Valley Metro Contest Winners Assembly

Valley Metro came to Simis this week and presented our 3 bus contest winners with their prizes.  Their work is featured for a month in a calendar that is distributed throughout Maricopa County.  Over 300 students entered from schools throughout the valley, so it was quite an accomplishment to be selected.  They received their artwork framed, a certificate, and a prize package that included a set of art supplies.  It was great to see our deserving 3rd graders recognized, and thank you to Valley Metro.  You can see the calendar at:
Valley Metro Bus Contest

"I.B. Postcard Exchange" 4th Grade

Simis is on its way to becoming an International Baccalaureate school, and our 4th graders had a chance to see what an I.B. art project might look like.  We exchanged 35 regional postcards with Jefferson Lighthouse Elementary 4th graders in Racine, Wisconsin.  They are already an I.B. school, and we compared the process they used to create their postcards with ours.  Simis students learned about spacing, foreground, middleground, background and a shading technique called modeling.  They all used india ink to outline their drawings and colored pencils to show light, medium and dark values.  The students picked 5 from each class as representatives to send.  The students from Jefferson Lighthouse researched and wrote a report about an artist of their choice in their homeroom.  They created a postcard showing a Wisconsin scene in the style of their artist in the medium of their choice.  Our 4th graders compared their more open ended approach and how it contrasted with how we made our postcards.  Here are some examples:

SIMIS ELEMENTARY

JEFFERSON LIGHTHOUSE

What We Are Working On

1st Grade- Students are drawing a food that has details.  They are creating two additional items to go with their food (Plate, drink, fork, etc.).  They are using their food and items to create a repeating pattern on the edge of their paper.  The border creates a frame for their composition.  They are using marker to add color to their piece.  The work is in the style of the artist Wayne Thiebaud, who used repetition and often painted desserts.
2nd Grade- Students are learning to draw instruments and figures.  They have to pick at least 4 instruments and have a person playing them to create a band.  They are working on creating realistic shapes and details.  They learn to outline their drawings using thick lines for bold shapes, and thin lines for the details.  They add color using four shading techniques.  They fill the shapes with hatching (diagonal lines), cross-hatching (diagonal lines going both ways), scumbling (circles), and dotting (pointillism).  They use a wide view, or panorama, to show all of their band members on their final.
3rd Grade-  Students are beginning their hybrid animal project.  They are planning and designing a new species using the features of two different animals.  The animals cannot be from the same class (ex. both mammals).  They decide what features of each animal to use and create a drawing of what they want their animal to look like.  The second part of their plan is where they show how they will create 3-dimensional forms out of each part of the animal.  Each 2-dimensional shape (like a leg) will be made by either twisting, crumpling or folding newspaper.  The forms are taped and connected to create an armature, a basic 3-dimensional structure that will be the foundation of their sculpture.
4th Grade-  Students are designing buildings like an architect.  They plan for the shape, windows and color choices.  They each receive a foam rectangular prism that they will create a model out of.  They have the option of carving into the block to alter its form, or keep it as is.  They paint each surface of their model using tempera paint in preparation for drawing their windows and adding their additional colors.

Valley Metro Bus Contest Winners

We had three third grade winners for the annual Valley Metro Bus Contest.  Quite an honor for the young artists since there are so many entries to choose from.  Their artwork will be featured in a desktop calendar that is distributed throughout the city.  Valley Metro will be coming to Simis in late December to present the winners with their piece framed, calendars, and prize packs.  Congratulations!

"Phoenix Public Library Contest" All Grades

Phoenix Public Library is hosting a contest to collect illustrations for a picture book about recycling to be published by Sasha and Rodney Glassman.  Artists in grades K-8 may enter.  The contest has 2 forms (links below) that need to be filled out and will need to be returned (along with the illustration) to Ms. Haddox in the Simis Library by October 31st.  The story follows Jeremy Jackrabbit, and there are specific pages for each grade to illustrate.  Go to the story link and check the number in front of each line (1. for 1st, 2. for 2nd, etc.).  Good luck to all who decide to participate.

Overview

Entry Form

Release Form

Story

Display Case

We are finishing up our first round of projects, and some of the student's artwork is up in the display case outside the art room.  If you are walking by the art room make sure to check it out.

"Hybrid Animals" 3rd/4th Grade

Last year, some of the 3rd graders were unable to finish animal sculptures by the end of the school year.  We held onto them, and they have been working on them as 4th graders.  Some of the pieces are very large and detailed, and it took a lot of dedication for the students to finish them.  Here are some of the pieces that have been recently completed.

