This Week in Art: May 11-15, 2015

Sorry about last week's absence... I was out of the building, so our update just didn't happen. But we're back this week with more student bloggers reporting for our last few weeks of the school year! Can you believe we're almost finished with another year?

6th Grade Art:


"On Thursday, we worked on our letter sculptures. We made our ombre colors look very cool by adding designs such as dots or zig zags. They seem to be going great!"

- Olivia R, Period 8

7th Grade Art:

"This week we have been studying the monochromatic art style inspired by Andy Warhol's work. We all took pictures and then edited them on Photoshop to show only four shade of the same color. We transferred the outlines to paper using the transfer graphite paper and then started painting them with a color of our choice."

- Ari D, Period 4

8th Grade Art:

"Well this week everybody got done with their clay projects which was AWESOME. We had to finish painting 1 to 3 coats on it, and then we had to glaze it which didn't take too long. Then we spent about a couple days on our self portrait. Today we are doing our Paper circuits project."

- Billy O, Period 1

In other art news...

Did you know that you can order phone cases on Artsonia with your artwork on it? I tried it, and it's pretty awesome! Here's my LEGO minifig self-portrait on a phone case. How cool!

Thanks for another great week!

- Mrs. L.

This Week in Art! April 27 - May 1st, 2015

Due to PARCC testing this week, there were no art classes today (Friday), and therefore no student bloggers. :( We did have art class for three out of the five days this week though, so I'll fill you in on all of the happenings! - Mrs. L

6th Grade Art:


On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, sixth grade artists completed their cardboard block letter structures so that next week, we can cover them in a layer of paper mache. On Thursday, students began a mini drawing unit where they are drawing themselves as a LEGO minifig! The drawing above is mine from a few years back. Ms. Skinner, Churchville art teacher, sent me this actual LEGO minifig dressed all in black because it looks just like me! How funny!

7th Grade Art:


Many seventh graders are finishing up their soda can "evolution" drawings this week. We'll have one more work day next week to get that all completed, and then we'll be moving on to painting! Students will be creating large monochromatic self-portraits and practicing mixing a variety of values of paint in order to create their finished image. They'll look awesome!

8th Grade Art:


Eighth grade students are working on a variation of the pixel portrait project that was done by the first three quarters of art classes this year. This time they're smaller, and more closely cropped, so as to retain more detail in the final image. It will be cool to compare the results of this version to the last time around!

All ceramic pieces have been successfully bisque fired (no exploded projects, woo hoo!) and are awaiting glaze, which will be our mission to complete next week.

In other art news...

• Eighth grade students! You still have time to turn in a design for the promotion ceremony program cover! All designs are due by next Wednesday, May 6th. Details above.
• Today after school at the Elmhurst Art Museum is the reception for our K-8 student art exhibition from 3:30 to 5:00. You can preview all of our student work in this Artsonia gallery. Congrats to all of our Sandburg student participants:
  6th Grade: Nathan G, Brigid O, Patrick S, Gabi W.
  7th Grade: Nida A, Sophia D, Rylan J, Maggie M, Claudia S, Alex S.
  8th Grade: Massimo C, Joe D, Caroline F, Stefy G, Marianna G, Zane H, Collin M, Haley P, Sam P, Gracie W.

• This weekend is Art in the Park in Wilder Park! Hopefully this awesome weather holds up and we can enjoy some time outdoors browsing for art!

Thanks for another great week!
- Mrs. L.

This Week in Art! April 20-24, 2015

6th Grade Art:

Lukas is making a letter "L" sculpture!

"This week we worked on block letters, or 3D letters. We first started out by doing a little practicing with drawing them. We worked on using a vanishing point, and also learned a little bit of shading of 3D objects. Then we made our work come to life, and make our written pieces into awesome cardboard letters."

- Lukas H, Period 9

7th Grade Art:

Gabrielle's soda can drawing, pre-crushed state!

"This week, we started our still life project. We've been working on drawing our soda can while incorporating shadows and highlights. Wednesday, we sketched our can very carefully. On Thursday and Friday, we continued that and added some color. Soon, we will move on to our half-crushed drawing."

- Gabrielle B, Period 4

8th Grade Art:

Kaitlin's bisque-fired ceramic mug, awaiting glaze.

Kaitlin's pixel portrait, in the early stages.

