Everyday Day Art Room- A Small Concept in Big Way

Today on Everyday Art Room I'm sharing how we have so many things to cover as Visual Arts Teachers, sometimes it's hard to know what to focus on. For many years now, I have worked on one small aspect, one concept, and made it so big that ALL students will know that term or that idea or concept for the rest of their lives. 

Here is a little more about the Monster Mediums! (Click Here)

Want to see more about the Bit-O-Bios?? Here ya go! 

Or how about Process?? Is Process what you want your kids to truly understand?? Here's how I focused on that small concept in a big way. Check out my Process Pigs by clicking here.

Tag me on social media to share what concept you are focused on this year. I would love to see what you are doing to make that small idea into a Big Deal in your classroom! 

Yayoi Kusama- Obliteration Wall

My students had a great time learning about Yayoi Kusama (click here). She was an Artist, unlike anyone they had seen.  It was important to me to cover the mental health as I introduced the artwork of Kusama.  She used art as therapy and that was a comment made in the Bit-O-Bio.

Also in the Bit-o-Bio, it mentioned her Obliteration Room.  The following week, we made her Obliteration Room come to life. The warm up of this week was to watch a few minutes of the following video. 

Then we walked into the hallway to add one dot to our very own Obliteration Wall. Students loved seeing the wall continue to be covered over the next week as classes came to Art and added their dot. Many students claim they know the dot they added on the wall. 

I used some of the swag we got from the Art Ed Now 2017, Winter Conference.  We always get the best swag from the Art Ed Now conference. They already announce some of the presentations for this summer. Thanks to Margo who got this picture of the swag and specifically the markers I used.   Dab a Dot Markers were perfect for this project. 

We wanted to recreate a video inspired by the video above.  I recorded the students in time-lapse and when I brought it into the iMovie App I sped it up even more. Most students are represented in this video and it's only a little under two minutes long.

What a fun installation for my students to be a part of... and so easy. 

mARTch Madness, The Championship Game!

We are down to the final two!! The kids are loving this! They cheer and celebrate, boo and hiss... it all depends on where they have voted the week before.  It's a lot like the basketball March Madness... these kids are engaged with this activity and guess what?? They are learning about Art History! 

Here was the result of the 'Final Four'!! Close game between Matisse and Bob. Sawyer is freak'n out to take on Bob this week.  What a blast! To learn about this whole mARTch Madness event, click here.

You Don't Have to be an Adult to be an Artist

So many of the Artist that I have been introducing my students to are very old, or dead.  I wanted my students to have some peers to look at, someone their own age that knows in their heart that they are an Artist.  I just happen to have two Artist at home more than willing to be featured in a Bit-O-Bio for my students.

First I showed the Matisse Bit-O-Bio.  I was excited to share that she was a recent winner of the Youth Art Month Poster contest.  She loves to draw, paint, explore and she excels in Art in school.  She also does great with Phy Ed, Music and Math.  The Bit-O-Bio shares that she struggles with reading and must work hard to be successful.  Persistence is a great message to my students in this Bit-O-Bio about Matisse. 

The next week was about Sawyer.  The reason Sawyer was perfect to highlight for my students was because he is a VERY different artist than Matisse.  He is a sculptor.  He works with a lot of mediums, but most often with legos. I had kids coming up to me after his Bio to tell me that they didn't know that you could be an Artist by 'building things'.  This Bit-O-Bio spoke to that group of kids that sometimes are a little resistant to Art class. 

Week three... I show the following video.  I always like to give a follow up somehow.  Show images of Artist work, or images of the Artist themselves.  I have a few images saved up over the year of these two... so this video was easy to make. 

If you would like to introduce these two Artists to your students, feel free to visit my Teacher Pay Teacher page (click here).

mARTch Madness, Round 2

We have entered ROUND 2 (ding, ding, ding) of mARTch Madness.  Hassan Elementary students have been voting for their favorite Artist from our #BitOBio series.  This has been so much fun for the kids.  We have been using a Google form to vote. Here are the final results...

How awesome is this?  Students are empowered, they have a voice. They get to see live data and understand that their vote can change the overall look of the data. Best thing is these kids are passionate about the Artists they have learned about. They cheer (or boo) when they see the live results at the end of their class. 

The four artist being voted on are... Frida Kahlo vs. Matisse Hahn and Sawyer Hahn vs. Bob Ross.

For the introduction to the mARTch Madness, click here.

To learn more about the artist in the #BitOBio Series, click here. 

mARTch Madness 2017, Bit-O-Bio Style

Last year Hassan Elementary participated in their First Annual mARTch Madness.  It was such a hit that we are doing it again!  This year we are putting our featured Artist against each other on the brackets.  We have been learning about each of these Artist in our Bit-O-Bio's. This week is the first games.  We will let all the students vote either as a class or individually (depending on the class).  We will see who makes it to the second round of 'games'. Good luck to all the Artist!

