More Pictures!

Fine Arts Festival

Thank you to those who came out to support the Fine Arts Festival on Saturday. The performances were amazing and it was so much fun to see all of the incredible art. Thank you for supporting arts education! If you weren't able to make it check out some of the pictures from the event.

EAGLETS!!!

As of this post 2 of the Eaglets have hatched. They are still being kept warm along with the last egg. Watch carefully! Part of the parents job at this time is to make sure the eaglets are eating well. You may see animals in the nest that the parents have caught. This is part of the circle of life. Keep watching!

Eagle watch

unrelated to our current art projects I have been streaming this live webcam of an eagles nest instead of music. It shows the male and female eagles sitting on their 3 eggs. The eggs are predicted to hatch around the begining of April and its interesting watching a part of nature we don't always get to. In the next few weeks we will be focusing on Spring and new growth (so I guess it does relate), as well as changing our tree over to show its Spring beauty. Stay tuned to watch the changes.

Here is the link for the live streaming in case you or your family are interested in viewing :

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/decorah-eagles

Media and our art!

We are doing some great work this week in art classes!

Kindergarten is reading Giraffes can't dance and creating the background for our dancing zebras.


First grade is learning about the artist Georgia O'Keeffe and we start this lesson by reading My Name Georgia. They are then creating flowers that are BIG the way Georgia saw them.


Second Graders are learning some of the tricks that can be created by art. We are watching the movie Behind the Scenes to demonstrate that the eye can be fooled by colors and size and will be using this idea in our next project.


Third grade have been learning about the artist Claude Monet and recreating his famous Japanese bridge paintings using oil pastels and cut paper. These are coming out quite striking!


Fourth grade have had the privilege of learning about the whole process that it takes to create yarn that we are weaving with. Mrs. Stewart is demonstrating many of these steps using her spinning wheel and carder. She is also sharing the book Weaving the Rainbow.


The fifth graders have jumped into the world of design by creating their own shoes inspired by famous artists. Each child has their own artist that they are researching and learning about their life. They will be presenting their shoes and information about the artists so we can all learn more about these inspiring people. We have been using a variety of books but the majority of them are from Mike Venezia's (a Napervillian) collection of artist books.

After creating the Chinese Dragons that were on display for open house, two of the second grade classes got to celebrate the Lunar New Year by scarf and ribbon dancing. Here are some photos from the experience.

Shadows

In Kindergarten we have been talking a lot about silhouette and shadows. We have used these ideas to learn how to draw people, as well as learn about positive and negative space. This week students get a chance to create shadow puppets and designs using everyday objects on a overhead. At Open House you all will have a chance to try this out. I just wanted to share some of the images of this exploration.

Sneak peek!

Here is a sneak peek at some of the art on display for Open House. The students have been hard at work and it shows.

Kindergarten will have 3D sculptures.

1st Grade has their Kandinsky inspired circles and a few PiCatsos.

Second Graders are showing off their Chinese Dragons for Chinese New Year.

Third Grade have worked hard on their Snow Globes and also have a select group of the modern American Gothics on display.

Fourth Grade will be showing off their breathtaking stained glass Rose Windows and a few of the Pop Art Color Words.

Fifth Graders are the latest to decorate the tree outside of the art and music rooms, This season it holds icicles and 3D snowflakes. They also have their weaving projects on display.

You should all come in and check out the amazing art in person!