Thank You Schaffner: Square 1 Art Fundraiser

I just received my supplies I was able to order thanks to the large check I received from Square 1 Art. The parents at Shaffner are amazing! They purchased many items from the fundraiser and it helped my art program tremendously. 

Here is what I am doing with the funds:

2nd Grade will go to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft and create clay masks. 

Every student will receive a poster with their self portrait project on it.

A mural will be created with the students portraits on it and it will be hung in Schaffner as a permanent art installation. 

Metal tiles were purchased for the 5th grade to embellish with tooling techniques and ink. Each square will be put together to create a large scale art piece to be hung as a permanent art installation.

I purchased these art materials for future art projects:

Class set of Crayola watercolor pencils

Class set of Crayola oil pastels

Class set of Crayola color sticks

Class set of tempera cakes

Crayola Tempera paint

Clay tool set

6 boxes of clay

Glazes in various colors

Edging scissors set

Kraft paper

Waldorf supply of beeswax clay

Magnetic architecture set

Watercolor paint refills

Embroidery floss

and more!

Most art supplies are consumable materials, meaning they are used and then gone. I have to replace materials often so having such supportive parents truly helps the students have art materials that help them create amazing art.

Many, many thanks!

The 2nd Grade KMAC Field Trip: Clay Masks

My 2nd grade had a great time making clay masks at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. I had them create practice masks with oil based clay before the trip so they would be familiar with techniques. They sketched out their favorite pieces while they toured the museum. Then they created masks with clay. The mask started as a slab of clay and they cut out the face shape and added low-relief pieces. They used Mayco Stroke n' Coat glazes to add color. When we left, the museum put their masks on rolled up newspaper to give curve to the pieces. I pick up the masks in approximately one week and am excited to see the final results.

Carolyn Braden: Sending Thanks To Schaffner Families!

Thank you to everyone for your support during our Square 1 Art fundraiser. I raised $1,901.33 for my art program! I used the money to buy clay, glazes, glaze palettes, oil pastels, yarn, looms, paper, tempera paint, watercolor sets, brushes, ink, smocks for students, kiln supplies, embroidery floss, glue, and more. I am using $700.00 to cover most of the expenses for our upcoming 2nd grade field trip to the KMAC. On the field trip, students will tour the museum and make a clay mask.
I will definitely be doing the Square 1 fundraiser again next year. I am also writing a grant to try to do an arts night at Schaffner next school year. It would be a night parents could come with their students and do mini art projects together. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get funds to do the event.

Carolyn Braden's KMAC Blackacre Camp Project Results

I taught this braided coil basket project to middle school age students at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Crafts. I'd say they did a fantastic job! Some didn't know how to braid, thread a needle or even sew. By the end of the lesson, they all picked up the skills and created creative baskets.

Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: 2nd Grade Field trip!

With the help of a Target Field Trip grant, the second grade went to the KMAC this week. They viewed multi-media folk art in the current exhibit that focuses on Caribbean influenced art. Prior to their visit, we talked about folk art and looked at many examples. We also discussed Marvin Finn's (Louisville artist) art. They created wooden animals with polymer clay heads. They truly enjoyed their day. They even wanted to stay longer and view more art. I think they really enjoyed being able to touch some of the things on display at the museum like adding onto the community braided rope with fabric scraps and exploring more about the art they saw on the museum's touch screen computers.

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: Second Grade Field Trip to Make Folk Art!

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: Second Grade Field Trip to Make Folk Art!

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: Second Grade Field Trip to Make Folk Art!

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: Second Grade Field Trip to Make Folk Art!

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft: Second Grade Field Trip to Make Folk Art!

New Rotation Starts on Tuesday and Update!

We are finishing up another rotation of classes.  The classes I have now (1, 2, 4, 5) have finished up their License to Vote contest entries.  The selection of who will represent Byck at the LTV Contest Finale in the spring is now underway.  The two entries selected will be finalists and their art will go to compete with other JCPS elementary students.  


