Flynn Artists At Work!

Here is some of the artwork that Flynn Artists are creating while they are home. I love the variety of ways that students are letting their artistic abilities shine!

Art Plus!

Are you looking for some extra art activities to try while you are home? 

Below are some videos that I made for things that you can practice. 

Would you like to try weaving on cardboard? 

How about drawing 3-Dimensional shapes? Here's a fun way to turn simple geometric shapes into a forms. 

Gratitude

I'm thinking back to all of the amazing things we accomplished as artists this school year. As much as I miss all of my students right now, I'm thankful for the time that we had to be together at school and make art. Here are some pictures that make me smile. I hope they make you smile too.

Fourth Grade Underwater Collages

Fourth graders recently finished creating underwater collages. We began by making a background and painted papers using a variety of watercolor techniques. Kosher salt application made for excellent effects!

After making the backgrounds students drew, cut, and glued a variety of underwater sea life. They were encouraged to show contrast in their color choices. They were also encouraged to overlap and change the size of their objects to add the illusion of distance in their collage.

Third Grade Self-Portraits

 Third Graders recently finished their amazing self-portraits. They've been working incredibly hard on these since before the holiday break. We began by drawing, learning about how to make accurate proportions. Next we had a great time mixing paint to create skin tone colors. I showed students how to begin with orange or brown. From there, they were encouraged to experiment by creating a lighter tint or a darker shade to match their skin color. Students learned that every skin color is unique, just like they are! Just look at the range of beautiful skin colors they mixed!

skin tones!

Second Grade Classroom Connections with Shadow Puppets

In November, Second Graders studied fairy tales as part of their classroom curriculum. I thought it would be fun to connect their fairy tale knowledge with some shadow puppetry! I chose to focus on the story of The Three Little Pigs. We talked about characters and settings and made a list of all of the important parts of the story. Then, students chose a character or part of the setting to make into a shadow puppet.

Stay tuned: after vacation we'll be putting on a shadow puppet play! I'll include the link here.

Little Pig Shadow Puppet

Straw House

Some essential questions that students are answering through shadow puppetry include:
What is a shadow, and what do you need to make a shadow?
What are the parts of a shadow puppet and what are the purposes of the parts?

Shadow Puppet Parts

Shadow puppets: their parts and purposes

Big Bad Wolf

We also incorporated some scientific/artistic vocabulary and are adding parts to our opaque puppets that are translucent or transparent.
 

Brick House with Translucent Window

This happy piggie just makes me smile!

Fifth Grade Watercolor Landscapes

Over the last month, Fifth-Graders have been creating watercolor landscapes. They started by stamping lines with black acrylic paint to create a foreground, middleground and background.

stamping with acrylic paint

stamping with acrylic paint

Next, students applied different watercolor techniques that they had been practicing to add color to their compositions. Students experimented with washes, glazing, applying salt, sponging, and dry brush techniques.

I love the variety of solutions to the problem of creating a foreground, middleground and background. These pieces are beautiful, and Fifth Grade artists can be really proud of them!