Calling All Fairies and Gnomes!

Come to school on a Saturday?  Dressed as a fairy or gnome?!  

What exactly is going on at Pleasant Valley School on May 10th from 10 to 12?!?!

It's our first ever (of, hopefully, many more) gnome home- and fairy house-building event.  

Students, accompanied by a parent or guardian, are invited to build a small home made out of all natural materials fit for a wee creature!  We'll be meeting in front of the entrance to the school to go over the ramifications of the project before students and adults head out to gather sticks, twigs, rocks, leaves and the like.  If you have a basket or bag, bring it along to use to collect your building supplies.  Students will then work independently or in groups to build their best and most natural architectural structure.  

*If you plan on attending, please send in the slip that was included in last week's Panther Points.

**Everyone is encouraged to dress up!  

***Please check this blog if there is inclement weather.  The rain date will be May 17th!

The Civil War Encampment

There was not a dull moment in the art room this week.  Fifth graders filtered in and out, in small groups and with their classes, to finish their Civil War-inspired flags.  After all the hustle and bustle, the fifth graders' hard work is rewarded with gorgeous weather with which to enjoy their Civil War Encampment Day.

Learning to See Our Own Face

Your face has been your own since birth.  It's a pretty familiar sight.  Then, why is it so difficult to draw?  Well, for starters, it's three-dimensional!  And, when you attempt to draw it, you are rendering something three-dimensional on a two-dimensional plane.  The fifth graders are venturing to render their proportionally correct likeness on canvas boards.

New Jobs Posted!

There are two new jobs posted on the P.V. Job Board!
Art Selection Board
If you are interested in critiquing the art submissions to the Magical Mailbox and selecting the next Artist of the Week, apply!
Artist in Residence
Artists will have an opportunity to design and create an independent art project in any medium.
Both jobs are available to fourth and fifth graders only!

YouCube

The third graders are exploring the world of emotion!  Elated, confused, furious and annoyed are just a few of the many, many emotions that the third graders have chosen to depict in their self portraits.  They are each selecting six different emotions to portray in six self portraits.  These six drawings will be used to create a cube, with an emotive face on each face of the cube.  We'll get a chance to see the many sides of our artists.

The Animal Behind the Grid

The fifth graders are working on oil pastel drawings of animals from photographs.  They measured out a grid over their photos, as well as, black paper and are currently working one square at a time to render the images of their animals.  Two years ago, the fifth grade class worked on a similar project using their self portraits.  My long term substitute began this project with animals instead and the results have been ahhh-mazing!

A Silhouette Self Portrait

Each year, our budding artists tackle capturing their own image and likeness in a work of art.  Each grade approaches this objective in a different manner.  This year, the fourth graders are creating conceptual self portraits.  They are currently scouring the pages of magazines in search of words and images that describe them.  These words and images will be used to fill their silhouette's profile.