I Want Candy!

Parent/Teacher Conferences were last night. As I was being productive, I overheard people in the halls say, "Wow, look at that candy!" I also heard things like, "I made that wrapper, look at that giant M & M!"
These are my proudest moments as an art teacher. I love hearing students go on and on about their art, and parents asking questions like, "You made that? How did you make that? Was it hard to make?" Many students tell me, "Hey Mrs. Ratzlaff without art earth is just eh." They are right! If our halls were not adorned with art, there would be no amazement, questions or conversation.

Peace pieces

The 5th graders have been deep in thought about how to visually represent peace without being so obvious. They spent time thinking, sketching, and planning their art. During their creation time we discussed process, making mistakes and getting honest feedback. The result was amazing and so thoughtful. They delved deep and went way outside their boxes. Check out their process below.

Animal Masks finished!

The clay lady, Marie came to teach art club how to wash their masks creating a black and white drawing effect on their clay animal masks. These masks were quite an adventure! Several cracked right in half while drying! I had to think fast and mend them with lots of slip (liquid clay) before firing them. The cooked up beautifully, whew, that was a close one!

Blue Dogs are the cutest!

The 1st grade George Rodrigue inspired Blue Dogs have been gracing our halls for a while! They are the cutest! Students were able to choose their backgrounds and their mediums to fit their unique dog. They did a beautiful job with this whole project! Here are a few great ones!

The Clay Lady

My 4th and 5th grade club students have anxiously awaited the arrival of the Clay Lady: Marie (check out her link in my links section). This local clay artist makes a visit each year to teach two lessons to my club students. The students are fascinated by her unique techniques and projects she presents. Check out the animal masks we made last week and stay tuned for the finished product!

Welcome back!

We have been so busy this first week back! Here's a run-down:
Kinders- created their own Mauice Sendak inspired Wild Things
1st graders- finishing their backgrounds for their Blue Dog project
2nd graders- creating their background for their Mood Victorian Houses
3rd graders- planning their stories for their Yup'ik Masks
4th graders- making giant candy wrappers- Pop Art!
5th graders- planning for their Peace inspired art

Art Choice Day

My students always look forward to Art Centers/ Choices Day! On these days they can choose from a variety of Art Centers such as: modeling clay, zentangle, card making, Legos, weaving, and origami to name a few! It's times like these that I am reminded of the creativity of a young mind when it lets loose: no rules, no boundaries, just create!