Friday I finished mounting and packaged art work to go home for Friday's classes. I included a brief survey. Here are more photos. I also posted a few on the PTO facebook page.

AWTGH Dec 2016
Tuesday's classes are done, ready to be delivered to teachers.

Found this great link to an informative article.https://tesartdepartment.wordpress.com/

from the Artist Workshop:  Art Work To Go Home #1

Students will be bringing home specially created pieces of art to share with families. They are in sleeves for safe travel, keep the art work and return the sleeves please.

These pieces were specifically created to share with you. I would love to hear of any conversations that grew from this sharing experience. You may see something different from what was intended by the artist. Open ended questions are best to start the conversation. When we share at school we use, “I noticed” rather  than “ I like”, and look for shapes, colors, textures.

Becoming skilled at visual art is a process, a personal process, a lengthy process. The skills become refined with experience as well a maturing of fine-motor, and observational skills. Each student is somewhere along that continuum. My responsibility is to find where each is and set them along that path, while allowing each to work where he/she is and to help them along as respectfully as possible. Art is about trying, looking at, and then trying again. When a student says “I messed up/made a mistake”, I have them set it aside and look at it again later. We talk about what the mistake is, why it happened, and if it detracts from the work for any reason.

The Artist Workshop is where mistakes are part of the learning process. I say   “In math, two plus two has to be four, but in (visual) art  choices can be made”.  Runny watercolors sometimes result in thought provoking visual images. Your child will ask you if you like the work; when I answer this, I sometimes first have them tell me what they like. Then I will point out what caught my eye first, and what kept me looking, or what made me ask questions. 

I posted a link about talking  about childrens’ art previously on this blog and will include some ideas on the paper with the art work. Also, I would appreciate feedback through email, and we can schedule a visit  on Tuesdays or Fridays when I am at EKES.

When I explained the AWTGH project to Mr. Tullar, he asked if I’d had any feedback from previous years. I’d love to hear from you. You can  email me or return this page

child’s class  ___________________

Answer any or all of questions, return to school.

1 = least,  5= most

1.    Did you talk about the work with your child? yes / no

2.    Did he/she seem comfortable sharing?  yes /no         1 -5

3.    Did he/she seem excited?                   yes / no         1-5

4.     Were the words used to describe the work art words?  yes /no  _______________

5.    Were you asked if you like the work?   yes/ no

6.    Did you like the work?                       yes/ no     1-5

7.    What did you notice ?  ______________________________________

8.    Was there a sense of wanting to do more?  ___________________

9.    Did you display it?   yes / no

10.                       Was this an informative experience for you ?  yes/ no    1-5

11.                       Other  _________________________________  

msansoucie@sau16.org

from the ARTIST WORKSHOP

I had to acknowledge Monday evening’s celestial event in art Tuesday. Each class started with students sharing their observation of the Super moon. Some were on the way from an after school activity, some were in their yards, and a few were with families on the beach having dinner.

 After sharing, we talked briefly about the science involved, and I showed a few art examples. Then each sketched art including the moon in their sketchbooks. We are working on Art Work To Go Home, so the mixed media paper was cut to 6”X 9”, and they could choose preferred medium. Several chose a pre-cut circle for the moon. Most will be finishing next class, and may select one of these to come home.

the essence of the event

fifth graders

some added details from stories shared

AWTGH DEC 2016

As part of the year’s work students prepare a piece of work to bring home to, at report card time, and they are eager to share this with you. They are proud of the work. I wish I could eaves drop on these conversations.

Getting them to share their art work freely and comfortably and to learn about them in the process is a joy of being the art teacher. It is possible to foster the openness and enthusiasm with which they generally approach their work.

 When I look at a student’s work, before I assume what it is, I have them explain it to me. My comment might start with “I notice you …This open ended start leaves them space to “explain” it to me without feeling judged which encourages them to keep working creatively, from their own imaginations, and realizing that getting it “right” or perfect comes with practice and that sometimes the practices (or mistakes) are thought provoking, “beautiful” expressions in their own right. You may not see what they see, or what they were creating. You may see something else totally.

My teaching strategy may include “If you want someone to see the dog you need to use colors or shapes that bring the viewer to that image. Blue dog can be any color, but he has recognizable DOG traits.

 Does it matter that someone sees what you don’t see?

