Art News: Winter Edition

The next layer of our lives we will be working on is IDENTITY.

Students will be thinking about their identity and all the things they keep in balance in their lives.

First and second grade will be “zentangling” about their identity around photographs of themselves.

Third grade will be creating clay gift boxes that will represent each student’s unique “gift” to the world.  Save some bows and ribbons for the art room for third graders to embellish their gift boxes with.

Fourth grade will be constructing an identity box using an empty cereal or cracker box.  Students will need to think about whether a person’s identity is how others see them, or how they see themselves.  Keep bringing in empty boxes.  We need more!!

Fifth graders will be creating an alter ego based on a talent, wish or favorite animal.  It will be fun to see their ideas on how they would improve the world.

Things you can save for the art room over winter break:

c Wrapping paper that has been used. Metallic and fuzzy paper is a favorite thing for students to have in the scrap box.  Colors and patterns are best (rather than pictures of Santa.) 

c Bows and ribbons (see 3^rd grade lesson)

Check out the art room blog! à http://pocketartroom.blogspot.com/

Did you know Stacey Peters ( my lesson writing partner, and art teacher extraordinaire at Hoffman Trails Elementary) has a website? You can find awesome drawing lessons and cool gift ideas at http://expressivemonkey.com/!

What I learned today...

Today was a late-start day here in Hilliard City Schools. While some got to sleep in, you might be surprised to know that while students are away, teachers are off attending school staff meetings and professional development. The art teachers use this time to get together and share our findings, ideas, and projects.

Today, Ms. Beroske at Beacon Elementary shared with us how she uses Aviary.com to create wonderful technology packed lessons with her students. Today, we learned how to use iPhoto and Aviary to create a portrait that included our "imaginary friend." My birdie has a song in her head--just like me!

Art Fun + Holiday Shopping Opportunities for the Whole family

There are several events happening in Columbus this weekend that feature arts & craft vendors. Check them out!

Winterfair:
A holiday artists’ market where fairgoers will find unique and beautiful handcrafted items for the home, office or gift giving.
Admission: $7
Children 12 and under free
Free return admission any day of the fair.
Dec. 2–4, 2011

Multi-Purpose Building
Ohio State Fairgrounds
10 am - 8 pm Friday
10 am - 8 pm Saturday
Noon - 5 pm Sunday

Columbus Museum of Art Local Artist Holiday Trunk Show:
Saturday Dec. 3rd
1:00-4:00PM
480 E. Broad ST.


Holidays at CMA:
1st Saturdays
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Join us for this festive 1st Saturdays as we explore Lino Tagliapietra's whimsical glass installation, Endeavor, and then make a merry artwork. At 11:00 am, be sure to stop by the Cardinal Health Auditorium to watch the Columbus Children's Theater's classic performance of Mr. Scrooge. This program is recommended for families with children ages three to eight. This program is free with admission, no registration requested.


2011 Clintonville Holiday Trunk Show and Sale:
All local artists
4606 Indianola Ave. Unit M.
Sunday Dece. 4th 10:00AM-4PM.

Hollyfest Arts & Crafts Show

Hilliard Davidson High School

Saturday, December 3

9:00am-4:00pm

$4.00

Thought of the Day...

Why is style important?

"Because it shows who we are." Evan


"Because I like my style. Because others like it too. Also, my monkies are good." Ashu


"Because it's what you feel in yourself."  Josiah

What's the Big Idea?

News from the 21^st C. Art Room

This year we are continuing to explore things that art can do.  We want our 21^st century students to understand that art plays a role in everyday life. 

We are looking at art as a way to creatively express ourselves in relation to the many layers of our lives: our feelings, our identity, culture, society, environment and imagination. 

Students at Brown and Hoffman Trails Elementary will be taking this journey together through the collaboration of Rachel Murdock and Stacey Peters, art teachers at Brown and Hoffman Trails, respectively. 

We think that this will be a way to get students to think critically about art, its purpose and why we create art. 

This year we will cover three areas in depth:

§  Feelings - Art can express how we feel.

§  Identity - Art can show who we are.

§  Culture – Art can change how we live.

First, we will explore how art can communicate how we feel. 

First grade will explore color and feeling through the help of chameleons, who express their feelings by changing color.

Second grade will express feelings through movement and dance and show the relationship between the feeling of the music and the art they create.

Third grade will look at feelings shown in self-portraits through expressions and the artist’s style before creating their own self-portraits.

Fourth grade will respond to music through creating expressive skies and trees.

Fifth grade will identify things in their life that have a positive impact on their feelings.  Their mixed media art will give you a glimpse of what they live for, laugh at and love.

We are excited to find new ways to utilize our new technology in the art room.  Using the ELMO (a document camera) students can see live and recorded demonstrations on the big screen.  They can share their work with the class or with students at the other school. 

Using the wireless SMART slate, students can interact with what is on the screen while in their seats, which keeps students engaged in the presentation of new information. 

We are looking forward to our journey this year. If you would like to be a part of our year, volunteer in the art room!

Stacey Peters (Hoffman Trails)            

Rachel Murdock (Brown)                                       

ZENTANGLES!

To start the school year, grades 1-5 have been exploring the world of Zentangles! We learned that zentangles are complex patterns and inspiration to make them can be found anywhere. The name came from combining the idea of relaxation and allowing ideas to come to you (zen) with the idea to mix and intertwine (tangle).  We brainstormed where artists might get their ideas for patterns and decided that the best inspiration can be found right before us! We looked for patterns in architecture, animals, plants, and more! Some patterns, like tiger stripes, were familiar; others, like the walls found in plants cells (cellular patterns) or the patterns found in cauliflower (fractal patterns) were something totally new!

We have been creating beautiful zentangles using the first letter of our first name. These will be the covers of our sketchbooks.  We plan to re-visit zentangles throughout the year.

For more information on zentangles, check out this site.

OHSK8 Show

Over the weekend, I attended the opening of OHSK8, a hand painted skateboard show. There were boards done by many local artists-- me included! Check them out!

Teacher Tech Camp - Building a Media Rich Blog: Teacher Tech Camp Recap Video

Teacher Tech Camp - Building a Media Rich Blog: Teacher Tech Camp Recap Video: "We had a blast at the Wex!"

My Summer break in 60 seconds

OK, so this is my first attempt at creating a video with iMovie and Final Cut Express. Let me know what you think!


School's Out! from Rachel Murdock on Vimeo.

testing...testing

So, here I am. This year, I am taking the "technology plunge" and creating a media rich classroom blog for both myself and my students. 

Describe your comfort level with technology.   

I use it every day both in and outside my classroom. From my middle school Xanga blog, to my college Myspce days, and current Facebook and Blogger familiarity, I feel confident.

Explain how you currently fuse subject matter with technology in the classroom.  

I incorporate the use of Epson projectors, power point, and online sources with every lesson. We explore artist sites and use notebook software to further enhance objectives. This school year, I will have an Elmo projector in my classroom, as well as access to Mac laptop carts, flash video devices, and of course, this blog! 

Describe what you hope to achieve by taking this CEU course.  

I want to build a blog that myself, my students, my parents, and my school community can use to gain access inside  Ms. Murdock's classroom. I want my students to see what I am doing as an artist--my processes, findings and interests.  I want to showcase student work and reflection.

Post 1: Check!

Fun Fact: Did you know Ms. Murdock creates hairpieces? Check out my Etsy site!