Gyotaku - Japanese Fish Prints

5th graders created a beautiful watercolor painting on cloth, and then added fish and sea life with a special printing process.  The same effect can be created by using real fish, but I decided not to go that route!  We used rubber fish instead - much less drama!

4th grade Op Art Designs

I saw this project online, and would credit the source if I could remember it!  First we looked at optical illusions, and the Op Art of Victor Vasarely.  We broke down the drawing and coloring of this design into manageable steps, because there is a lot to consider- radial symmetry, contrast, tints, and shades.  We also applied shading techniques we learned about in our previous guitar project.  Bravo, 4th graders!

Victor Vasarely would be proud!

Tesago's mascot at the Washington Zoo

This father and son pair posed perfectly for us!  Too bad we can't rename them Tes and Ago!

Trick Photography

I can't help myself!  I grew up in a Kodak family, and love all aspects of photography, especially illusions like this.  I have photos of my Dad doing trick photography when he was in high school; it's heredity!

Washington DC trip

I was hoping to use cherry blossom photos as a basis for a 3rd grade Impressionist landscape painting, but we were there a week too early - darn! 

2nd graders are making furniture!

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This is one of my all time favorite 2nd grade projects, based on the artistic furniture of Rochester, NY artist Wendell Castle.  It requires massive amounts of tubes (400 small, 200 large this year) but I love projects that involve creating with recycled materials.  Students are required to develop a theme for their chairs, and choose art elements to effectively make the theme come to life.  Work in progress is pictured here - more to come when they are finished!