​In the first unit, the 4th-grade students learned about the often colorful, patterned artwork of the Southwestern Native Americans and how it continues to influence the art in the region today. They also learned about the climate of the region and the types of vegetation that can grow there.
For their final composition, the students created a still life, focusing on creating form using lines and applying various media to their artwork, including oil pastels, permanent markers, and watercolors. To blend the oil pastels smoothly, the students applied baby oil.

Our fifth graders drew inspiration from the rich world of Mexican Folk Art, creating intricate Sun and Moon designs. Students learned that the sun and moon symbolize the unity of opposites and balance when combined. For their final compositions, students crafted their own variations, emphasizing warm colors for the sun and cool colors for the moon.

​In our first unit, our 6th-grade artists delved into the world of charcoal art, mastering a diverse range of techniques to unleash their creativity in their final compositions. They explored three types: willow, compressed, and pencil charcoal. For their final composition, students applied their knowledge of charcoal techniques to create a lifelike rendering of an eye.

For our first mini project, students crafted unique self-portraits using their thumbprints.

In this unit, our 7th grade students focused on the art element: value. After practicing coloring mixing with a variety of tints and shades to create the illusion of form, students created these value cubes. 

In this unit, 7th grade students explored the technique of 1-point perspective drawing. Perspective drawing is a method to create the linear illusion of depth. After learning how to transform shapes into forms using 1-point perspective, students created their own composition incorporating collage. 

Students from 4th through 8th grade created a mural inspired by Mademoiselle Maurice. Mademoiselle Maurice is a French contemporary artist focusing on murals and installations using origami art. We used her as inspiration to create "Art!" and "Be Kind." Students in the third quarter will create a new mural which highlights one of our core values, "Be Inclusive."

For the first assignment of the year, our students created artist trading cards. These cards are miniature pieces of art that are traded all over the world, including at organized "swap" events. With a wide range of mediums to choose from, our students created, traded, and collected art with their peers. Each student gave me one card to display in the classroom. 

Our 4th and 5th grade artists participated in the Square 1 Art Fundraiser. Students had a choice of creating an artwork inspired by Chicago artist, Emilia Chang, or create a work of there own. Here are their finished pieces. 

​Notan is a Japanese design concept involving the play and placement of light and dark elements as they are placed next to the other in the composition of art and imagery. In this unit, 6th grade students explored the relationship between positive and negative space using the Notan design, while focusing on both geometric and organic shapes.

Our 6th-grade artists created these amazing contour line flowers and objects using India ink and liquid watercolor. The goal was to work large-scale and to practice gestural line work and motion. Students were challenged to create continuous or blind contour lines within the composition. They were also guided to explore a variety of organic shapes found during their observation drawing. 

Our 8th grade artists participated in a neurographic artwork. ​This process uses a drawing technique that links the conscience with the subconscious. The link is made by activating connections between brain cells and neurons. The result is an awareness and mindfulness that helps turn stress into calm and therefore, is a strategy used in art therapy. After finding a calm space, students think about a problem that is on their minds. Then, the artists draw an intuitive line, scribble, or doodle that reflects their problem for ten seconds. Following the line drawing, students work on rounding out the connections made with the overlapping lines. Lastly, students take their drawing and transform it into an artwork, applying patterns and watercolor. 

The collaborative bulletin boards have become a staple in the middle school art classroom's drawing center. During independent studio time, students may choose to apply color or other designs to the back bulletin board. The goal for this school year is to complete four - one for each quarter. 

Our 4th and 5th grade artists created Zentangle Leaf compositions. First, they learned about the zentangle method; easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. After students practiced a variety of zentangle patterns, they collected leaves outside that had fallen from the trees. Following the collection, artists traced the leaves, using overlapping techniques to create new shapes. Next, our artists created a variety of patterns inside each shape using a permanent marker, and finally, added a watercolor background. 

This year our middle school artists can take part in the Post-It Note art gallery. During studio time, students can choose to create an artwork on a Post-it note using any media they'd like. Afterwards, they post their artwork to the space and take another artist's work of their choosing. Over time, the this part artist card gallery becomes a collaborative space that continually changes and evolves. 

To begin the year, students were given the prompt "Art is..." Each class worked collaboratively to create a list to complete the sentence. Afterwards, each student selected a word to illustrate on card stock. Here is our collaborative art piece!

An agamograph is a series of images that change at different angles. This work is named after the Israeli sculptor, Yaacov Agam, born in 1928. He is known for his optical and kinetic art. Our 7th grade artists completed their own version of the agamograph, first, drawing two op art designs. Afterward, they used their construction skills to transform their two op art images into an agamograph, which resulted in three optical illusions in one! 

​Peruvian Folk-Art Plates were traditionally made by hand, and then painted with Incan, Hauri and Moche
cultural designs and symbols. Each plate demonstrates great skill and craftsmanship, and echoes the traditions and history of Ancient Peru. In this project, students created their own plates using paper and tooling foil with an emphasis on variety in color and pattern.