"On Monday, we finished creating our clay projects. On Tuesday, we started learning about our next project the pixel portrait. The pixel portrait is a drawing that we create by coloring in squares on a grid to make it look like a picture of ourselves. For the rest of the week we began coloring in the final draft of our pixel portrait."

- Kaitlin T, Period 1

In other art news...

• Our Annual K-8 District 205 Student Art Exhibition will be on display from April 28th to May 3rd! There is a special reception for students and their families on Friday, May 1st from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. You can view the Sandburg participating student artists' work on our special Artsonia exhibit found here. For museum hours and other info, check out the EAM webpage here.
• Next week is PARCC testing; we will not have art classes on Monday or Friday next week. :(
• Eighth grade students should submit their drawings for the promotion ceremony program cover contest by Wednesday, May 6th. The winning design gets used for the actual program cover! Students should see me if they have any questions.

Thanks for another great week!
- Mrs. L.

This Week in Art! April 13 - 17

6th Grade Art:

Chihuly-inspired abstract sculptures by Patrick and Charlie

"Hi my name is Charlie and I'm writing this blog post with Patrick. Today we made plastic Dale Chihuly inspired flowers, we melted the plastic to make a flower shape. They looked great with all the colors, the day before we made a pattern on the plastic, then we painted it. We both had lots of fun making these super cool Dale Chihuly inspired flowers, and we recommend it to anyone. Later we will hang them on the ceiling of the lunchroom."

- Charlie T & Patrick S, Period 9

7th Grade Art:

Carissa's "Soda Can Evolution" drawing

"This week in art we worked on drawing still life. We drew soda in different stages. The project is called soda can evolution. When it is normal, next half crush, and then crushed all the way. We learned how to shade shadows, mid tones, and highlights."

- Carissa R, Period 4

8th Grade Art:


Eighth grade students are working hard on their clay choice projects. We're still going to work on building with clay for one more day next week, and then we'll be setting our clay out to dry and prepare for firing. Students who finish building early have the opportunity to make a bonus "free clay" item!

In other art news...

• Today is the last day of "E" term art for 6th and 7th grade art classes - it's hard to believe how fast the school year has flown by! On Monday, the last groups of 6th and 7th graders will begin art class. 
• Friday, May 1st will be the reception for our annual K-8 art exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum. Sandburg contributing artists will be announced soon!
• There is a contest going on right now for all 8th grade students to design the cover of our promotion ceremony program - all entries are due to me by Wednesday, May 6th!

Thanks for another great week!
- Mrs. L.

This Week in Art: April 6 - 10

There is a short schedule today due to the variety show; therefore we didn't get the chance to have student bloggers. We'll try again next week!

6th Grade Art:

(Identities protected for the internet.)

This week, 6th grade students worked on a project inspired by the work of contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. We took photos of the 6th graders in classical poses from famous paintings, and then students added elaborate ("fancy") patterns to fill in the background and overlap the figure.

We hope to finish these drawings by Monday, and then sneak in one final fun project before the end of the term!

7th Grade Art:


Seventh grade students completed an experimental painting unit with watercolor this week. They used a technique where watercolor paint is applied to the paper, and then blown onto using a straw to create interesting effects. This technique was used to create any composition of the students' own choosing.

Next week (for the last week of art!) we'll do an observational drawing of a soda can, so students need to bring one in for class on Monday, when they will be allowed to drink it in class! Woo hoo!

8th Grade Art:


This week, 8th graders began their clay choice project, They get to decide what their finished product will be: a mug, a planter/pot, a box, or a figurative sculpture. No matter what project you choose, the core concepts learned (slab building, rolling a slab, basic clay construction, applied and incised designs) are all the same. Next week we hope to finish these up and have them out to dry.

In other art news...

• Today is the variety show! I'm part of a special secret surprise teacher band that will be performing this year! Our first performance is during the school day for students, and we'll have another performance after school.

• The agenda cover design contest ended today. Designs that were submitted will now be narrowed down to "finalists," from which the winner will be chosen via a committee of teachers. 

• Starting Monday, 4/13, eighth grade students have the opportunity to participate in a contest to design the cover of the promotion ceremony program for this year! Designs must be in black and white, and drawn on 8 1/2 by 11 "copier" paper, folded in half. (If you fold your paper like a card, you'll get the idea of the cover size.) You can design your program to "wrap around" to the back, if you choose. Finished drawings should be submitted to Mrs. Leban.

Thanks for another great week!
- Mrs. L.