5th graders learned about the life and work of artist
Georgia O'Keeffe. We focused on her use of
emphasis, balance, and
unity. Students incorporated their knowledge of
value and blending to create a Georgia O'Keefe inspired pastel project. They used both
oil pastels and
chalk pastels. I used a short presentation to introduce O'Keeffe and the key vocabulary You can find my presentation
here. We spent about 3 class period on the actual art making process. They turned out beautiful and I had many students asking to come in to finish up during recess. It was great to see how much pride and motivation the kids showed for this assignment!
6th graders are creating collage self- portraits. I took a picture of each of their faces and then went into photoshop and printed them out in black and white with a posterized filter over them. This way students could pick one color and create a value scale on their face. We learned about 
monochromatic color schemes. Students are focusing on using magazine clippings to block out the values on their face. I created an example of Mr. Glad for the students to get inspired by (I posted it at the bottom.) We looked at the work of Chuck Close and how he uses blocks of color to represent areas on the face. The students will choose a separate color for their background, preferably a complimentary color. So far,
they are doing a very nice job. I will post again when they are all finished!