Sometimes a child is insulted when you don’t see the image he/she worked so hard to create. I share my personal story of a quilt I made with whites and beiges, and milk weed pods. When I have shared it in the past, many people see the beach with shells. Do I have a problem with that? Does it make it less good? How would I “fix” that another time?

Visual art is about self- expression, putting the self into images, lines, shapes, colors while learning about one self and at the same time acquiring the skills and tools for making expressions that are as close as possible to the desired product.

 http://www.phillyartcenter.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-their-art/

November’s arrival brings the preparation for creating small pieces of art work to take home with report cards in December. Since the majority of kids’ work stays at school until June, they are always asking to take something home. They love sharing their work with family.

The first step is to make some plans; seasonally based imagery and sports teams logos have been favorites.  Each student makes at least three drawings. Individual conferencing shapes both the images the students are using and what medium is preferred. 

                     

These planning papers will be included in their portfolios and go home in June. Look for the final pieces with report cards in December; they are in plastic sleeves to get them home safely. The kindies will be taking theirs home in December.Please return the plastic sleeves.

EXHIBIT REFLECTIONS

Once the work is all hung in the hallway, small groups from each class go to look at the exhibit. They find their own, sketch it and find another's work to sketch.

They sketch in the appropriate box for a vertical or horizontal art work. I'll get more photos..

from the Artists Workshop

 EKES Student Art Exhibit will be open on October 19th. These pieces were selected by students (grades 1-5) from their 2105-16 portfolios and will be on display in the halls for all to enjoy.    They represent various media and interests. Students will go into the hallway, find a piece of work they like, and their own, and sketch both pieces as a way of sharing and observing art work.

               

Now that sketchbook cover art and portfolios have been completed, classes are adding work to their portfolios.  They sketch oak leaves then acorns on thumbnail papers. As they finish sketching, they move to the tables to work.  I have a template for a giant oak leaf. I trace it for the kindies to color; first and second graders trace their own. Both beeswax crayons and Slick Stix are used. Some like oil pastels.

Arranging various texture plates under a paper to rub to make an interesting composition extends the work around leaves . A pumpkin/jack-o’lantern can also be either traced or used as a texture to keep in touch with the season. Colored pencils, color sticks, crayons or bees wax crayons work especially well. Classes conclude with brief conversations about what worked, or didn’t, what they liked or didn’t like about the project.

We continue the topic with chestnuts, hickory nuts, and pine cones for observing, then sketching. These ideas are used for creating still life art. Water colors will now become a choice following a review/ introduction to how to use them.

I hope you can get in to see the art work in the hall over the next few  weeks. I am in the building with classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, if you would like to visit an art class. I can be reached best by email msansouce@sau16.org to share, and set a date to meet. 

Artist Workshop....
We talk of the first month of school- and for Artist Workshop it's only four classes- having flown by.
All classes have finished their 2016-17 Portfolios, and most have created their Cover Art for their sketchbooks,
 In fact, both KG and KD learned about" Museum Share ". They met the challenge, and adapted this first experience with putting post-its on a page and circulating through their classmates' art, and making smaller-than-thumbnail sketches of each other's work.  It is fascinating to watch  each respond to this challenge.
It may be the counting and arranging of post-its on the page that occupies, or the creating of undecipherable doodles, or it may be the precise following of directions to sketch all 16 pieces of art work on display, and even add the names of the artist, after asking each classmate how to spell his/her name !
Ahh, the satisfactions, and challenges, of the kindies!!!  And the clear message of how this age "meets the standards"  varies from student to student, assignment to assignment.

 For a wonderful , real Museum experience, consider visiting

the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. New Hampshire scenery is in the limelight

http://pem.org/exhibitions/192-american_impressionist_childe_hassam_and_the_isles_of_shoals

or NH's Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, where the new exhibit  Mount Washington:Crown of New England  opened on
October 1.

EKES Student Art Exhibit will be open on October 19th. These pieces were selected by students (grades 1-5) from their 2105-16 portfolios and will be on display in the halls for all to enjoy.   The art from KG & KD was done with a study of shapes, and the art of Josef Albers' "Homage to a Square".

The final Art Work To Go Home with the report cards is  a year's work in the portfolios being distributed to classroom teachers this week, and sent home as convenient. One side of the portfolio was done in June of 2015 – for grades 2-5.  I remind students  as these are created that these are the first piece of art work that will be seen at home. I present some options and let them then express themselves. The same procedure is now underway for 2016-17.

