade screen printing projects.

6th grade students used positive and negative space along with cool or warm colors in their last project for the year.  They were able to create their own unique cityscapes using Protecto Paper (an adhesive paper).  Color was added using acrylic paint and a water spray bottle.  Students really seemed to enjoy the process of adding color.

6th grade positive/negative space cityscapes.

Art Club students finished the school year with a fantastic field trip to the Baraboo area.  We were able to tour the newly restored Al Ringling Theater.  It was absolutely incredible.  I knew the students were enjoying it with every "Oooohhh... and Ahhhhh...."  Students also toured the Dr. Evermor Sculpture garden just outside of Baraboo.  It was an amazing site filled with scrap metal sculptures, some over three stories tall.  Our day ended at Mirror Lake State Park playing games, drawing, hiking, and just soaking up the sun.  It was a very quiet bus ride home.  😊

I hope you enjoy your summer and find lots of time to relax and enjoy your family.  I am looking forward to spending time with my family traveling, camping, and just being together. 

See you in the fall!

Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

Mrs. Doro

Greetings...

Hello Everyone,
Fourth quarter is well under way and the art room is a really busy place.  Trying to find storage for all the projects is a challenge since 6th, 7th, and 8th all use the same room.  The full shelves and tops of cabinets are a reflection of the creativity being produced.

6th grade students finished their Radial Name Designs and are on display in the 6th grade hall.  Students also finished the construction stage of their emoji rattles.  This is a shorter project packed with lots of new skills.  Students learned how to wedge clay, create pinch pots, score and slip pieces together, and use subtraction and addition methods to create the emoji faces.  Now we wait.  It will take a week to 10 days for the clay to dry fully before they can be bisque fired in the kiln.

Some 6th grade clay emojis drying on the shelf.

7th grade students finally finished their first project - the Op Art Cubes.  This is by the far the biggest and most time consuming project of all three grades.  The finished projects look great and are hanging in the 7th grade hall.  I am SO pleased with the quality of work!  The next project will be coil pots.  Students will learn various coiling techniques while creating a 4 inch tall coil pot.  Like the 6th grade, they will learn how to wedge clay, score and slip pieces together, as well as rolling coils.  It is a challenging project!


The 8th grade students have taken on a huge project - a permanent mural for BMS.  I am so excited about this project - students are working collaboratively to create a small piece of abstract art based on an action word.  The design was created in cardboard first then cut out of Masonite board (it took about 9 hours of cutting in my husband's shop!) before students primed and started adding color with paint.  This project concentrates on shape, color, line, and form.  Once the pieces are finished, they will be combined together on a wall in the lunchroom creating a large abstract action mural.  Every shelf and cabinet is full of abstract pieces.

                                    8th grade students working on the abstract actions mural.


Congratulations to Sophie Denure!  Her cover design was chosen for the Bartels Middle School Awards Ceremony program.  I think she is enjoying her set of 48 Prismacolor colored pencils!  Along with designing the cover Sophie was awarded the Artist of the Year Award.  This award is given to an 8th grade student exhibiting dedication, passion, and talent for art.
Two other art awards were also given at the ceremony last Thursday night.  The Polished Artist award was presented to Emma Moll.  This is given to a student who really strives to learn new techniques and materials. Emma is willing to put in the extra time to perfect her art.  The last award presented was the Love of Art Award.  This went to Chloe Saalsaa.  Chloe has this huge creative spirit that is very contagious!  She really pushes herself to think outside the box in all her work.

                                                                                          Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,
                                                                                           Mrs. Doro

Greetings from the Art Department.

Hello Everyone,
     Fourth quarter already!  I have enjoyed getting to know my new fourth quarter 6th and 7th grade students over the past two weeks.  Here is a glimpse of what is going on in the art room...
     7th grade is busy working on their optical illusion cube.  They learned about the 7 Elements of Art and different techniques to create their illusions.

7th grade creating optical illusions.

    Art for 8th grade at BMS is a semester long class.  Students just completed constructing their pieces of cake from clay.  They learned how to make a slab pot using templates and cutting bevels.  The cakes are drying and will be fired in the kiln by the end of the week.  In the meantime, we will be working on an abstract art mural.  Students will be working with a partner to design an abstract piece based on an action word.  The final piece will be 3 Dimensional and made out of painted masonite.  All of the different abstract action words will be combined together to create a larger collaborated mural.  I am excited to provide students with a chance to leave a little bit of themselves at BMS and help to make their school more beautiful.

8th grade working on pieces of cake.

     6th grade's first project is the Radial Name Design.  Students work on line, shape, and color to create a unique piece of art incorporating their name.  The end results are as unique as the students who created them!

6th grade Radial Name Designs.

