Walking in a winter wonderland!

The Fifth graders have finished the weaving unit and helped turn the hallway tree wintry. Check out the weaving in the display case and the tree below.

Fourth Grade have illustrated a walk in the woods during the first snow. Some of these are also on display in the cases. Next they will bring color to our snowy views with rose windows.

Third Graders have worked hard on their versions of American Gothic and will move onto making comical snow globes.

The Second Grade have begun construction on their version of a gingerbread house made from recycled tissue boxes.

First Grade have been exploring the world of snowmen with a glue resist snowman.

And Kindergartners have finished their gingerbread people and learned about color mixing by making a string on holiday lights.

New artwork

New Artwork went up in time for the amazing chorus concert and book fair family night.

Everyone is very busy, and all the creativity is just bursting out of the art room!

Kindergarten has been hard at work on two different projects! They are making Gingerbread Men for their Gingerbread program. They also have been making their own Big Green Monsters to go with the book by the same name. Both projects are showing how good they are getting at cutting and drawing shapes. Soon their magic carpets will fly onto color!

First graders have been learning all about the artist Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. They have created their own PiCATsos then live in a ROOMtisse. They have also begun learning about textures by doing crayon rubbings.

Second Grade have been experiencing senses with their art. They spent time interpreting music into line, shape, and pattern. They have also started to create a giant sandwich by including all their favorite foods between two buns. They may be a little more hungry than usual!

Third graders have been studying the formal composition of Grant Wood's American Gothic. They are creating their own version. They have chosen a pair of characters to illustrate using the same formal composition and including a detailed background to give us more information about the characters.

In Fourth grade we have finished our pop art and continued our study of planning the layout of the image with a fall/winter piece. They are also writing poems to go with this artwork.

Fifth grade had a great presentation from Mrs. Stewart and are learning how to finish their weaving. They will soon move onto developing their handling of challenging media by creating a glue city and then coloring it with chalk pastels.

Students work is starting to be sent home. If a piece is missing it may be because the child was gone for that project, the work is currently on display, or it is being held for future display. I hope you enjoy the amazing work these talented children are producing! I know I have!

A tree grows in Brooks!

Well things have been growing here at Brooks. This tree developed out of the third grade's enlarged leaves project. I'm hoping to keep it up all year to demonstrate the changing seasons and display work. Every third grader made a leaf for the tree. Stop by and check it out.

Our Kindergartners took a trip to the pumpkin patch and are currently creating one on paper to practice tracing, learning shapes, and talking about size changes in perspective.

First grade have finished the apple trees are starting to learn about the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. They will be using concept from his art and Henri Matisse's to draw a lovely pet.

The Second graders are taking on Vincent Van Gogh. They are working on a vase with sunflowers.

In third grade we are talking about Harvest Moons and creating an image using the idea of positive and negative space.

Fourth grade has been studying Pop Art and creating eye catching color art inspired by artist such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Fifth graders are finishing their study of native Americans by learning to weave on a loom and will be watching a presentation by Mrs. Stewart about spinning.

I hope you all made it out to the 5K last Saturday and saw the amazing pots by all of the students!

Have a great autumnal weekend!

Aurora Community Project (Totally optional)

Hey Aurora Families,
Here is an oppourtunity to be part of a community celebration. Check out all of the information from this link!

http://www.scribd.com/full/39192624?access_key=key-aoz1qosbrtdp58hmt21

Welcome October!

Today was picture day here at Brooks and my, did all the students look their best! We made special care to keep them clean in art and progressed nicely with our projects.

Kindergartners are practicing their shapes and using what they remember about lines to make some fancy Suns! They are studying shapes outside of the art room as well!

First Graders are learning all about Johnny Appleseed and using what they know to make beautiful Apple Branches.

Second grade has finished their cats and will soon be learning about the artist Vincent Van Gogh. They will be creating a version of his Vase with Flowers.

Third Grade is learning about enlarging and exaggerated art. They are creating Giant Leaves to welcome in the season of fall!

Fourth Grade's Castles are turning out beautifully and I can't wait to show the hard work!

Some of fifth grade's crazy hair is up on display and they are outstanding. Next we will begin talking about weaving and get they opportunity to see a spinning demo from Mrs. Stewart!

All the grades have been working on flower pots that will be auctioned off at the Nick Kot 5K! Check out their work and enjoy the race on Saturday, October 16th.

Enjoy the beauty of the world around you!

Special Contest! *UPDATE*

Do you like to run? Do you like to draw? Do you like to make people feel good? Well If you answered yes to any of these questions I have a project for you! At home draw a encouraging poster for the runners of the Nick Kot 5K. Use positive words and interesting pictures to tell the runners how awesome they are. Complete this poster and turn in to me by the end of Tuesday (October 5th). I will select one poster from each grade to be enlarged for race day. You do not have to do this but it is a fun chance to see your art on display and be a part of the 5K. I look forward to your creativity!

