Grade 6: Impressionism

Students studied Impressionism, a 19th century art movement that began as an association of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence in the 1870s and 1880s.The name of the movement is derived from the title of the Claude Monet’s work, Impression, Sunrise that used very loose brush strokes, which suggested rather than delineated.

Artist: Claude Monet Completion Date: 1873

Students incorporated characteristics of Impressionistic painting into their projects that included: short, thick strokes of paint, wet paint was placed into wet paint, natural light was emphasized and ordinary subject matter of everyday life was captured.

Here are photos from class while they are working on their paintings. Students used photos for reference and used Tempera paints to create their paintings, which are a work-in-progress

 

Grade 6: Color Mixing and Color Theory

Students studied the color wheel and created their own with Tempera paints to start off their painting unit in Studio Art. Through a variety of painting exercises, students became familiar with the medium and learned how to control flow of paint and how to use the brush in a variety of ways to create impressionistic-like marks. Additionally, students learned basic color theory and made examples for their sketchbooks. 

Grade 6 Sketchbook Sample

Grade 6 Sketchbook Sample

 Students did the following exercises in class:
1. Paint it Black – Created washes and experimented with brushes only using black paint
2. How to mix Tertiary Colors
3. How to make Tints and Shades of a color
4. How do I make Brown?
5. Create a Color Wheel

Grade 7: Take a Seat, Exploring Chair Design

Students are designing a chair based on a concept generated by creating a list of people, places, books, objects, and ideas that inspire them. Additionally, students learned about the history of chair design and notable designers over the past 500 years.
Next, students will create a model of their chair design and explore form, function, balance and a variety of sculpture materials. Here are some pictures from class where students are in the process of building their armatures. Students are using miter saws, plaster, balsa and plywood, cardboard, wire and other found object materials to make these unique and unusual
chair designs.