Square 1 Art update

Earlier this week, all Square 1 Art artwork, order forms, and free stickers arrived back to us! I handed all packets back to teachers for distribution, but thought you might like a little peek of the artwork we sent away and had digitized. Please forgive the heinous quality of some of the pictures, which I took in a rush using my iPhone.

I went into all kindergarten classrooms to do a little project with them. We made handprint butterflies, which I didn't get a chance to photograph, but you can imagine how precious they are.

First graders stick with the handprint theme, turning a single print into a goldfish. It's a good intro to painting for first graders, since the paper is so small (less than 9" square).

I love me some Henri Matisse, and the second graders really love his cut-outs, which we mimic when we review organic and geometric shapes, as well as figure drawing, for these colorful, playful projects.

Previously, I discussed the third graders' Georgia O'Keeffe flower drawings here.

Fourth graders look at Picasso's Cubist period and use oil pastels to chop a leaf into 'pie pieces,' which they color with complementary and analogous colors.

Yes, this autumn-themed artwork was made by a girl named Autumn. Hehe.

And probably the most popular (and dare I say NO-FAIL!?) project is that of the fifth graders, which I call Henna Hands (totally incorrect, 'cause Henna is the plant, Mehndi is the process, but I like alliteration!). While it's probably one of the more abstract lessons in terms of concepts--what makes good design and layout, unity, balance, repetition, etc.--I've never had a bad result!

In years past, I had to collect all order forms and money, process it all, and whoa mama--that was lots of work. This year, Square 1 blessed art teachers everywhere by creating an online ordering process. YES! So, I'm thinking that the next steps will be simpler. Fingers crossed.

Do you do Square 1 Art? What projects do you do?

Circle 2 Art

My husband thinks it's hilarious to call things by alternative or mixed-up names. Sometimes understanding him is like interpreting a new language. Tonight he'll be helping me finish up the Square 1 Art projects--which he calls Circle 2 Art--by gluing all artwork to the 'official' paper sent by the Square 1 company.

To lessen our load, I had my Art Enrichment (art club) fifth graders help out as well:

 

Notice all the red? Happy Red Ribbon Week!

Work, my minions, work! Mwahhh haha...

Alas, the little minions--er, darling students--didn't get it all done, so Mr. Connell and I have a lot more gluing to do this eve. Good thing we have our Sunday night shows DVR'ed to keep us entertained whilst we glue. Homeland + Elmer's = one rockin' Monday night.

Funding: Square 1 Art

At a PAEA conference a few years ago, I visited several vendors who had information about art fundraisers. Shortly thereafter, as budget cuts became the norm, I decided to jump on the fundraising bandwagon and see what I could do.

For the last three years, all 600+ of my kiddos have been doing the Square 1 Art fundraiser, which is a hit with kids and parents alike.

Basically, the kids create an 8.5" square piece of work which is shipped away, digitally archived, and then available for families to purchase on a variety of items: mugs, coasters, T-shirts, even iPhone covers!

At least 30 percent of the profits stay here for the art program. Each year I've done the program, I've earned the equivalent to my school-sponsored budget, which is pretty great. The best part (in my opinion) is that every kid gets a free set of 20 stickers with their artwork printed on 'em, regardless of whether or not they order anything else. I love that.

It's a significant amount of work for the coordinator (yours truly), but I think it's worth it.

The third grade project is one of my faves--it's simple yet covers a good chunk of curriculum, and the majority of the results are great.

We talk about warm and cool colors, Georgia O'Keeffe, perspective, subject. Everyone does a few sketches:

After drawing final copies, a color palette is chosen: warm colors or cool colors. We review proper coloring techniques: outline or 'trace your space,' then color in stripes, kinda like Dad mows the grass in rows. :-)

To finish, all pencil lines are traced with black Sharpies, and the kids sign their work:

Voila! Georgia!

(The 'pink' on here is truer to purple in person)