     If your student is new to the art department this quarter - Welcome!  I try to post a new blog once a week to showcase the activities and creations happenings in the art room at BMS.  If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

                                                                                      Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,

                                                                                       Mrs. Doro

Happy Spring Break!

Hello Everyone!
I hope this post finds you rested and ready for the last quarter of the school year.  I have enjoyed my break doing not much of anything - spending time with my family, taking advantage of time off to work on projects, and of course sleeping in.
When we return from break, there will be one week left of the 3rd quarter.  The 6th and 7th grade students will leave art and start a new encore class for 4th quarter.  I always miss my outgoing students - I really love being a teacher and forming relationships with my students.

In the art room 6th grade is working on their final project for the quarter - Picasso Superheroes.   Students are able to choose their own Marvel or DC superhero and redraw the hero in a cubism style.  The faces are distorted and sometimes rearranged, but the hero's distinctive traits are still used (for example costumes, masks, symbols, and hair). These drawings are transferred onto a canvas and then painted.  This unit also focuses on color theory, students learn about hues, tints, tones, and shades.  They also learn how to mix their own colors using "recipes."  The clay emojis were also glazed and made it safely out of the kiln.  They turned out wonderful, here is a small sample of student work....

7th grade-who knew destroying technology could be so fun?  The last project 7th grade is a science fiction based piece called "I Robot."  It is a multi-media project using cardboard, paint, aluminum foil, wire, copper foil, and recycled technology parts.  Students start with a picture of themselves and turn it into a robot version of themselves.  All of the coil pots created earlier in the quarter have been fired for the first time and are waiting to be glazed.

For 8th grade art is a semester long class, they have been busy working with metal creating a 3 dimensional mask.  Students are able to create their own mask design and use embossing tools to add texture to the metal.  The masks are wiped with India ink and burnished with steel wool to enhance the texture and line designs.  Then fun embellishments are added, for example feathers, yarn, beads, mustaches, wire glasses, silk flowers, sequins, and glitter.  A lot of creativity is happening!  The Dragon Eyes are on display in the halls of BMS.  Small, colorful masterpieces!

 Finally, the Art Club sponsored the March dance on the 10th.  Club members were responsible for collecting admission money, selling concessions, and cleaning up after the dance.  In return, we were able to raise money for our club.  It was a very successful dance and we raised plenty of money, this will be used to purchase art materials for the club and pay for a field trip this spring.  Members decided to sell Rice Krispy treats at the dance - thank you to the F.A.C.S. class for making them for us.  Students cut and wrapped treats before the dance, filling the art room with laughter, stories, creativity, and pizza!

On Friday, March 31st, I will be taking some art students to the Wisconsin State Youth Art Month Show at the state capitol.  Bartels Middle School has three talented students participating.  Congratulations to Morgan Fimreite, Abby Doro, and Annabelle Luschei.  I am one proud teacher!
               
                                                                        Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,
                                                                        Mrs. Doro

Whew, what a week!

Hello Everyone!
What a crazy busy week in the Art Department at Bartels!  The Portage K-8 Student Art Show kicked off with an opening reception at the Drury Gallery on Friday.  The amazing amount of creativity these students have is impressive.  I am SO proud to be the art teacher at Bartels Middle School and love being able to share my knowledge and enthusiasm for art with my students.

All three grades are wrapping up their projects in the art room.  6th grade is putting the final touches on their metal birds.  I love walking around the room and seeing the creative and colorful creations taking shape.

7th grade will be finishing the construction of their coil pots on Monday.  They incorporated different coil techniques into their pieces and built them at least 4 inches tall.  Once construction is done the waiting begins, it will take 7-10 days for the pots to dry completely before they can be fired in the kiln.  Once the first firing is complete, glaze will be added and back into the kiln for a 2nd firing.  Working with clay is a long process, but well worth the wait!

The 8th grade classes are finishing a lesson on color gradation by creating a dragon eye.  Boy, are they beautiful!  Students were able to design their own dragon eye focusing on line quality and blending/layering colors.  While teaching color gradation I told the students they should be applying so much color their fingers will hurt,  I don't think they thought I was serious until their fingers did indeed start to cramp!  These pieces are turning out fabulously, and I can't wait to have them on display in the halls of Bartels.

                                                                           
                                                                    Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,
                                                                     Mrs. Doro

Half Way Through the Quarter!!!

Hello Everyone!
     Halfway already?  The saying "time flies when you are having fun" applies to the art room at BMS.
     My 6th grade class has finished building their clay emoji rattles - now we wait.  They need to be completely dry before they can be fired in the kiln.  Ask your student what happens if they aren't...  While we are waiting, students are creating their 3rd project of the quarter - a favorite - metal tooled birds.  Students will be learning how to work with metal, apply texture, and create a 3 dimensional form.  Everyone is working hard on their design and getting the hang of working with metal.