 Portfolios contain artwork done from September of 2015 to May of 2016.  There is also a collection of papers with planning  ideas or sharing thoughts on them. Each portfolio uniquely reflects the interests, and efforts of its creator. You may see some “Blue Dog” work. An annual favorite across the grades is using bright markers on glossy paper creating abstract designs, portraits or landscapes.  In portfolios of 2-5 graders, the work selected in June 2105 for the fall’s Art Show at EKES is coming home. And each student from K-4^th grade has chosen a piece to be included in the exhibit for the fall of 2016.

Sketchbooks are also in the portfolios. These for the most part contain a year’s worth of ideas and efforts of expressing oneself visually. They are rough drafts, sometimes in the early  years, they are really rough by adult standards. Choosing an image and putting it on paper is a slowly developing skill and it takes practice, and patience, to represent a 3-d object in a 2-d medium. I encourage students to express their own ideas, and I offer tips to work toward a successful outcome individually. There are times when pulling an idea out of one’s head to sketch is the challenge.  Suggestions or models are provided. Visual art is about the process at this stage and it is also about practice. Just as in baseball, you don’t start out hitting every ball; and sometimes one strikes out and the next time up could be a home run. Gains are made by continuing to step up to the plate, getting ready and swinging the bat. Patience, practice and encouragement get us to the plate.

Collating art work and getting into the correct portfolio takes time and can be hectic when done as a class. The fifth graders have been generously helping sort  the younger students’ work and filing it in  the correct  portfolios.  

Have a great time looking at the work coming home.

Thank You for another great year with the children of EK, Mrs. San Soucie

It continues to be a busy time in the Workshop. We can wind things up for the year and keep working on projects.To wind things up, finishing touches are made to work as we prepare the portfolios to go home. This includes mounting small pieces, and collecting all share/ planning papers in folders. Once in a while an artist will decide to work more on a piece.

To generate continued learning, third, fourth and fifth grades are adding some geometric designs to their portfolios. Someone asks,”What is a design?”. According to my American Heritage dictionary, meaning 4 under noun is “A visual composition or pattern”. We used the geometry templates for the shapes for the “disposition of forms…” Individual conversations and questions arise during this exercise. Considerable thought went into tracing the shapes then adding to them to hold the plan together visually, with more shapes, or color. 

Considerable enthusiasm arises as the kindies and first graders meet George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog, and find out why he’s blue. When he’s not blue what are some colors he can be; salmon proved to be popular.  Each interprets the dog in his or her own way.https://georgerodrigue.com/
 

Winding down means the gears in the hall will be coming down over the next weeks, so the  individual gears  can go home in portfolios. Third, fourth and fifth graders went into the hall, chose a “machine” and completed a reflection paper for the Gears. How to scale down a large work in a small space was the challenge. These pages  also will be included in the folders coming home in June.

One of the final decisions for K- 4 th graders will be  selecting  a piece of work from the portfolios to leave at school. These will be mounted and displayed In the halls in fall of 2016. The selections  from 2015 will be in portfolios in June.

It’s been another great year in the ARTISTS WORKSHOP. We bring 2015-16 to a close and we look to next year. Kindies through fourth graders will be planning their portfolios for 2016-17.

from the Artists Workshop
                                                                 STEAM !!!!

Gearing Up   

When you visit the school to shop the book fair or to meet with a teacher, you will find the walls near the ramp going to fifth grade or kindergarten and the walls near the library have been decorated with some interesting art. These are the gears all the students have decorated, cut out, glued to another piece of oaktag and cutout again. They do spin and some even will turn their neighbors. I know they will be touched, please be careful. Some have designs, some have favorite imagery and some have abstract coloring. Together they make  fabulous, magical machines.

GEARS! GEARS! GEARS!                               STEAM
In keeping with the year's theme we've been doing art on a gear shaped canvas using paint or

sharpies . This project has included cutting and pasting! After the gears have been cut out and laminated, they will be arranged as a single machine and hung for display in the hall. These  machines will be up during the May parent conferences and  book fair.

As part of this project art classes have been building with blocks and gears. Working in 3-d is always fun. Some classes have been sketching the sculptures. Another art word we have been using is perspective.

Here are some structures built by the 5th graders

rom the ARTISTS WORKSHOP

March is Youth Art Month. All the art teachers in the SAU select works to hang at the Exeter Town Hall. The exhibit is open weekends in March, noon to 4:00 each day.

