But you guys KNOW Ms. Holloway is ready! Bring on the new artists, and let's DO THIS!
tye dye oil pastel drawings! I mean, we're in the art room, we might as well make some ART, right!
And just for fun, I just HAD to toss in a few 'before and after' pics of my room for y'all. As the kids would say, did I "pimp out" the art room this year, or what, ha! (No, but for real, it was a lot of work.)
Now, enough of that, let's get to the good stuff ......... JWJ students making ART!
So, our first assignment was a self-portrait experiment. Students were given individual mirrors and instructed to 'impress' me with the very best self-portrait they are capable of producing at this point in their artistic career- no expectations, just experimental practice.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy, do I just LOVE when the artists are on task, being creative, AND having fun!
JWJ gots talent, am I right! (Okay, okay, the last one's mine, I admit, but what's the fun of art-teacherin' if ya can't sit down from time to time and make art with the students, right? Am I right?!?
These initial 'selfies' will be kept on file and used in comparison with the large scale self-portrait paintings we will create later in the year so students can view the progress they make. (Data, y'all ...)
Next couple of days, we played the game, "What is art?" and went over many many images in a slideshow presentation to see whether or not they should be considered art. The answer to every single image was "YES!" and a lot of the students surprised me with their unique interpretations :)
We had some pretty deep discussions about what art means to us and how we define art differently. Reading these beautiful student responses is one of my absolute favorite parts of doing what I do.
I mean, if this doesn't bring you to happy tears, I don't know what will, ugghhhh, WOW,
Now, this is a new addition to the routine, just wait for it ...
One of my brand new sixth graders, Emily, heard me asking for pillow stuffing on the wish list, and asked if we were going to be doing some sewing projects this year. I answered that of course we are, and she volunteered the fact that she creates her own clothing line for dolls!!! Obviously, I asked her to bring in some of her work, and you will not believe these incredible creations!
We set up a small drying rack gallery as a pseudo runway display for her barbies, and she even went so far as to offer her advice to other students who might be interested in sewing clothes. It was a hit!
Okay, okay, okay, guys, I know this is a lengthy post, but you know I get super excited at the beginning of a new year! Plus, we've already done so much, I just KNOW you want to see it all, haha!
Last thing, I promise! Just for fun, we had a surprise visitor in the art room on Friday, and it was just too funny not to share. Who knew E.T. had such mad art skillz! (And look, Ainsley ain't even phased!)
Love and inspiration to you all, and hope to see you again soon in Ms. Holloway's art room!