     7th grade finished their Op Art Cubes last week.  Boy, that was a long project.  The cubes look great and will be on display in the 7th grade hall.  Their 2nd project will be a coil pot, but not just your basic coil pot.  They have learned how to create at least 10 different coil techniques - 3 of these need to be incorporated into their piece.  There is a height requirement as well, 4 inches, doesn't seem like a lot but once you start building it is challenging.

     8th grade finished their unit on shading and adding value.  It was a week and a half long unit with new mini projects every day.  Students learned how to make a shape into a form using highlights, mid tones, and cast shadows.  Their final project of the unit was to draw a paper curl by using observation.  Tricky - students looked for simple shapes to sketch then added value using drawing pencils.

     There will be an art exhibit at the Zona Gale Center for the Arts featuring many of BMS student art work.  The opening reception will be this Friday, March 3rd from 4-6 pm.  The exhibit will run until the end of March.  Please support your student and the BMS Art Department and a moment to enjoy the artwork.

                                                                                              Your Enthusiastic Art Teacher,
                                                                                              Mrs. Doro

What's happening in the BMS art room.

Hello Everyone,

What a busy and productive week we have had in art.  6th grade is almost done with their first project, Radial Name Designs, and is finishing up this coming Monday.  Their next one is a favorite- clay.  Students will be creating emoji rattles.  They will construct pinch pots and learn various techniques and terminology plus make something really cool!  Here is a collage of some of the finished radial names so far.....  

Really nice job 6th grade!

 

                                                                                                                                                       
7th grade students are continuing their op art cubes.  Craftsmanship and precision is very important when you are creating optical illusions.  No hurrying allowed!  Hopefully, students will be able to finish these Monday, February 20.  Here are some photos students hard at work..,

7th grade Op Art class.

Second semester 8th grade students have their first project finished (Notans) and have started a very important unit on shading and value.  They will be learning how to use various drawing materials such as drawing pencils and blending stumps to create drawings with the illusion of 3 dimensional form.  They will build on skills learned everyday as the unit progresses.  Their final piece of the unit will be a still life drawing of a paper curl.  Sounds easier than it is, but with the skills I am teaching them, they will be very capable of creating something beautiful.

Notan Collage 8th grade

Thursdays after school are also busy with Art Club.  Art Club is a time for students to use my nicer classroom materials and have open studio.  Sometimes I present students with a project if they are stumped on what to create.  We just finished painting one of the outside garbage cans in an effort to make our school more colorful and beautiful.  One more trash can to go until spring.  There will be sign up for 4th quarter Art Club in the next few weeks.

Art Club members

                                                           
                                                                           
One more item......parent teacher conference are coming up quickly, if you would like to meet me and see what your child is up to please feel free to stop by before or after your scheduled conference.  I would love to show off the BMS art department!

Your enthusiastic art teacher,
Mrs. Doro

2 Weeks into the Quarter!

Hello Families!
We are two weeks into the new quarter already and students are creating like crazy!  I am so happy to see this!  The quarter was off to a rocky and slow start for me as I had a death in my family that kept me away from the art room for a few days.  I am happy to be back and teaching, this is where I love to be.

7th grade students are busy creating their Op Art cubes by finishing up their thumbnail sketches.  I believe in a lot of planning prior to creating the final piece.  The Op Art cube will display 6 different optical illusions - 3 in black and white and 3 in color.  Students will learn how to use color, line, form, and shape in their art by creating these cubes.  Once they are done, they will be hung in the 7th grade hall (always a favorite display).  This project is a big one with many steps building up to the final piece.


Op art cubes

8th grade students are working on Notan paper cuttings.  Notan is a Japanese term meaning balance.  A well known Notan image is Yin and Yang.  Students are creating a two color Notan based on a simple line drawing or on a themed line drawing making it more personal.  Notans use positive and negative space to create balance.  Prior to designing their Notan, students learned and practiced X-acto knife safety.


This is an example of a Notan paper cutting.

Finally, the 6th grade students are learning about radial symmetry, line, and color while creating a Radial Name Design.  It all starts with a small triangle - students fill the triangle with their name in thick letters.  The letters must fill the triangle shape and will be distorted to do so.  Then this triangle is copied 8 times onto the final piece of paper using radial symmetry.  The letters face forward and backward always mirroring each other.  Color is added to the letters and 4 different black and white line designs are added to the background.  By time they are finished the name is almost unreadable and patterns of color and line take shape.

Radial Name Designs
As you can see and tell, the art room is a really busy place!  I teach over 150 students in a 8 period day and love every bit of it!  I encourage you to ask your son or daughter what they are up to in art, we are creating some wonderful things.                      
                                                                                                  -Mrs. Doro