Student Exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum

March is Youth Art Month, and the Phoenix Art Museum is holding a student show to celebrate.  The show is up all month in their Education Center, but on Wednesday, March 21 there was a reception for the participating artists.  Two Simis students had their work displayed and came to the reception to see the other student's artwork, show their families their pieces, and take pictures. Thank you to the Phoenix Art Museum for supporting our student artists and providing them an opportunity to show their artwork.

 

What We Are Working On

4th Grade-  The students are finishing up their model buildings.  They carved, painted and drew windows on styrofoam blocks.  The entire grades pieces will be on display during open house, so stop by the art room if you would like to check them out. 
3rd Grade-  They are continuing to build sculptures of the animals they created.  The majority of students have finished constructing their tape and newspaper armatures (the basic form).  They are now covering the surface with papier mache and painting their pieces using tempera.  Next, they draw on the details with a sharpie and paint them with tempera cakes.
2nd Grade-  We are doing a project that ties in with their I.B. central idea and theme that they are learning about in their classroom.  They are learning how to draw self portraits using mirrors, and about proportion.  The background they create will reflect one I.B. attitude that they display (like creativity, confidence, commitment, etc.). 
1st Grade-  Students are designing the interior of a house.  They have four rooms that they have to create at least 5 items or details to fill with.  We will create an exterior by folding construction paper that will open to reveal the inside of the house and their drawing. 

District Office Display Case

Every school in the Madison District displays student's artwork for one month at the District Office. March is the month that Simis artists get to show their hard work. Pieces from each grade level are represented, and are chosen based on creativity and craftsmanship. If you would like to see their work in person, the district office is located at 5601 N. 16th Street and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m till 4:30 p.m.

I.B. Illustrations for the Office

The Simis After School Artists have created posters showing the I.B. key concepts, attitudes and learner profile.  Their work is framed and hanging on the walls in the front office.  Take a look next time you stop by. 

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.