Thanks,
Miss McShea

First Finished Projects of Fall

This week our artists at Brooks Elementary finished up some outstand creations!

Kindergarten discovered where their imagination could take them. The class carpets have been moved down to our next big word SHAPE! We identified geometric and organic shapes, did the shape dance, learned that we could create animals from the organic shape of our hands and even went on the hunt for shapes through the school.

First grade learned about painting by trying out the technique of a tempera wash. They painted the background for their apple branches.They also learned the parts of a brush.

Second grade is finishing up their very Jazzy Jungle Cats. They have developed the patterns and worked hard on drawing and painting the creatures.

Third grade imagined where their dragons were going. Some took a nap on a cloud, ran races, chased airplanes, and all looked amazing!

Fourth graders are producing the most beautiful castles. They are using images to make the architecture come to life and developing scenes with scary dragons, brave knights, and beautiful princesses.

Fifth grade learned a fun way to paint. They used watercolors and straws to make CRAZY hair! Each portrait tells so much about its creator. These are highly expressive and show the amazing drawing skills of this group!

Next week we will be starting a lot of new projects and I'm hoping to get some pictures of the art up soon.

What a week!

Well this week seemed to fly by! I'm so happy I got to meet many parents last night at Curriculum Night. I'm just so amazed at what a wonderful community Brooks is.

This week we continued a lot of projects and I have to say they are coming along nicely. Some even made it onto the walls in time for last nights event.

Kindergartners have all drawn and painted their magic carpets and will travel on with their journey by learning about shapes.

First grade made the most amazing tree houses. They practiced blending and learned that when complementary colors are mixed they make brown. They listened to The Swiss Family Robinson while they worked and wrote about their imaginary tree house. Be sure to check out the tree houses down the specials hallway.

The Second graders are working on their Jazzy Jungle Cats. They have used pattern to make their cat look amazing and most have finished painting. We will be creating their Jazzy World next.

Third grade is using analogous colors to decorate their footprint dragons. The bright colors and creative details are making these creatures come to life.

The thoughts of dragons continues into Fourth grade with progress on our castles. They are taking the challenge of turning lines of paint into an enchanted castle fit for a king or queen! The drawing skills are showing through with these outstanding pieces.

The smiling faces of our Fifth graders are showing up on the papers with the crazy hair self portraits. They truly are letting their personalities shine and next week with the paint should be quite fun and breath taking (literally, they will be blowing through straws to make the paint move).

Some work will start to make its way home soon. I am holding onto pieces throughout the year for Fine Arts Festival and other displays. So not every piece will make its way home right away. I think it is important to see your work on display so take pride if I am holding onto it for a bit. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the beauty in the changing season!

Thanks,
Miss McShea

P.S. If you having issues leaving comments make sure to change your profile anonymous and just sign your name at the bottom of your comment. Thanks!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW! I have been showered with items from my wish list! I am truly the luckiest art teacher ever!!! I am so excited to be part of such a welcoming and giving community. Thank you so much for your wonderful families, generous hearts, and recognition of the importance of art in our lives! I hope I get to meet many of you at curriculum night this Thursday, September 16th from 6- 7:30!

Exciting and New!

Well my friends, I am excited to announce an addition to the classroom. This weekend Ollie's love swam in to stay! Her name is August. I hope you all will help us welcome her to our school.

This week we will be starting some new projects and finishing up some from last week, because of the shortened week our classes may be a little out of sync but we will try to get everyone on the same page.

Kindergartners will continue their looping, zig-zagging, and wavy path on their Magic Carpets. First grade will continue to learn about mixed media and expand their creativity with their Tree Houses. Second grade will be jazzing it up with Jazzy Jungle Cats. Third grade will be learning that interesting shapes can be found anywhere in the search of the Footprint Dragon and in fourth grade we will see where our dragons may headed when we make our Paint Drag Castles. Fifth Grade will experiment with different techniques as they create their Crazy Hair Portraits.

I know you are all excited to see what everyone is making. I will send most work home as soon as it is ready but I will be holding onto some pieces for display.

Whisper of Fall

As I sit in the art classroom getting ready for my Friday I am greeted by cool breeze that the storms brought in last night. I hope you all get to enjoy this long Labor Day weekend. I'm so excited to start one of our most colorful seasons. I look forward to using the shapes and colors of this season to help me teach the concepts of perspective, space, and texture. I also can't wait for the students to show you the new skills they are learning or the familiar ones that they are mastering. Be sure to come out and meet me at Curriculum Night on September 16th.

Create and Enjoy,
Miss McShea

Welcome!

Welcome to Artie's Lair! You may also know it as the art classroom at Brooks Elementary. This year we will take an exciting ride through an artistic eye. Please feel free to create and enjoy!