3rd Annual Presents For Paws Drive

Greetings and Merry Christmas!

Three years ago my Art Club and I started a drive that is now very near and dear to my heart.  It's my passion project and am so thankful that I work in a county and school who also care about the well being of others.  In case you missed the earlier blog entry, our event is a two week pet food and pet supply drive for local furry friends in need called Presents For Paws!  During the two week drive, students can donate food, treats, bowls, leashes, collars, toys, towels, blankets, bedding, crates/carriers, and other items for dogs and cats who do not have all of the goodies that our own pets might have at home.  Animals stuck at the shelter can be a hard topic to discuss, but through our class conversations we are raising awareness to the pet overpopulation and options for how we can change the world by starting locally, in our own community.

My personal goal with Presents For Paws is that we collect more donations every year and so far that goal has been met, woohoo!  Two years ago (2012,13) we happily donated our earnings to the Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center in Franklin, TN.  Last year (2013,14) we raised more than our inaugural year and donated to two shelters, the Williamson County Animal Control and Adoption Center AND Metro Animal Care and Control in Nashville, TN. 

*I am overjoyed to report that this year we have doubled (almost tripled) our donations and have split our earnings between three local shelters! 

A Costume to bend the No Costume Rule

How was your Halloween, y'all?  We had a blast, but man oh man was it cold down here in Tennessee!  My school does not allow students to dress up for Halloween (sad, I know, but I cannot say that I disagree when it comes to masks.. I think that 9 times out of 10 they are cuh-reepy). 

So anyway, I try to "bend" the rules a bit with my own get-up on Halloween.. I figure that as the art teacher I can maybe get away with things like this.  I love Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art and festivities, so I wanted to give it a special nod.  Below you can see a few of my accessories..

Aren't the shoes fabulous?!  Many think that I made them, but I totally found them over at Modcloth.com

Falling in Love with Fall, Y'all!

It's no surprise (or maybe it is?) that my favorite season is Fall.. the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes.. everything is just my favorite this time of year!  It has been a minute since my last post, so let me tell you all about my Fall art projects that are going on right about now.. and stay tuned for the 2nd - 5th grade projects, coming soooooon!

I'm slowly but surely getting my room festive for Halloween, one bat and paper spider at a time!

Kindergarten

Painted Paper Pumpkins

Kindergarten starts the project by making a step-by-step painting (as you may see on the whiteboard in the background of the first image above) with different colors and shapes.  We mixed orange tones together, as no two pumpkins are ever exactly the same, you know.  Once the papers are dry, I draw 2 pumpkins, 2 stems, and 2 leaves on the back of the painted papers.  I do not always do this step, but 9 out of 10 Kindergarten artists find this extremely helpful.  Students then use scissors to cut out the shapes, leaving behind the fixings for their pumpkin collage.  We talk about overlapping and glue and voila!!

First Grade

Painted Paper Jack-o-Lanterns

First grade starts by mixing orange tones and painting a HUGE rectangle on a piece of paper.  Once dry, students cut out their pumpkin shape and begin using provided scissors and glue to create a face for their pumpkin.  We discuss collage and using our scissor craftsmanship while deciding the personality of their Jack-o-Lantern!  Everyone has a blast with this project and I personally love just how different all of them are (not to mention how amazing the hallway looks with 140+ Painted Paper Jack-o-Lanterns)!  

Warm Fuzzies and Fan Mail

Ever had one of those exhausting days at work, when at the end you feel 100% drained?  I think in any field of work this type of day is normal every now and then.  A couple of years ago, I started putting together a binder called Mrs. Nix' Warm Fuzzies that is full of my "fan mail," notes and drawings from students that stand out as touching and truly special.  

Most of the warm fuzzies are beautiful drawings with sweet notes attached.. others are in the form of personalized holiday cards.. some are snowflakes, origami figures, and trinkets that are collaged on thicker paper.. every so often there is a huge warm fuzzy that I have to crop or fold to fit.. and then there are photographs as well. You get the idea. 

Every time I flip through this binder I feel rejuvenated and am reminded of how much of a difference I am making in the lives of these young artists, even during those lack luster days.  

Try this for yourself and enjoy the warm fuzzies!

Take this cuteness from one of my 1st graders, for example.. 

International Dot Day

September 15th is/was Dot Day, a day of everything dots inspired by Peter H. Reynolds charming book, The Dot!  I got a late start on Dot Day art this year, but am hopeful to go all out like my bud Cassie next year (she is fabulous and you may have seen her crazy awesome site). 

During the first weeks of school, Kindergarten is working with their coordination and simple processes in the art room;

After reading The Dot, students painted a round paper plate 

with Tempera paints.  Once dry, we talked about printmaking 

and students used everyday objects (cardboard tubes and 

short, stubby pencils) as circular/dot stamps on top 

of their painted plates.

Fifth grade Art Club started last week and their first project was making oil pastel concentric circles;

First, each student creates a color scheme (we talked about the 

color wheel and to be cautious of combining colors 

that make brown) as they draw/color concentric colors. 

Next, students used their fingers to pull and blend the 

colors together as they rotated the paper, creating somewhat of a 

Tie Dye effect.  

These would look gorgeous on a larger scale or in multiples channeling Wassily Kandinsky (!!).  For Art Club though, we used 6"x6" squares to fit between the Kindergarten dots already mounted on the wall.

Come on, Teacher, Get Dirty!

I totally get that some teachers do not choose to show students their examples of finished projects (you want a student to think independently and to make their own creative choices), but personally, I think it's so important to work with your students and demonstrate every project with them.  They love having a hands on teacher who is not afraid to make mistakes and to get her/his hands dirty too!  I enjoy showing my young artists my steps along the way for better or for worse (rough and final drafts), so that they can feel inspired and empowered to incorporate their own amazing ideas into whatever project we are working at the time.

Oh yeah, and obviously I keep my "art shirt" handy in the case of painting days and oil pastel days too.. you just never know.  Don't even get me started on how many times a week I look in the mirror to find my face with streaks of paint from who knows when.. though even worse is when someone at the grocery store notices before I have a chance to see for myself!

Fifth Grade 12 'Hue' Color Wheels

Greetings all! The first big project for fifth graders this year is all about color mixing and color theory.. we talk about Hue, Primary Colors, Secondary Colors, Complimentary Colors, Value, etc. Oh, and since it's painting and mixing and then more painting and mixing… They. Love. It!

Getting Started:

We started with a 12"x12" piece of 90lb drawing paper.

Students use rulers to separate the paper into 4 equal sections (6"x6" each).

Using a straight edge, students then divide each section with two lines (creating 3 sections per square).

In total they should now have 12 sections or "slices of pizza."

Plotting the 12 Hues:
With a pencil, we create a "cheat sheet," lightly labeling each of the twelve "slices" with the 12 hues
(y, yg,g,bg,b,bv,v,rv,r,ro,o,yo).
Students begin by painting the three Primary Colors.
Next, we discuss mixing strategies as they plot the remaining colors on their beautiful color wheels!

Reflection:
This project is challenging and so so beautiful upon completion.  The students are amazed that they are able to make so many colors with just THREE paint colors, their Primaries!!  Some got frustrated and tried to sweet talk me into letting them use my bottled green, orange, and purple... but they kept working through their frustrations and were smiling ear to ear afterwards!  Seriously, try it for yourself and see how proud your kiddos are when they walk past their spectrums in the hallway..