Zilker Elementary Art Class

Zilker Elementary Art Class

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Kinder students study free form shapes!


It is officially Autumn, although it still feels like summer with our triple digit temperatures. Kinder students explored free form shapes in art class and created rubbings of leaves in honor of Autumn. The next day we painted our leaves with watercolors.
Students had to learn how to use their brushes gently - they all did a great job!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2nd Grade Pattern Animals

Color! Color! Color! Second graders' animals look wonderful with the addition of watercolors.




Wednesday, September 14, 2011

4th & 5th Grade Russian Architecture Drawings


4th and 5th grade Artists are creating wonderful towers full of value and texture! We looked at the incredible Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow Russia for inspiration. Students are concentrating on creating gray values and textures with sharpie pens. Students are really throwing caution to the wind using the permanent markers, and learning how to make mistakes look like incredible patterns or part of the original texture.





Monday, September 12, 2011

Celebrating Freedom Week in Art Class

This week is Celebrate Freedom week in Austin ISD. In art class, we are looking at two American Artists and how they celebrate our country's history and freedom through their artworks.
Childe Hassam was an American of British descent, and he took personal pride in the allegiance of Britain, France and the United States during the First World War. His painting "Allied Day, May 1917" shows the American support for the U.S. entering the war. The scene in the painting depicts flags flying on Fifth Avenue in new York City, and if you look closely, you can see citizens marching in the streets in a Preparedness Parade. Hassam set up his easel on a balcony of a building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Second Street to paint the scene.
Norman Rockwell's 1943 painting "Free Speech" depicts a man standing up to speak about the famous "Four Freedoms" speech that Franklin D. Roosevelt made in his 1941 State of the Union address: Freedom of speech and expression, freedom from want, freedom from fear, and freedom of worship. Norman Rockwell had served in the military during World War I, and as an artist he wanted to continue to serve his country after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Rockwell did a series of four paintings about Roosevelt's Four freedoms speech, and all of them were published in "The Saturday Evening Post." These paintings helped galvanize the U.S. to action during the war.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Third Grade Pattern Beetles


Third grade artists are reviewing line and shape for their first art project. Students first used shapes to draw the different parts of their insect: head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, and six legs. Then students started adding different lines and shapes to create patterns inside their insect shapes. Here students are creating their beautiful patterns.


Friday, September 2, 2011

5th and 4th Grade Graphic Designs

Fourth and Fifth Grade students are working hard on their Graphic Designs, which will decorate the front cover of their sketchbooks. For this project, students are reviewing the art elements line and shape. Students are using shape and line in various ways: to show patterns, texture, or to show their individual interests. Throughout the year, we will be using the sketchbooks to work and write about art. Check out some of their work in progress!





Thursday, September 1, 2011

Kinder Geometric Shapes




Kinder students are learning about geometric shapes in art class. We concentrated on five geometric shapes: circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and ovals. We also practiced coloring inside of the geometric shapes and not leaving any peek-a-boo spots. Here are some kinder students hard at work on their geometric shapes.