EKES is represented by fifth grade art work done after the pouches were finished. They drew their project as part of their assessment of that project. The requirements were to fill the page visually, add color with either colored pencil or crayon, express the texture/pattern of the woven pouch, and, of course, sign the work. The students whose work met the requirements are on display at the Exeter Town Hall through March. They are Emerson MacBride, Sarah Ricker, Amanda Cook, Ryan Dixon, Christina Cashman, Conner Conti, Gabby Harrington, Jack LaBroad, Robert Berthel, Isabelle Rice, Eliza Friend, Isabel White, Ethan Cook, Max Keegan, Sarah McManus, Calvin Bork, Dylan Senter, and Amanda Varney.  The gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays  through the 27^th; all are welcome. I always look for middle or high schoolers from EK whose work is included.

The upcoming exhibit at EKES will be the “gears project” which began on STEAM Day. Each student will be painting, coloring or collaging on a gear shape. These will be attached to a larger piece of paper to construct machines of our imaginations. They will be on display in April during the book fair and the two Wednesdays of parent conferences.

Presentations and discussions in art class have revolved around the differences of appreciating and creating 2- and 3-d art.  We built simple sculptures using blocks and drew quick sketches of them. A   peripheral component of this project is how groups within the class and the whole class work together to create objects. Two sculptors whose work is presented  at varied times during the 3-d work are Alexander Calder, http://www.calder.org/ and  Augustus St. Gaudens.http://www.nps.gov/saga/index.htm

I'm preparing the art work to go home tomorrow, Ma.11 with students' report cards. The works span all the types of art and all the themes - from hearts to monsters to overlapping lines of beeswax crayons on black paper. Parents get to see their child's work,
 I am privileged by seeing all of them.
I came across this article this morning and thought it fitting.
 http://clydegaw.blogspot.com/2016/03/teaching-for-artistic-behavior-is.html

  Students in grades K-4 will be bringing home art work this week. Some third and fourth graders have done small weaving projects. The fifth graders finished small polymer clay pots and items to bring home.

Other grades have done 2-dimensional work specifically to bring home to share with you. It shows what was important at that moment. Sometimes the picture in a child's work is hidden in the lines and colors on the paper and my look like scribbles. The thoughts or emotions are intermingled with the color, movement or energy of the work.

If I am unable to see a specific image, I ask " What were you thinking about when you did this? or "what do you see now ?" Sometimes a child's work doesn't look like anything recognizable to adults; a child may be creating an abstraction of sheer joy of using the media, or are self-editing because he/she has sensed that the art work they sometimes do isn't quite how they want it to look. It's not perfect, so not attempted.  But that does not imply that it is not an important work for that moment. That' s one of the things I like about teaching art, a creative expression is not what is represented by the artist but what it makes the viewer thinks about or question, and everyone's creative expression is different. My job as art teacher allows me to support the efforts, and direct work as appropriate for  each child.

Art Work To Go Home
We started working on the work to accompany the TM 2 report card on March 11. In honor of the beauty of the season, I shared Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" with Friday's classes. The illustrations are by Susan Jeffers.
Different groups engaged with different things: all knew snow angels. Then black papers as well as white were used to create whatever came to mind.

 https://www.google.com/search?q=stopping+by+woods+on+a+snowy+evening&espv=2&biw=1777&bih=887&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0ahUKEwilwvve5_TKAhUKTCYKHWLxB_cQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=stopping+by+woods+on+a+snowy+evening+susan+jeffers

Fifth grade clay pots

 Everyone made a clay pot and will be painting them.  I showed  these samples:

slab pot

2 coil pots

slab - 2nd view

 

pinch pot - colored pencil

 

 

 

sketchbooks

This is the first time for Kindergarten to have art as a special. As a way of communicating some of what they do in art classes, their sketchbooks will be coming home Friday, Jan. 29. These contain varied sketches. There are pages of post-its for Museum Share. These are sketches of classmates’ work as we walk around and look at the work on display. The goal is to eventually be able to draw everyone’s work, but an individual’s pace will influence how many are seen and done. Writing classmate’s names was a challenge. I do little sketches also for my assessment, and listen to the conversations between students. You will also find pages “free draw”, and some thumbnail sketch pages where projects are planned.

WEAVING
Fifth graders have used and taken home their woven pouches. We have started additional pieces, and will be working on a communal project. I will display my Edwin Sulca tapestry, "Doblando El Posado". http://www.dreamweaverperu.com/index.html