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