Give these 8th graders a HAND!!

The 8th graders wrapped their hands up with striped paper! ;-) Not true, but they were able to make it look like that using just a pencil and white piece of paper.

Artwork by Walter

Artwork by Kenda
Artwork by Heaven
Artwork by Lavonte

*!Loom Loom Pow!*

6th-8th graders got creative with the cardboard looms.
Double-click for closer look.

Darneisha added beads

Silvia used ribbon

Achieving a Weaving

The 6th- 8th graders have been working on their weaving skills using cardboard looms. Not an easy task to achieve, but some students got so fast at it that they could do an entire 6 inch weave in 20 minutes (Kenda!!!) I will post more pictures next week.


Weaves by Nia and Andre


Channa got creative and braided her own yarn.


Breantia added colored beads to her weave.

Dr. Seuss Says...

The Upper Grades illustrated Dr. Seuss Quotes.

"When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles
and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle
bottle paddle battle."
— — Dr. Seuss (Fox in Socks) Artwork by Malachi

"Look at me!

Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

— — Dr. Seuss (The Cat in the Hat) Artwork by Jeffon

"Oh the Places You'll Go" Artwork by Darian

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

— — Dr. Seuss (Horton Hears a Who!) Artwork by Kendra

Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

— — Dr. Seuss (Happy Birthday to You!) Artwork by Ebony

"How did it get so late so soon?"

— — Dr. Seuss Artwork by Mayuan

"Think and wonder, wonder and think."

— — Dr. Seuss Artwork by Fahrenheit

Black History Month with Aaron Douglas

Aaron Douglas has been called the father of African American art. Douglas was an important part of the circle of artists and writers we now call the Harlem Renaissance. His paintings reflect his confidence that African Americans can learn from the past "to carry us on to new and higher levels of achievement." Many paintings of Africans creating civilizations, overcoming oppression, and building new worlds. Working in 1920- 40s, Douglas proudly showed black Americans with their African past before the dawn of the civil rights movement.

**Remember click on artwork for close-up, there are great details to see**

The students were given the choice of doing their own interpretation of one of his painting or do n "abstract" work of art using Aaron Douglas' style as their inspiration

Adrian and Jennifer chose to do abstract interpretations of Aaron Douglas' paintings.

Aspirations (1936) contains symbols of musical accomplishment and achievement in scholarship and business Unlike many of the artists who have come of age after the civil rights era, Douglas is most interested in showing self-determined success. Douglas' most common signifier of such is not government, but industry, as at top in 1936's Aspiration.

"Aspiration" Artwork by Jallayha and no name
Jungle scene by Aaron Douglas
Jungle scene by Kendra and Mayuan

Ship scene by Aaron Douglas
Ship scene by Chloe, I am so proud of how she used all those different values!
Ship sene by Darneisha, and again great use of values!
Ship scene by Fahrenheit
Ship scene by Lavonte
Ship scene by Malik

Aaron Douglas: Creation

The Creation depicts the first man with plants, hills, a rainbow, and a stream. Douglas painted the moon being “flung against the darkness.

Creation by Jazmyne

Creation by Channa and Malachi

Aaron Douglas: Building Mansions

Building More Stately Mansions (1944) shows the achievements of African Americans throughout time by blending images from ancient Egypt and contemporary New York.

Buildings by Byron and Marquise
Buildings by Ebony

Buildings by Demetrius

Picasso's "Guernica"

"Guernica" by Picasso
After learning how to make dark values and light values by either pressing hard with our pencil or light with our pencils, we made value scales. Then we made our version of Picasso's "Guernica". Each student was given a different section of the painting and practiced using their dark and light values. Plus, Picasso is fun to replicate. You will see more of him this month!
Artwork by Jeffon and Calvin R.
Artwork by Akilah
Artwork by Tameia
Artwork by Larry, Mayuan, and Lavonte
Artwork by Alexis and Taylar

Two Contests Coming up

Students in 5th-8th grade are invited to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. portrait (face) drawing contest. It is due on Friday before the end of the school day. I will be giving out prizes for most realistic, most creative, and most expressive for each grade. You can include words, his name, anything you want, but his face must take up most of the page. If you want to participate stop by the art room for paper. Below are examples of the students who have started their Martin Luther King Jr. portrait. Remember, MLK Day is on Monday, so we do not have school!

Artwork by Malachi
Artwork by Chante

The other contest is a Safety Poster Contest hosted by Metra with the theme Make the Right Choice: "Look, Listen, Live". For more details visit Metra Safety Contest 2008 - 2009

I will be inviting participating students to work on their posters after school...so start thinking up great ideas! Visit their facebook page to see winning posters from previous years:
Facebook | Metra Safety Poster Contest Below are a few winning posters from last year. You could win a laptop!

Go Chicago! Room 306 Skyline Design

Look at the previous post to see more information about our Chicago Cityscape project.
Artwork from 306:
Artwork by Jallayha
Artwork by Ebony
Artwork by Deangelo
Artwork by Byron
Artwork by Jeffon
Artwork by Brandon
Artwork by Malachi
Artwork by Tatianna