Pinch Pots

My first graders made pinch pots.  We studied Mexican pottery made by the Nahua Native Americans from Central Mexico.  They learned how to roll the clay into a sphere, push their thumb into the sphere to make a hole, and pinch with all four fingers while they turn it.  Then, they learned how to shape the rim of the pot, and use a finger tip of water to smooth the surface of the clay.  Finally, they glazed them using a pattern for their surface design.  On the day they get them back, the students do an observational drawing.  We talk about how to make something look 3D when drawing.  The students love to work with clay!

First Grade: Mexican Plates

My First Grade classes made Mexican Plate Collages.  They also studied Mexico to prepare the students for the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition coming to the High Museum in February. The students looked at the colorful Fiber Art, specifically rugs, that come from Mexico to get ideas for their placemats.  They drew patterns with oil pastels and painted over their patterns with tempera cakes to create a paint resist for their placemats.  Then, they painted something from nature as the emphasis for the plates.  They used oil pastels to draw a line pattern behind their emphasis.  Next, they traced a circle on their painted paper and another on a plain colored paper.  They cut them out and glued their plate design on the the plain paper to make the plate.  Finally, they glued the plate on the placemat.  Fantastic!

Fish Bowl Collages Inspired by: Henri Matisse and Eric Carle

My first grade students studied Henri Matisse, specifically looking at his Fish Bowl painting.  They learned how he created collages out of painted paper like Eric Carle.  He called it "drawing with scissors."  The students painted large sheets of paper.  We talked about color mixing and color schemes.  They used the painted paper to cut out the shapes for their Fish Bowl collages. 

Post by: Jane Delmastro from Ms. McDaniel's 1st Grade Class

I had to cut out some shapes to make a beautiful collage.

 Display at Manning Oaks Elementary

Tree of Life Painting Inpsired by: Gustav Klimt

My first grade students studied the artist Gustav Klimt.  Gustav Klimt is known as the Master of Shapes and Patterns.  You might know his most famous artwork "The Hug."  They learned about outline, positive and negative space, shapes and patterns.  They painted their own "Tree of Life" with gold paint using a paintbrush and Q-tip.  Then, they went back and added circular patterns on the tree with oil pastels.  Wow!  They look great! 

Post by: Estelle Murphy in Ms. Martin's 1st grade Class (Findley Oaks ES)

I like my artwork and it is pretty. I made a tree and my art teacher helped me.

 

1st Grade Owl Collages

My first grade students studied an Inuit artist that creates artwork of animals from her environment.  The first graders had to do an observational drawing of an owl.  They mixed and used neutral colors to paint the feathers on the owl.  They used sharpie marker to add details in the feathers and face.  Finally, they painted a night background to glue their owl on.  They did a fantastic job.

The 1st graders at Findley Oaks studied Eric Carle. They created animal collages by painting paper and cutting out shapes to create their animal. WOW!