5th grade is now working on Graffiti Arts:  The good, the bad, and the beautiful.
4th grade is now working on The Three Me's, a Portrait Unit.  They will create Self Portraits in Oil Pastel, Collage, and 3-D Sculpture.
2nd grade is now working on When Pigasso Met Mootise:  Portraits of the Artists.  (Guided Drawing)
1st grade is now working on The Rainbow Fish Portraits.  (Guided Drawing)


Kindergarten has finished their Watch Me Draw projects and are now working on their Shape Mosaics.  They will then create Piet Mondrian Collages with primary colors, shapes, and lines. 


All classes have been working on their "I Can....." statements.  At the end of every class, students state what they can tell me about what they learned during the class periods.  They use their art vocabulary when telling me their statements.  We are also doing a multiple choice quiz orally as part of their end of class review.  The students are so smart!  Every student raises their hands when we do our reviews.  


The end of the rotation is on Monday and the whole rotation of classes starts over on Tuesday.  I am excited to welcome Caroline Zama, our Artist in Resident!  She will be working with my fifth graders for a week to create clay tiles.  Each student will make 2 tiles.  One tile will be a low relief self-portrait of the student, and the second tile will be a mural background piece.  All the tiles will be put together in a Byck inspired mural when the residency is complete.  Ms. Zama will be working with all 5th graders on this project, as their classes rotate to art.  We are doing the residency via the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft.  I am working to get another residency going for the 3rd grade.  If my grant application is approved (fingers crossed!) students in the 3rd grade will work with Louisville artist Michelle Amos to create Native American Kachina Dolls.  


After the new year, I have planned a field trip for the second grade.  With funds from our wonderful Fund for the Arts 5x5 Grant, the students will go to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, tour the museum, eat lunch there, and create a 3-D clay cube project.  


My student teacher, Lauren Williams, will be finishing her time up in my room on December 1st.  She taught this rotation of classes and had done wonderfully!  She has loved working with your talented students.  Wish her luck in her future goal of being an art educator!
  
So many great things going on this year!  Check back soon for more pics and updates!

Last Year's Fifth Grade "Around the World" Artist in Residency Project

These flags were made with the fifth graders last year. Mrs. Braden coordinates an artist in residency every year with the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. Last year the students made flags that represented what the students wanted to be when they grew up or what their hopes and dreams were for the future.  They dyed the fabric and then embellished the flags.  Students also used words in different languages to communicate their wishes.  

This year we have a clay tile mural planned for the fifth grade to make with during the artist in residency.

New Rotation and Update September 28th, 2010!

It's already time for a new rotation of classes!  My new group starts tomorrow, Wednesday, September 29th.  If your student is in art right now, they will rotate to Arts and Humanities tomorrow. 

During this rotation here are some things we recently started and will finish when this rotation returns to art:

Fifth grade is starting on their Graffiti Arts:  The Good and The Bad project.  We are using oil pastel techniques to make our graffiti appear like it was sprayed on our paper.

Third grade is starting on their Georgia O'Keefe geometric/organic flower project.

Kindergarten started working with patterns.  They met Patty the pattern turtle and are working to color her shell in an ABAB pattern using warm or cool colors.

First grade is finishing their Guided Drawing of the Rainbow Fish.  They will begin their ideas for their upcoming Oil Pastel Symmetrical African Mask project.

Second grade is learning about geometric and organic shapes.  They learned that Pablo Picasso loved geometric shapes and Henri Matisse loved organic shapes with the book When Pigasso Met Mootisse.  They will be learning to draw portraits using ideas from this book. 

Fifth grade will have an artist in residence working with them starting in November.  They will be working on tiles for a tile mural installation for Byck Elementary.  The project will be created with the help of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. 

I am currently working on a grant to have Michelle Amos, a Louisville artist, to come work with my third graders on making Native American Kachina Dolls. 

Discover classes start on Friday, October 8th.  My class this year is called Advanced Art:  Think Big!  We will be doing very large scale paintings and other advanced art projects.

I will  be updating again soon about my new addition to my class.  I have a student teacher coming to work and learn in my classroom.  She is from Murray State University.  She will be in my classroom October 4th through early December.