Think Green

In the art studio we've always had the rules of take care of people, take care of stuff, and behave like an artist. This year we're adding take care of the earth. In an effort to make students more aware of their choices and how those choices affect the world we live in, I've created a new "Think Green" paper center in the art studio. Small, happy "earths" mark choices that are more earth friendly like G.O.O.S (Good On One Side) and Challenge Papers (abandoned paintings and drawings). Also, on the bulletin board behind are suggestions to help Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle paper in the art studio. Hopefully, it will catch on and Emmons Lake students will be filling Mother Earth's bucket as well as each others'. How about you? Have you filled Mother Earth's bucket today? For ideas on how to go green at home visit: 10 Easy Ways To Go Green At Home.

Observation Drawing: Drawing What We See

Our drawing center is loaded with lots of great supplies like markers, crayons, pencils, rulers, etc. Also at the center are resources like drawing books, manikins, and small model toys for observation drawing. Observation drawing is a great way to build hand-eye coordination and improve your drawing skills. Below are some examples of our student artists using the resources in the room. Students are welcome to bring small toys, book and pictures to use for drawing resources in the art studio.



The Dragon Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello is one of our most popular resources.



Grace used the manikin to draw a ballerina dancing.



Siara brought a book from the library and did a series of flower drawings.

Field Trip makes the news.

Here's the link to view the article from mLive:

Grand Rapids-area students flock downtown for ArtPrize education | ArtPrize - - MLive.com

Source: www.mlive.com

Emmons Lake takes artPrize by storm!

On Tuesday, our third, fourth and fifth grade students descended upon Grand Rapids for an up close and personal tour of artPrize.

Big thanks go out to Mr. Hoats for inviting us into his beautiful building, Mic Carlson for showing us what a real artist's studio looks like, and the men behind Nessie for awakening the dreamers in all of us.

Peace Flags Update

Due to the weather, the peace flag exhibit didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped. So here are some of the flags that were created. We'll call this our "Virtual Peace on Earth, Peace by Piece" installation.

MLive article on Rob Bliss

Hey all! We made the news! Click on the link below and check it out! ~Mrs. Price

http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/09/rob_bliss_artprize_entry_bring.html

Peace on Earth, Peace by Piece

A few weeks ago, I found out about a couple of artists from Florida who were inviting people from around the world to create peace flags for their installation entitled "Peace on Earth, Peace by Piece." Their installation travels around the world and their next stop was Grand Rapids to compete in ArtPrize. After viewing their website and getting the materials, I offered it as a center in art class. We had nearly 200 students who chose to participate and on Sunday, I dropped off the flags to Todd and Kiaralinda. They were very impressed by our work and grateful that we chose to participate. If you would like to see the installation, you can travel to the B.O.B. anytime between now and Oct. 10. They are located in the parking lot.

Rob Bliss from ArtPrize Comes for a Visit

Last Tuesday, local artist Rob Bliss stopped by Emmons Lake to talk to us about ArtPrize. He plans on launching 100,000 paper airplanes off the rooftops overlooking Monroe avenue. Each rooftop will have a different color to make a rainbow of planes. Our students were invited to help fold the airplanes and to come watch the excitement on Sunday, September 27th at 1:00. Hope to see you there!!

Diving into Drawing

Imagine if you will, walking into a room with colorful umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, tables covered with various colors of paper and a collection of interesting materials at each table. You are invited to travel to each of these colorful "islands" and make your mark. What do the materials feel like? What happens when you overlap them? Oops, at the chalk table, your arm brushes over the paper and colors begin to blend. What would happen if you overlapped lots of colors and used your finger to smudge them together? Gee, you wonder if the other materials will smudge or blend together, so you take a walk and try it at the pencil table or the charcoal table. You notice a group of kids oohing and ahhing over something at the marker table, so you wander over and they seem to be watching and waiting for something and suddenly, you see it. Color appearing as if by magic on the dark red paper. How did that happen? You dive in, trying the different types of markers. How come the blue doesn't look like blue on this paper? Why does this marker look darker than that one? What would happen if I put this marker on top of that one? What one would look good next to this one? Ooh, you find the "magic" marker and start going crazy with it. How does it work? Why does it stand out more than the others? Why does this blue look blue on this dark red paper? I wonder if these markers glow in the dark? Such great questions. Such great discoveries. Such great thinking. This is how we started our year in the art room. As we progressed through the day the large colorful papers grew more and more interesting. Each class adding to what the previous classes left for them. Each child making their mark for all to see.

New Sneakers, New Backpacks and a New Year 2009-2010

New sneakers, new backpacks, and a new year. Every year I look forward to a fresh start, a do-over if you will. What will I do differently this year? Some things I'd like to improve upon are: encouraging kids to be more original and to make more meaningful art; documenting what happens in a TAB art room via pictures and blog entries; offering more choices in the sculpture and printmaking centers; and communicating better with parents and our community about our program. A few new things I'm thinking about are: journals/sketchbooks; stop-action animation; and digital photography. Our PTO generously purchased digital cameras, microphones and equipment to make that all possible. Thank you PTO!!!!!! Now I just have to work out the kinks and see where it takes us. I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Spring Art Show Pics 2008

PTO Silent Auction 2008

Final touches are being put on this year's silent auction items. We chose a garden theme for the auction items this year. Each item has been hand crafted and made by the students of Emmons Lake.

Here's a small sampling of the 21 items for sale:Ceramic birdhouse by Mr. Wanless' 4th grade class.

Bird feeder by Mrs. VanGessel's Kindergarten Class

Mosaic planter by Mrs. Hollern's 2nd grade class.