I created a google form to allow my students to vote.  It's an AWESOME form because Google allows you to put image for answers now.  That is a somewhat new feature that I have wanted for a while... Thanks Google! If you want to get in on the fun, you can see all the Bit-O-Bio's on my TPT page (click here).

Product #Crush

February 8th: Product #Crush

I have had the opportunity to use an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil the last couple of weeks in our curriculum review research. At first, I didn't know if it was something that was any different than the iPad and stylus that I use all the time currently.  I have changed my opinion, I think the Apple Pencil is really a nice stylus. I have been having a blast using Adobe Illustrator to create some new image.

The most recent image was for my #BitOBio series.  I first painted a watercolor base.  Then I took a picture and added the black line directly onto the image digitally.  In the past, I used transparent paper to draw the black line, then I scanned the two images.  I used photoshop to line the two up with each other and exporting from there.  The iPad made this process much faster, and the Apple Pencil made the result similar to pen and paper as in the past.

I'm really excited for this Bit-O-Bio. It features a 9-year-old Artist... my daughter, Matisse. I thought it would be fun to show that you don't have to be an adult to be an Artist.  If I celebrate Matisse in the same way that I do our Master Artist, my students are able to recognize they are Artist now... not just when they grow up.

To celebrate this new Bit-O-Bio, I'm running a sale with Teachers Pay Teachers.  You can get 28% off my whole store today.  I hope you can take advantage of this great deal. Click here to visit MiniMatisse store.

Bit-O-Bio, Yayoi Kusama

It's been a long time, but I'm so happy to announce that I have recorded another #Bit-O-Bio.  This time, I recorded on a lesser known Artist. Yayoi Kusama was new to me.  I loved her look and knew my students would too. 

So here I was, this January day recording about Yayoi Kusama and her family support (or lack thereof), her obsession with dots, and need for Art in her life.  Yayoi lives in a mental institution by her own choice. I wanted to address the healing powers of Art in her life.

I needed to cover someone with an eccentric look, someone who is alive.  Someone who they might see in a gallery.  Yayoi fit all of those requirements well.  I also wanted to cover an Artist who had a style that was a good jumping off point to many projects.  A teacher could move into repetition, shapes, lines, color... just to name a few from the principals and elements. 

Another reason Yayoi was interesting is because she was an Artist of so many forms and mediums.  She created sculptures, paintings, fashion, performance, and music. 

I needed to explain to students what an installation is in an Art Museum during this #BitOBio.  It was fun to explain Yayoi's, Obliteration Room in student friendly language.

Image from Stephan Ridgway

My plan is to create my own Obliteration installation in my classroom that I will invite my students to interact with. 

The #BitOBio's are getting better. As with everything, the more I practice, the better it get's.  These Bit-O-Bio's are no exception. 

Let me share Yayoi Kusama's #BitOBio with you and your students
Click here

Art Made Easy Podcast

WHAT AN HONOR!! I was invited to be a guest on Deep Space Sparkle, Art Made Easy, Podcast by Patty Palmer.  Yep, that Patty Palmer, you know the Patty Palmer I confessed a #Crush on last February?  WOW!! I have to say she is a treat to talk to. We had such a good chat and I'm so excited to share it with you today.

So here we go... I hope you enjoy this podcast (click here)

Frida Faces

Hassan Elementary is now just wrapping up on Frida Kahlo as our featured Artist.  She was a blast for our students to learn about.  So much fun in fact, she was studied for three visits to the Art Studio. 

Week One:

In the last 5 minutes of class, students watched a Bit-O-Bio on Frida. (click here to see the Bit-O-Bio). I am amazed how much these students picked up on all the facts about the Artist from these little snippets of Art History. They look forward to the Bit-O-Bios.

Week Two: 

I showed students a slide show of some images of Frida.  This is the first half of the Google Slides below.  I talked about her dress, her lack of a smile, her marriage to Diego... All of this being the Elementary safe version of course. 

Week Three:

The second part of the Google Slide is filled with images of Frida's work.  We talk about the 'secret codes' (symbolism) that Frida puts into her painting.  We discuss how she can tell us a story without putting words in her work.  The strongest image for this was Frida as a wounded deer. EVERY class understood that Frida was in a lot of pain in her life and this represented that.

As students were working, I also allowed them to get their 'Frida' brow on... if they wanted.  I was shocked to see how many students wanted me to draw an eyebrow on their forehead.  They loved it, held their Frida pose and I took a picture to share with the families of the participating classes. 

As you can see I had the iPad in a stand... a black sheet draped behind them, and lot's of props for students to choose from.  Many of the students left my room sporting the eyebrow for the rest of the day.  The pictures actually turned out stunning.  Boys and girls enjoyed this opportunity and as I mentioned... This was only an option, not mandatory. 

I have also decorated the classroom with a Frida Pumpkin. All the kids have been able to identify her as they walk in.  I guess it's kind of a formative assessment. 

