5th Grade Sketchbook #6

This week I want you to draw a short comic strip in your sketchbooks. You can make it a story about a superhero or a normal person. If you use a superhero that already exists (like Superman or Batman), make sure that the comic is your original story, not copied from an actual comic book.

MR. ENG'S AND MS. BALICKI'S CLASSES DUE TUES. OCT. 19TH
MS. TRESSELT'S CLASS DUE FRIDAY OCT. 22ND

4th Grade Sketchbook #6

In your sketchbooks you need to draw 4 hybrid animals. Each animal should be a combination of two real animals. For example: you may combine a bird with a turtle, the shell and body of a turtle with the wings of a bird.
Think about the five classifications of animals (amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds and fish), and choose animals from different classifications to combine. This will make your hybrid animals look more interesting.

MS. KELLY'S CLASS DUE WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20TH
MS. PAYTON AND MR. WILLIAMS CLASSES DUE FRIDAY, OCT. 22ND

4th and 5th Grade Sketchbook #5

This week you are going to do a different kind of observational drawing.

First, choose a comfortable spot to sit. It could be in your house, outside, or somewhere at school. Then look at what is around you and draw what you see. Do your best to draw everything the way it actually looks.

Oak Park Education Foundation

Last year the 5th grade students participated in Architecture Adventure and drew plans for a new Irving Schoolyard. They worked with real architects and landscape designers to learn how professionals plan and draw out their designs.

Click the title of this post to go to the Oak Park Education Foundation website to see pictures of the students and their finished drawings.

Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg was born in Sweden in 1929. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 7 years old and lived in New York and then Chicago. He went to Yale University after graduating high school but later returned to Chicago to study art at the Art Institute.


In the early 1970s, Oldenburg began creating the large scale sculptures he is famous for today. The sculptures are larger versions of common, everyday objects. You can find Oldenburg's sculptures all around the world!



















This summer I got the chance to see two of Oldenburg's sculptures in person when I took a trip to Kansas City, Missouri. The Giant Shuttlecocks were on the front lawn of an art museum and the Giant Handkerchief was on campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. If you look closely you can see me in the first picture, (click on the pictures to see them bigger).

3rd Grade is learning about Keith Haring

The students have been learning about the artist Keith Haring these last few weeks. They saw many examples of his paintings and drawings and learned a little about his life.


The 3rd graders learned how to draw simple figures in different action poses, similar to the figures Haring is famous for. Then they added repeating lines around their figures and colored with bright colors.





For more information on Keith Haring check out Haringkids.com

What have the 1st Graders been doing in Art?

This week the 1st grade students learned about the artist Piet (pronounced "Peet") Mondrian (1872-1944). He was a dutch painter who became famous for his paintings using straight lines and primary colors.

During my summer trip to New York, I went to the Museum of Modern Art and got to see a few of Mondrian's paintings. Here are the pictures I took there:











You can also see some of Mondrian's paintings for yourself at the Art Institute of Chicago.