Wild Beasts

For the past 2 weeks we have been working on Fauvist inspired projects. The older grades are working in a project called " A Room with a View" and the younger grades are working on a couple of projects based off of some of the collages made by Henri Matisse.

The Fauvist movement is one of my absolute favorite points in art. The artists' that considered themselves Fauvist's (which means Wild Beast) adored vivid colors, free treatment of form, and a resulting vibrant and decorative effects. Meaning they liked patterns, bright colors and simple shapes. The works done in this style always make me happy.

As I stated before, the K-2 grade classes did two collages based off of Matisse's works. The first was based off of the piece called "The beasts of the Sea" 



The basic idea was to think of shapes that represent animals and their environments. The students were a bit literal with their interpretations, but I still think they did a bang up job using the space on the page wisely as well as using lots of color:

The second collage that the students created was based off of the piece called "The Clown".

The students had to create a collage that showed a human form moving in some way. They also had to incorporate symmetry and color (minimum of 3 different colors). I feel like they did a wonderful job on these pictures!

The older grades are working on a piece based on Matisse's "Harmony in Red"

Their room had to show an interior and exterior. The interior had to have something to make it look like the inside of a room, such as a table, chair or some other type of furnishing. The exterior had to show all 3 parts of a landscape (foreground, middle ground and background). The students also had to use bright colors and patterns in the same way as the Fauvist's would have. The rooms are unique and beautiful and I hope that they will be finished in the first part of our next class, this way we can move on to  Cubism.

 I have also assigned a sketchbook project for the 3-5 grade classes that is due the Tuesday after break. The students have the outline, they should bring it with them to do the work. I will also post a copy of it here.

Tres Bien, c'est magnifique

The students finished their Art Nouveau projects this week, and I must say they look great. The 3rd and 4th grade class did a wonderful job coming up with designs and patterns to make their pictures unique. I believe they are as pleased with the results as I am.

The 5th and 6th grade class are almost done with the scratch board project. Mrs. Gelatt is going to give them a little extra time during read aloud to finish. Thanks Mrs. Gelatt! So far they look wonderful, the students are mastering the techniques of scratch board quickly and the results are well worth the effort.

You may have noticed in the pictures that the students all have paper towel under their hands. That is to protect the matte finish of the scratch board from the oils in their skin. It shows up on the board as smudges and is next to impossible to get off again, so the paper towel helps!

The Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classes finished their tree pictures. They turned out well. I think next time I might have to tweek the materials just a bit to give them access to more colors. I still think that this was a fun project and so did the students! 

 The next 2 weeks before break are going to be filled with Henri Matisse. He is one of my favorite artists! He was a big fan of color and pattern. I think the kids will enjoy learning about him as well.

Until next week!!! À la prochaine.