Simis Artist in the North Central News

The recent North Central News had a photograph and an item about the sketchbooks the students made at the beginning of the year.  It shows a Simis student working on the cover of her sketchbook, and talks about how I.B. (International Baccalaureate) concepts are used to create their designs.  You can follow the link to read the article.
North Central News 

"Bus Contests" 3rd Grade

The deadline for the Valley Metro bus contest was today.  Third grade students had the opportunity to draw pictures of the city bus or light rail, and enter for a chance to have their artwork featured in a calendar.  We had a lot of excellent entries again this year, so I am hoping we will have another winner.  Thanks to everyone who participated.

"State Fair Bug Panels"

Ms. Wallace's 1st grade class and Mr. Merrill's 4th grade class will have their artwork displayed at the State Fair.  They were each given 3 panels and the theme "What a Wonderful Bug World."  They worked in their classrooms, in the art room, after school and outside of school to complete the panels over the last week.  Keep your eyes out for their projects if you visit the fair.  Here are some pictures of the 4th graders hard at work.

What We Are Working On

1st Grade-  Students are working on drawing dinosaurs step by step.  They will give their dinosaurs the feel of scales by adding texture to them.  They will be cutting out and gluing the dinosaurs onto a watercolor paper and painting a realistic background.
2nd Grade-  Students are drawing their shoes from observation.  They are working on getting a realistic shape and adding details.  They place the shoe in a background, and add three things that are magnified in size.  They are using a combination of colored pencil and watercolor paint to add color to their piece.
3rd Grade-  Students are learning about typography.  They are spacing and designing lettering, and creating a stencil of their first name.  They use the stencil to print their names multiple times.  When they print, they are learning about repetition and overlap.  They add color using a shading technique called modeling, where they show light, medium and dark tones and blend them.  In addition to their individual piece, we are printing everyone's stencil on a class poster.
4th Grade-  Students are creating a postcard that represents their community.  They are combining lettering with a setting.  The landscape they create should show a clear foreground, middleground and background.  They are outlining their drawings using pen nibs, which they dip into ink.  We use them because they easily create bold lines and thin lines.  We will be exchanging 35 postcards with an I.B. school in Kenosha, Wisconsin and comparing and contrasting the results.  This will give us an opportunity to learn about their community and look at the style of their postcards.

Welcome Back

It feels good to back, and we are ready for another great year in the art room.  We have a different schedule this year.  Art has changed from a 40 minute period to a full hour.  They still come once every 6 days in the rotation, but I've already noticed the difference the extra time makes.  The class feels less rushed, and as we get into making projects they will have more time to work.  I think it will be especially beneficial when we are doing 3-dimensional artwork.  This week, the students have been creating sketchbooks.  It is important for an artist to keep a sketchbook for practicing drawing, preparing for projects, and working on ideas.  If a student is interested in art, I would encourage them to keep a sketchbook at home as well.  It can be an excellent outlet for their creativity.

"Comic Panels" 3rd Grade

Third graders learned about the artist Roy Lichtenstein. He enlarged comic panels and painted them. He used Ben Day dots to create a color field that filled the shapes. He used word bubbles in his paintings to create interesting scenes.
Roy Lichtenstein
The students created even 1 inch borders using rulers. Inside their panel, they drew a close-up of one or two characters. They created word or thought bubbles. They used colorful dots in at least 3 spots on their panel, and flat color in the rest. When they were done, they had created an image in the style of Roy Lichtenstein.

Bus Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Simis student Kylie Stenke for winning the Valley Metro Bus Contest! Third graders from all over the valley entered the contest, and Kylie's design took first place and will be featured on the cover of the Valley Metro Calendar. Valley Metro visited Kylie's class and took them on a ride around the neighborhood on a city bus. She also received a prize pack and a pizza party for her class. Thanks to all the Simis students who entered and worked hard on their illustrations.

"Construction Vehicles" 2nd Grade

2nd Graders have been creating paintings of bulldozers and cranes. We took our inspiration from the cafeteria construction site next door to the art room. They worked on using thick lines for the main shapes of the vehicles, and thin lines for the detail. They drew their vehicle on yellow construction paper and cut it out and glued it onto watercolor paper. Then they drew their background, and used watercolor markers to add the color. They learned 3 shading techniques (hatching, cross-hatching, and scumbling) and filled in their background. When they brushed water over the watercolor marker, it filled the rest of the space with color.