Fifth Grade artists learned about the ancient kingdom of Chancay, a Pre-Columbian civilization located along the coast of Peru. Our artists created model magic figurines that were inspired by the ceramics made by the Chancay people.
Clay idol from the Chancay culture.
They began with “thumbnail” sketches in their sketchbooks.
Creating the background – a bit of recycle art with cardboard and some awesome texture made from a donation of window shade samples.
Creating and painting the Chancay figures using Model Magic. Students recalled our earlier color unit and talked about Earth tones and neutral colors.
Finished pieces. Aren’t they wonderful?
Michigan Visual Arts Standards:
Compare and contrast works of art as belonging to
particular cultures, times, and places.
Demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts
interrelate in making and studying works of art.
Fourth grade artists created these beautiful bowls filled with cacti during their study of Mexico. This project incorporated several important art goals: learning about zentangles and creating a zentangle bowl; learning the names and drawing a variety of cactus plants; the use of shading techniques to create a realistic cactus plant; and creating visual interest with the use of overlapping and a variety of sizes and colors in their project.
Their careful drawings were outlined with permanent markers and shaded with crayons, and the giant box of 96 provided many different greens for shading! Final details were added with a watercolor and salt sprinkled background. We love the results!
Parents – this project can be found at our on-line art gallery ARTSONIA!
Thanks to Room9 Art for this project inspiration – we loved it!
And, funny thing….Jamestown Elementary, one of our sister schools here at Hudsonville Public, did a similar project – check out their awesome pieces too!
First grade artists have been learning about the art and culture of Mexico. After viewing Mrs. Persch’s brightly colored Mexican blanket, they created their own colorful blankets filled with oil pastel patterns.
We decided our blankets needed something extra…so first graders added a big green lizard sunning himself on their blankets!
Bright Mexican Blankets
Here we are, working on our blankets and lizards. Our finished lizards are below – first graders really worked on their scissor skills while cutting out their lizards. They had to be really careful not to cut off the legs or tail!
Georgetown 5th Graders began their study of Mexico and South America by learning about the Amate Bark paintings found throughout Mexico. These colorful works of art often depict flowers and birds and are painted on bark that has been boiled and pounded into sheets of rough paper.
After viewing and discussing a sample amate bark painting, everyone had a fun time crumpling up their brown kraft paper so it resembled the rough, crinkly look of traditional amate paper. Students first sketched their ideas in their sketchbooks, then drew and painted their Amate Bark masterpieces.
Amate Bark Painting
Georgetown Amate Bark Paintings
Second grade artists created these fabulous Aztec Masks as they learned about Mexico and the ancient Aztec empire. They began their masks by studying intricate totem mask images and viewing Mrs. Brouwer’s carved wooden mask from Mexico.
They first created these beautiful practice thumbnail drawings.
The practice mask drawings were a fabulous warm up for their finished pieces – aren’t they amazing?!
More masks can be found on our Artsonia On-Line Art Gallery!
First grade artists began their study of Mexico and South America this week. They learned about festivals celebrating the sun and read “Up an Down the Andes”, a story about children in Peru who went to a special sun festival. These bright sun paintings will warm up our winter days here in Michigan!
“Up and Down The Andes” by Laurie Krebs
