Mask-making January 30, 2009

The 7th graders are currently making masks.  Looking at many cultures around the world, they learned that masks have been used for theater, celebration, religion, war, rituals, protection, and disguise.

The students casted their masks on plastic face forms, using plaster gauze.  In the next couple weeks, they will be embellishing the masks with paint, cardboard, mosaic, metal, yarn, feather, beads, etc.
A couple photos of the students casting their masks:

And a couple photos of the masks, in-progress:

Flag for Obama January 27, 2009

In preparation of last Tuesday’s inaugural festivities, Mr. Klinman’s kindergarten class came to make a huge flag during Open Studio.  Working in small sections, students glued red, white, and blue tissue paper onto the stripes.  They got help from Mrs. Connelly’s Junior K class, who made the stars.
The kindergarteners in front of their flag on inauguration day, plus a close up of the tissue paper detail:

Timothy Basil Ering January 23, 2009

The author and illustrator, Timothy Basil Ering, came to vist the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders today.  He is the illustrator for the book, The Tale of Despereaux, and is the author and illustrator for The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone and Necks Out for Adventure.

The students had a great time during his presentation, learning about Timothy’s artistic style and humor, and what it takes to be a children’s book writer and artist.

Thanks to Miss Pennell, our librarian, for organizing this visit!

Caldecott Quilts January 21, 2009

2nd graders recently finished an interdisciplinary project between Library and Art.  They learned about Caldecott Medals and how they are awarded to books.  In visual journals, the students drew their favorite scenes as a way to record which book they had read.  In Art, after learning about Faith Ringgold, students chose a sketch from their journals to translate into a story quilt.

The story quilts are on display in the main lobby, outside the Library, and soon outside the Art Studio.

Giant Snowman January 16, 2009

The junior kindergarteners have just begun paper mache-ing their giant, class snowman.   Working in small groups, everyone is getting a chance to get their hand messy.  Look for the finished 6′ snowman in the lobby in the next few weeks.

Some pictures of today’s paper mache-ing:

Animal Prints January 9, 2009

Third graders are currently in their printmaking unit.  Learning about endangered species and how humans and the environment are negatively affecting the animals, the students created printing plates of an endangered species.  Mr. Macomber’s class made collograph plates using oak tag while Mrs. Roderick’s class made screen prints.  The difference between the two styles of printmaking is the final result: collographs print shapes and screen prints print lines.

Some photos of the students printmaking:

Some finished prints from both 3rd grade classes:

January Art Show January 6, 2009

The Cambridge Trust Company at University Park is our first location for the Morse School’s community art displays.  Kindergarten students created ceramic totem poles in Art class, while learning about the Pacific Northwest Native Americans in their regular classroom.

The display can be seen from Green Street, looking into the bank.

The kindergarten art will be at the bank through January.