Mr. Mills Blog

Technically, it is the second long weekend, but Labor Day always precedes the first day of school. It never really seems like I am getting a “day off”. Anyway, Ms. Fischer is about to enter her last week here at Murray. The 5th and 6th grade students have finished their artist trading cards. The students were allowed to take them home right after the project, and we have put them on Art Sonia. Both grades are now working on a short project based on the artwork of Yoko Ono. Each student wrote down directions for making an artwork that would be given to another student. The students were given some freedom on the how to write the directions, but they could only use paint, scissors, and glue as the materials.

The 3rd and 4th grade students have finished their contour line sculptures. They are also on Art Sonia. Now, the students have started a gesture drawing project. A gesture drawing is a quick drawing of a model’s pose. The idea is to quickly draw the shapes and position of the model.

If you have any questions about your child’s midterm, please contact me at the school. Thanks.

Finally, I am offering an after school video and technology class. If your child is interested, please see me for a permission slip.

Until next week…

As some of you might now, we are using a new grading system this year called Gradebook. With any new technology, you have a learning curve. Since we have midterm grades due this week, the curve is certainly steep but it has to be done. Speaking of grades, all students in Ms. Kaiser’s, Ms. Gorman’s, and Mr. Brookin’s class will be receiving a “B” for the midterm. The beginning of the year schedule meant that we could not finish their first project. Since Ms. Fischer and I did not want to rush the project, we felt this was the best solution. If you would like to no more about your child’s progress, please contact me.

The other 5th and 6th grade class have finished their artist trading cards. Some of the examples are above.

Also, the other 4th grade class has finished their Alexander Calder Contour Line Sculptures. Check them out above. All of this work has already been or will be posted on Art Sonia.

Until next week…

First…an announcement. I am offering a video/technology after school class starting on October 7th. The class is on Tuesday and Wednesday and will last until after school ends in early March. If you need a permission slip, I have them. I hope to only give these to students who are interested. Have your student please see me.

Ms. Fischer is finishing up her second week of teaching. That is a picture of her working above. The 3rd and 4th graders are in the middle of working on their Alexander Calder contour line mobiles. This week, they began shaping wire into one of the contour line portraits they drew during the previous 3 class periods. The 5th and 6th graders are in the middle of creating their 3 artist trading cards. They are applying the skills they learned last week to the cards they made this week. I plan on putting all of these artworks on to Art Sonia next week.

Also, in case I did not mention it, I have a download page where you can download and install free/open source programs. These are all programs I have either used myself or checked out. In some cases, I have used them with the students. They should install easily on your home computer, so if you get a chance, check them out.

Until next week…

This week, Ms. Fischer began her five week stint as my student teacher. The 3rd and 4th grade students learned about the work of Alexander Calder. Calder was famous for making mobiles. He also created contour line wire portraits. A contour line is one continuos line. The students practiced using contour lines this week by drawing other students in class. They had to draw the faces without lifting their pen off of the paper. One of these drawings will become a contour line wire sculpture they will make next week.

The 5th and 6th grade students are making artist trading cards. Aritst trading cards are cards created by artists that are then traded. They can not be bought or sold…they have to be traded. The students practices some different techniques this week in preparation for making their own artist trading cards next week. They glued down images and text, added texture to images with sandpaper, added water to tempera paint to make the paint transparent, and identified complimentary colors.

Until next week…

We got started on fine arts projects in all classes this week. Althugh, when next week starts, we will have to put those projects on hold and continue with them in five weeks. Our student teacher, Ms. Fischer, will begin teaching next week.

The third graders began making posters to encourage people to vote. Mr. Brown and I have told the students that the posters have to be non-partisan. We have introduced the terms applied arts and graphic design to the students. While many fine arts like painting and sculpture are done for “arts sake”, many applied arts like graphic design are done for a purpose. A poster used to get people to vote is an example of an applied art or graphic design. The students have been working on a design for their artowrk inside of their sketchbook.

The 4th and 5th graders are making logos that represnt themselves using Windows Paint in the computer lab. We started by looking at logos from actual companies and talking about how those logos were created to represent those companies. The students have to make a logo that represents themselves through the colors and synbols they chose. The students are also learning how to make block or bubble letters.

The 6th graders are working on emotion paintings. I took a picture of each student displaying a specific emotion. Then, the students cut the picture out and glued to a larger sheet of paper. The students need to paint around the picture with different colors, lines, and shapes that match the emotion. We have talked about the importance of color choice, filling up the paper, and tying their entire artwork together.

Until next week…