TEA art Investigations: Learning how art has a Language of its own

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Value, Line, Color, Shape, Texture and Space….we are investigating these terms in all the grades as an introduction to a language of art that will be used to comment and respond to the works we produce and see throughout the year.

I am excited to share some of the many things that have been happening in the art room at school so far this year. So here we go….

To kick off the Art classes, each student participated in a self portrait portfolio. The Task was to represent themselves with collage or drawing materials (or both) without actually drawing a picture of themselves. The imagery ranges from favorite foods and activities and animals, to more abstract ideas like organization or chaos. The portfolios will serve as a place for students to store their artwork throughout the year, and be a living artwork that will be added to and adjusted as we learn and grow.

The other recent big endeavor in the Art room has been the creation of student sketchbooks. Every child K-6th has torn pages and bound their own sketchbook, which will be used at the beginning of classes throughout the semester. The idea came to me last year that I really want kids to be “nature drawing” and revising their drawings as a daily practice. Sketchbooks have always been an object dear to my heart as an artist. For me the Sketchbook is a sacred space that encourages playing with ideas and skills that will ultimately lead to more refined final products. I hope that T.E.A students will find a similar comfort in their books and fill them with creative excitement.

Below there are some other photos from recent Art assignments for you to check out. One image is of the Pre-K creating scratchboard art with crayons and wet paint. The other is a shot of some fifth graders interpretation of Value, Line, Color, Shape, Texture and Space. We are investigating these terms in all the grades as an introduction to a language of art that will be used to comment and respond to the works we produce and see throughout the year.