Nature Inspired Monoprints

K4 and K5 students created these beautiful gelatin prints inspired by nature. These prints are called monoprints because unlike most kinds of printmaking, it makes one unique print that can never be recreated. It is unique!

To learn how the students made these spectacular prints visit the links below! These are very fun and easy to make at home for art or homemade cards!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy4cTDcRHaA

Helpful tips:

3-4 packs of unflavored gelatin per cup of water

Divide the water in half. Half should be boiled before adding it to a mix of half cold water and gelatin.

K4 Dot Inspirations

Today K4 students read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This book is about a girl named Vashti. She doesn’t think she is a good artist. However, she builds confidence after she paints many paintings of dots. K4 students created ‘dot’ paintings by practicing circles. First, students used crayons to draw circles of different sizes and color. Next, we used watered tempera cakes to paint on top of our dots. The wax in the crayons pushes the paint away exposing our circles.

 

Watch The Dot on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5mGeR4AQdM

The Best Artists in the Ocean!

K5 had a lot of fun reading The Best Artist in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry. This book is about a blue Giant Squid who thinks he is the best artist in the ocean. He uses line and shape to create beautiful drawings of sea creatures. We used paint, pencil and paper to make a picture of the Giant Squid in the story. This book is available through the Milwaukee Public Library system

 

7th Grade Architects

Recently, seventh grade students worked in groups of five to build the strongest structure out of newspaper and masking tape. We discussed how architects often use triangles in their designs because it can support the most weight.