Animation! March 12, 2012

The 7th and 8th graders are finishing up flipbooks and stop-motion animation movies.  Some of the flipbooks have been recorded, and I uploaded them to vimeo.com.  Please visit vimeo.com/morseart to see them.  When the stop-motion movies are edited, they will go up there as well.  Check it out!

Some 7th graders at work, drawing for the stop-motion movie:

Print Collections March 31, 2011

These are an example of finished 7th grade prints.  Using the technique of reduction linoleum printing, students made abstract designs, inspired by quilt squares.  After creating 8 prints, students had the freedom to present a “collection” of prints in whatever format they chose.

Look for more print collections at the upcoming Morse School Art Show at Gallery 263!

Reduction printing, in progress March 3, 2011

The 7th and 8th graders are working their way through a reduction linoleum block printing unit.  So far, the 8th graders have printed 2 layers, with one to go.  Here are some prints in progress:

Watercolor Illustrations January 31, 2011

The 7th and 8th graders finished their watercolor illustrations of “mad lib” surrealist sentences.  Each student wrote mixed-up, crazy sentences by pulling nouns, adjectives, and verbs out of a hat.  Their challenge included illustrating that sentence as well as painting.  The students learned a few different watercolor tricks and techniques, including watercolor wash, paper towel lifting off, wet on wet; but the big hits were the salt trick and the rubbing alcohol trick.  While the paint is wet, salt is sprinkled on or rubbing alcohol is dripped on.  Both react to the pigment in fun and unusual ways!

Tile Designs March 25, 2010

The 7th graders have created beautiful ceramic tiles.  Inspired by the Islamic geometric designs, as well as by Moroccan and Mexican traditions, the students created a symmetrical design.  The design was transferred onto 4 tiles, and then glazed.  In Islamic culture, the color blue is the color of protection, and many students incorporated blue in some way.

Pen & Ink Sneakers November 3, 2009

The 7th graders recently finished an observational drawing project.  After sketching their sneakers, students learned abou the traditional methods of shading and giving value through pen & ink.  They created value scales, and worked to include light, medium, and dark values into their sneaker drawings.  Next up, they will be observing and drawing the soles of their sneakers, and creating reliefs in metal.

Black & White challenge September 17, 2009

For their first art class of the year, the 7th and 8th graders were each given black and white papers, scissors, tape, and glue.  Their challenge was to make something interesting and to be “impressive”.  Some students created 2D collages, some built 3D constructions.  All of the students came up with completely original ideas!  Some photos of the projects are below, but to see everyone’s, please visit the bulletin board outside of the Art Studio.

Repoussé Mandalas May 12, 2009

The 7th graders recently finished a metal-working project.  Learning about radial symmetry and the history behind mandalas in different cultures, the students created designs for their own.  Using a wooden stylus, the 7th graders worked the metal from front and back for a 3D relief effect.  This repoussé method was often used in ancient shields and today in jewelry.  Some students chose to leave their mandalas shiny, while others opted to antique theirs for an older, worn look.

Spaces in Perspective March 31, 2009

The 7th graders have just finished a challenging perspective unit.  They learned the basics of one-point perspective, including how to find a vanishing point, how to draw a 3D object in perspective, as well as observing the difference a high and low perspective makes on objects.

Some great perspective websites:

visualizing perspective
an interactive quiz about perspective
how to draw in perspective

The students created a 3D space, either indoors or outdoors, with all lines leading to the vanishing point.  These drawings were finished in watercolor and colored pencil.  Some students took pictures in their homes, and created prints from these, to highlight the difference a high and low perspective can make.

Some finished perspective drawings and high/low perspective prints:

Masks and Kites February 13, 2009

The 7th graders finished their plaster masks.  The students got really inventive with a variety of materials, and had much success.  A few of the masks are below (most of the masks will be on display during the Morse School Art Show at Gallery263 in April…more info to follow).

The 2nd graders in Ms. Riley’s class came for two Open Studio sessions for a project linked with their studies about Japan.  The students made carp kites, symbols of good luck for National Children’s Day in Japan.  One kite is hung for every child in a household.