My lesson plans allowed me to do this with mostly the 3rd and 5th grade this week.  Not all classes had the opportunity. 

If we were pressed for time, I simply drew the brow on the kids and took a group shot.  I explained to parents what they were doing in a short email home.  I got lots of positive responses from parents and teachers.

The other Artist we have studied so far this year is Bob Ross (click here for his Bit-O-Bio).  What a great combination of Artist.  We first have Bob with his 'Happy Accidents' and cheery demeanor. Then Frida with her subdued face and thoughtful symbolism.  I am having parents and students reporting watching the 'Joy of Painting' all the time.  I think it's so fun to get the kids pumped for Art History. 

Balance: Choice-Based Learning and the National Arts Standards

After posting about my 'Careers in Art' series recently (click here). I received the following comment below from Kellie Determan.  

It sounds like Kellie is exactly in the same place I found myself about two years ago. Two years ago I started watching the posts from TAB teachers and loving the concept of an Art Studio versus an Art Class.  I would offer a little choice in my class and post it to the TAB groups on Facebook.  I would get comments from teachers suggesting that what I was doing was not TAB... not even close. I was trying but I was taking baby steps... such small baby steps.  I would allow my students to choose the color of paper, or between two mediums but we would still all do the same lesson. Sometimes I would let them each choose their own subject, but make sure that they were still doing the same process. I think this is great.  It's a way to give choice in your classroom at some level.

Here is the deal... it's all TAB... check out the bold comment from the TAB website. 

I don't consider myself to be TAB.  I might call myself Directed Choice-based.  I'm totally seeing the benefits of choice as also suggested on the website under 'what is TAB'. One of the big ones is this approach to teaching has allowed me to be available for individual and small group teaching and support (see previous post). When I'm instructing, I teach to the masses, not the student. In this choice-based learning, I 'm available to the students as a resource. 

So back to Kellie's question, how do I explain what I'm doing to others who come into my classroom and see the 'fun' happening?

There is a structure to my class.  Yoga Calm calls it Calm>Active>Calm (see more on Yoga Calm by clicking here).  This is the format I have been using in my classroom for years.  I bring students into class and have a class meeting for the goals of the day.  We usually watch a flipped video and then they are asked to go make their choice of how they meet that goal. There is great activity in the classroom, we will end with a gallery walk, clean up, and a Bit-O-Bio so kids are back to calm again.

I have an 'I Can Statement' posted on the board... but instead of calling it a "I Can..." I call it a challenge or a goal.  The kids look at my classroom as a puzzle to be solved... I love this because it allows students to understand that there are no 'right' answers... They get to solve the problem in the way they choose for the day.

My goals given to the students are developed from the National Standards. Let's just look at the Architecture Lesson I recently posted on.  I'm doing the 'Careers in Art' series with my 3rd grade.

This whole series highlights the 'Create' standards above... Generating and organizing artistic ideas using a variety of processes and materials. These first two standards are covered with this one lesson.  I will be focusing on 'Refining and completing' in an upcoming lesson that I will have every trimester where they do a little reflection on the careers learned about thus far. So no... each standard is not met with every lesson. 

Again, present is not covered as much in this one lesson. This will be a focus for a follow-up lesson when students reflect on the process of being an architect and the other careers covered in class. 

Connecting is the main reason I'm covering 'Careers in Art' with my 3rd grade.  These broad standards are so big for my brain to wrap around.  I really focused in on the personal connections, the observation of surroundings and relating ideas and work with society.  This strand of the standards is why I have developed this whole series.  

As art teachers we tell our students that Art is all around us.  But do we show them how? So by giving students Careers in Art, they can see where, how, and who are the creators of the Art that is all around us. They can also relate that back to themselves.  A student might not feel they are an artist if they are not 'good' at drawing, or painting, or whatever is being taught in your Art classroom... If the definition of what an artist is broad, they might find a place where their skill set fits best. They will walk away from your class knowing that everyone has Artistic skills and it can be developed.  

Is this the 'right' way to reach the standard of Connecting?  It's one way. Teaching is just like a TAB room... there are so many solutions to the same problem even if our administration would often want us to be uniformed.  There MUST be fluidity to teaching in the Art Studio. 

Finally, responding.  I have the students do a 'Gallery Walk' almost every class period. This is an informal way to start the conversation of responding to art. We celebrate how we each reached an answer to the problem. There will be a separate lesson where interpreting and evaluating is the focus.  These were not the goals of this lesson at all.  

By the way, if you love this format of the National Arts Standards above, click here for the previous post of where I got this and so many more amazing resources for this year.  It's from Laura Lohmann's Art Teacher Planner.  That is a solid resource for sure! 

This is how I have found balance.  I still believe that students in elementary school are developing the building blocks to creating art.  This is why I give students a focus, allowing them to build their skills.  By 5th grade, most are actively applying their knowledge and the problem solving is much more evident in their creations.