November 13

It was a messy day in the art room today! The elementary students were introduced to the work of Michelangelo last week, and began the process of making "frescos" minus the plaster. They drew their sketches on large pieces of butcher paper, then began the slow process of perforating their sketch lines with a toothpick.

Next, they used small bags of crushed charcoal to transfer their drawings to the heavier paper that would be our "plaster wall." After transferring the sketch, they painted in their picture.

The seventh and eighth graders have been exploring colored pencil techniques. They learned how to layer and blend colors for a more realistic effect. As we have been doing all year, they practice drawing from real life, so their tables were full of fall leaves!

The TK-1 class spent the first part of the school year learning about color, but today I introduced texture. There's no better way to experience texture then to get your hands on it, so I brought in three different types of play clay for exploration. It's a little hard to grab snapshots when you are wrangling 15 little ones and tables full of art supplies, but I do have links to the recipes I used if you would like to try them at home. 

We played with:

 taste safe cloud dough found here

cornstarch dough similar to the recipe found here

and moon sand made from 4 cups cornmeal, 2 cups corn starch, and 12 tablespoons of vegetable oil

There were popsicle sticks, small cups and lots of texture mats on the table to use with the doughs. Clays, doughs and slimes are great for sensory play, and when combined with tools and loose parts (acorns, small figures, beads, sticks, feathers, etc.), they become tools for fine motor and creative development as well.