Plaster Hands

I found this great art teacher's blog -RefrigeratorGood. Artwork Worthy of a Magnet  and thought these plaster projects would be so much fun. So we tried it. It was pretty messy, difficult to get the chalky residue from the plaster to clean off of the tables, but too cold to do outside. We should have put newspaper down on the tables first.... So, we wrapped hands with plastic wrap, then used the plaster of Paris. Then I instructed students to create a graphic using 7 different letters with 7 different fonts, turning the letters to fit together with different sizes. Then they made multiple different sized copied of their graphic and decoupaged it to their hands. Project success, I think the students really enjoyed it also. 

Oil Pastel Self Portraits

We just started a new semester after Christmas vacation. So, this is the beginning of 8th grade with art. We started with some Name Tangles, or Name Zentangles - whatever you want to call them. I know I stole this assignment from a couple of different art teacher bloggers and mashed it into one assignment, but I can't find who I got it from. If I find it, I will repost.  (I found it here at The Bees Knees Cousin)

So, I altered the assignment a little. First, the students needed to find a font that they liked, but also a font that left the inside white. Then draw it vertically on their papers so their name touches top, bottom and both sides - turning their letters to ensure this. They outlined it with a Sharpie. Next they used the Sharpie and went right to zentangling. They were not allowed to repeat any zentangles. In the end, I introduced watercolor pencils for the inside of their names.

Overall, I loved how they turned out. Not everyone followed the directions exactly, but that's what happens in art sometimes - we get inspired to change.

Stacked Name Project

To start the year the eighth grade began with reviewing line and pattern using Sharpies (LOVE SHARPIES). They had to research a font they liked and stack their name from top to bottom of their paper vertically. They could add letters from their name if they needed to fill more space. They were to keep the letters solid and fill the connecting space with patterns.

Third Grade Robots

Two posts in one day......it's madness......
For the second project of the year, I had all of the classes work on patterns. So, here are the second grade robots. I got this project from Deep Space Sparkle I love stealing projects from her, she is brilliant!